Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

. Fain was also a popular musician and vocalist.

Biography

Sammy Fain was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the son of a cantor. In 1923, Fain appeared in the short sound film, "Sammy Fain and Artie Dunn" directed by

Lee De Forest #REDIRECT Lee de Forest {{redirect category shell, {{R from move{{R from other capitalisation ...

filmed in DeForest's

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. In 1919 and 1920, de Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofi ...

sound-on-film Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an Analog s ...

process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to music. Fain was a self-taught pianist who played by ear. He began working as a staff pianist and composer for music publisher Jack Mills. In 1932, he appeared in the short film ''The Crooning Composer''. Later, Fain worked extensively in collaboration with

Irving Kahal Irving Kahal (March 5, 1903, Houtzdale, Pennsylvania – February 7, 1942, New York City) was a popular American song lyricist active in the 1920s and 1930s. He is best remembered for his collaborations with composer Sammy Fain which started in ...

. Together they wrote classics such as "

Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella" is a popular song, first published in 1927. The music was written by Sammy Fain, and the lyrics by Irving Kahal and Francis Wheeler. It was the first collaboration between the Fain / Kahal team. Successful early reco ...

" and "

You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" is a 1930 popular song. The credits list music and lyrics as written by Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal, and Pierre Norman. Since Fain was primarily a music writer and Kahal a lyricist, it may be assumed that the ...

," (co-written with

Pierre Norman Pierre Norman, born Joseph P. Connor (November 16, 1895 – March 31, 1952), was an American clergyman, songwriter, and composer. He was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania, United States, and died in Teaneck, New Jersey. As a songwriter he is mos ...

) and " I'll Be Seeing You." Another lyricist who collaborated with Fain was

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, espec ...

, with whom he wrote " That Old Feeling". His

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

credits also include ''Everybody's Welcome'', ''Right This Way'', '' Hellzapoppin''', ''

Flahooley ''Flahooley'' is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Sammy Fain. Synopsis and background The allegorical tale is set in fictional Capsulanti, USA, site of the headquarters for B.G. Bigelow, In ...

'', ''

Ankles Aweigh ''Ankles Aweigh'' is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Eddie Davis, lyrics by Dan Shapiro, and music by Sammy Fain. The plot involves Hollywood starlet Wynne, who secretly marries a Navy pilot while filming a movie in Sicily. She disguises ...

'', ''Christine'' and ''Something More''.

Film works

Fain also composed music for more than 30 films in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. He was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

ten times, winning twice, with "

Secret Love Secret Love may refer to either a secret admirer or: Film, TV and theatre * ''Secret Love'' (1916 film), directed by Robert Z. Leonard * ''Secret Love'' (1994 film), directed by Edgardo "Boy" Vinarao * ''Secret Love'' (2010 film), directed by ...

" from ''

Calamity Jane Martha Jane Canary (May 1, 1856 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American American frontier, frontierswoman, Exhibition shooting, sharpshooter, sex worker, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits, she was known f ...

'' in 1954 and with " Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" from the movie of the same title in 1956. He co-wrote both songs with

Paul Francis Webster Paul Francis Webster (December 20, 1907 – March 18, 1984) was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and was nominated sixteen times for the award. Life and career Webster was born in New York City, United S ...

, another long-time collaborator. Fain wrote the second theme to the TV series ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

'' in 1958, which was called "(Roll Along) Wagon Train". He also contributed to the song scores for the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

animated films ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'', ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'', and ''

The Rescuers ''The Rescuers'' is a 1977 American Animated film, animated adventure film, adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor respectively star as Bernard and B ...

'' (the latter, soon to be his last effort, also earned him another Oscar nomination). In 1963, he collaborated with

Harold Adamson Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980)Larkin, pp. 41-42 was an American lyricist from the 1930s through the 1960s. Early life Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, ...

, in writing songs for the film ''

The Incredible Mr. Limpet ''The Incredible Mr. Limpet'' is a 1964 American live-action/animated hybrid comedy film produced by Warner Bros.'' Variety'' film review; January 22, 1964, page 6. and based on the 1942 novel ''Mr. Limpet'' by Theodore Pratt. It is about a ...

'', which came out in 1964, and such songs as "I Wish I Were a Fish", "Be Careful How You Wish" and "Deep Rapture" enhanced his fame.

Recognition

In 1972, he was inducted into The Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Death

Fain died from a heart attack in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and is interred at Cedar Park Cemetery, in

Emerson, New Jersey Emerson is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, a suburb in the New York City metropolitan area. Emerson is the most southern municipality in an area of the county known as the Pascack Valley. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

Work on Broadway

*''Everybody's Welcome'' (1931) -

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

*''

Right This Way ''Right This Way'' is a Broadway production that opened at the 46th Street Theatre on January 5, 1938, and ran for fifteen performances. It was categorized as an original musical comedy and was set in Paris and Boston. It starred Joe E. Lewis a ...

'' (1938) -

- featured

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

for "I'll Be Seeing You" *'' Hellzapoppin''' (1938) -

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

- co-

and co-

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 ...

*''George White's Scandals of 1939'' (1939) -

*''Boys and Girls Together'' (1940) -

*''Sons o' Fun'' (1941) -

- co-

and co-

*''Toplitzky of Notre Dame'' (1946) -

*''Alive and Kicking'' (1950) -

- co-

*''

'' (1951) -

*''

'' (1955) -

*''Catch a Star'' (1955) -

- co-

*''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

of 1957'' (1957) -

- featured

for "An Element of Doubt" *''

Christine Christine may refer to: People * Christine (name), a female given name Film * ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei'' * ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on Stephen King's novel of the same name * ''Christine'' ( ...

'' (1960) -

*''

Something More! ''Something More!'' is a musical with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Marilyn Bergman and Alan Bergman. The book by Nate Monaster is based on the 1962 novel ''Portofino P.T.A.'' by Gerald Green. Composer Robert Prince contributed some music ...

'' (1964) -

*''Rock 'N Roll! The First 5,000 Years'' (1982) -

- featured

for "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" *''Swing!'' (1999) -

- featured

for "I'll Be Seeing You" *''

'' (2018) -

(first full staging in the NYC area)

References

External links

* * *
Sammy Fain recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fain, Sammy 1902 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songwriters Broadway composers and lyricists Burials at Cedar Park Cemetery (Emerson, New Jersey) Jewish American songwriters Musicians from New York City Songwriters from New York (state) Walt Disney Animation Studios people