Reuben Bloom (April 24, 1902 – March 30, 1976) was an American songwriter,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...

band leader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues o ...

, recording artist, vocalist, and author.

Life and career

Bloom was born and died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. During his career, he worked with many well-known performers, including

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical a ...

Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie ...

Ruth Etting Ruth Etting (November 23, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American singer and actress of the 1920s and 1930s, who had over 60 hit recordings and worked in stage, radio, and film. Known as "America's sweetheart of song", her signature tunes ...

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though Ke ...

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

and

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peo ...

. He collaborated with a wide number of lyricists, including

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

Ted Koehler Ted L. Koehler (July 14, 1894 – January 17, 1973) was an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. Life and career Koehler was born in 1894 in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver, but ...

, and

Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 19 ...

. During the 1920s he wrote many novelty piano solos, which are still well regarded today. He recorded for the Aeolian Company's Duo-Art reproducing piano system various titles including his "Spring Fever". His first hit came in 1927 with "Soliloquy"; his last was "Here's to My Lady" in 1952, which he wrote with Johnny Mercer. In 1928, he made a number of records with Joe Venuti's Blue Four for OKeh, including five songs he sang, as well as played piano. Bloom formed and led a number of bands during his career, most notably Rube Bloom and His Bayou Boys, which recorded three records in 1930, that were considered some of the best made early in the Depression. The Bayou Boys was an all-star studio group consisting of

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conce ...

Adrian Rollini Adrian Francis Rollini (June 28, 1903 – May 15, 1956) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played the bass saxophone, piano, vibraphone, and many other instruments. Rollini is also known for introducing the goofus in jazz music. A ...

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

and

Mannie Klein Emmanuel Klein (February 4, 1908 – May 31, 1994) was an American jazz trumpeter most associated with swing. Career Born in New York City, New York, Klein began recording with The Ambassadors for Vocalion in 1924, worked with Paul Whiteman in ...

. At other times, Bloom played with other bands, such as with Bix Beiderbecke and

Frankie Trumbauer Orie Frank Trumbauer (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956) was an American jazz saxophonist of the 1920s and 1930s. His main instrument was the C-melody saxophone, a now-uncommon instrument between an alto and tenor saxophone in size and pitch. He a ...

in the Sioux City Six and his frequent work with Joe Venuti's Blue Four. Bloom's "I Can't Face the Music" was recorded by

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, i ...

on her 1962 Verve release, ''Rhythm is My Business'', in a swing/big band version with

Bill Doggett William Ballard Doggett (February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996) was an American pianist and organist. He began his career playing swing music before transitioning into rhythm and blues. Best known for his instrumental compositions " Honky Tonk" ...

. Bloom published several books on piano method during his lifetime. Rube Bloom is buried in Beth David Cemetery at

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the 2 ...

. ''Folkways'' released an album of his and Arthur Schutt's recordings.

Songs

*"Here's to My Lady" (1952) - lyrics by

*" Day In, Day Out" - lyrics by

Don't Worry 'Bout Me "Don't Worry 'bout Me" is a 1938 song composed by Rube Bloom, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It was introduced in the "World's Fair" edition of the Cotton Club show in 1939. The first hit recording was in 1939 by Hal Kemp and His Orchestra ...

" - lyrics by

*" Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)" - lyrics by

*"Give Me the Simple Life" - with Harry Ruby *"Good-for-Nothin' Joe" - lyrics by

*"I Can't Face the Music" - lyrics by

*"Lost in a Dream" - lyrics by Edgar Leslie *" Maybe You'll Be There" - lyrics by Sammy Gallop *"

Out in the Cold Again "Out in the Cold Again" is a song written by Ted Koehler and Rube Bloom and first performed by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra. It reached #4 on the US chart in 1934. Other charting versions *In 1951, Richard Hayes released a version a ...

" - lyrics by

*"Take Me" - lyrics by

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

*"The Man from South" *"Truckin'" (revised as "Ev'rybody's Twistin'" (Frank Sinatra, 1962) *"What Goes Up Must Come Down" *" Mysterious Mose" *"Duo-Art Piano Roll #713297 "Just a Bird's-Eye View" Arr and Played by Rube Bloom

References

Sources

* Jaques Cattell Press (Ed.): ''Who's who in American Music. Classical''. First edition. R. R. Bowker, New York 1983. * Stanley Sadie, H. Wiley Hitchcock (Ed.): ''The New Grove Dictionary of American Music''. Grove's Dictionaries of Music, New York, N.Y. 1986. * Barry Dean Kernfeld: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. Macmillan Press, London 1988. * Michael Cuscuna, Michel Ruppi: ''The Blue Note label. A Discography''. Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn. 2001.

External links

Rube Bloom recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Rube 1902 births 1976 deaths Jewish American songwriters Songwriters from New York (state) Musicians from New York City 20th-century American musicians Burials at Beth David Cemetery 20th-century American Jews