Milton Drake (August 3, 1912 - November 13, 2006) was an American

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

and performing rights administrator. As a child, he performed in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

s, in

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s and on

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

. Later he wrote special material for theater and nightclub revues, including "Cotton Club Parade", "Riviera Follies", "Paradise Parade", and "Latin Quarter Revue". Drake's musical collaborators included Oscar Levant, Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingston, Louis Alter, Ben Oakland and Con Conrad, among others. Drake was a member of the American Guild of Authors and Composers for 28 years, and for 5 years was the chairman of the AGAC council. In August 1962 he resigned from AGAC in protest, criticizing the lack of progressive leadership at the organisation, and their relationship with music publishers. In 1949 Drake married the singer Adele Clark, Decca recording artist and star of '' The Adele Clark Show''. His brother was songwriter

Ervin Drake Ervin Drake (born Ervin Maurice Druckman; April 3, 1919 – January 15, 2015) was an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as " I Believe" and " It Was a Very Good Year". He wrote in a variety of styles and his ...

(1919-2015).

Notable songs

*" Java Jive" (1940) *"If It’s You" (1941) *" Mairzy Doats" (1943) *"Fuzzy Wuzzy" (1944) *" Nina Never Knew" (1952) *"She Broke My Heart in Three Places" *"My Dreams are Gone with the Wind" *"Has Hitler Made a Monkey Out of You?"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Milton 1912 births 2006 deaths Musicians from New York City American lyricists Jewish American songwriters Songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American songwriters