Sylvia Dee (born Josephine Moore, October 22, 1914 – June 12, 1967) was an American lyricist and novelist best known for writing the lyrics to " Too Young", a hit for

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

, " The End of the World", a hit for

Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's " The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis ...

and "

Bring Me Sunshine "Bring Me Sunshine" is a song written in 1966 by the composer Arthur Kent, with lyrics by Sylvia Dee.Derek B. Scott, ''Sounds of the metropolis: the nineteenth-century popular music revolution in London, New York, Paris, and Vienna'', Publisher: ...

", which was Morecambe & Wise's signature tune.

Biography

Dee was born in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

and educated at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. She was a copywriter for a newspaper in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, and wrote a number of short stories as well as the Broadway stage scores for " Barefoot Boy With Cheek". Joining

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

in 1943, her musical collaborators included

Sidney Lippman Sidney Lippman (March 1, 1914 – March 11, 2003) was an American composer and songwriter. He wrote the music for Nat King Cole's 1951 No. 1 hit " Too Young". Early life and education Sidney Lippman, also called Sid, was a native of Minneapol ...

Arthur Kent Arthur Kent (born December 27, 1953) is a Canadian television journalist and author. He rose to international prominence during the 1991 Persian Gulf War during which he acquired the nickname "The Scud Stud". He is the brother of Canada's form ...

, Elizabeth Evelyn Moore, George Goehring, Al Frisch and

Guy Wood Guy B. Wood (24 July 1911 – 23 February 2001) was a musician and songwriter born in Manchester, England. Wood started his career in music playing saxophone in dance bands in England. He moved to the United States in the 1930s, where he worked f ...

. Dee wrote the words to a nonsense song that went to number 1 in 1945 called "Chickery Chick". The music was written by

and it was played by

Sammy Kaye Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs fr ...

's orchestra. Its nonsense lyrics included "Chickery chick, cha-la, cha-la". She co-wrote "I Taught Him Everything He Knows" with

, recorded by

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, 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, phra ...

on her 1968 Capitol release '' Misty Blue''. She co-wrote "

Look for Me (I'll Be Around) "Look for Me" is the fifth single released from British rapper Chipmunk's debut studio album, ''I Am Chipmunk''. The song was released on 22 November 2009. It features Talay Riley. On 3 December 2009, both Chipmunk and Talay performed the song ...

" with

, which was recorded by

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

on ''

The Benny Carter Sessions ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' and

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case ( ; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case's singing voice has been described by contemporaries and critics as a "flamethrower", "a pow ...

on ''

Blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

''. She also wrote songs for

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

(" Robot Man") and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

in the films ''

Blue Hawaii ''Blue Hawaii'' is a 1961 American musical romantic comedy drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written Amer ...

'' and ''

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

''. Popular-song compositions also include "It Couldn't Be True", "Stardreams", "I'm Thrilled", "Have You Changed", "After Graduation Day", "Laroo Laroo Lili Bolero", "Angel Lips, Angel Eyes", "Pushcart Serenade", "A House With Love In It", "Moonlight Swim", "That's the Chance You Take", "Somebody Nobody Wants", and "Please Don't Talk to the Lifeguard".

Death

At the time of her death 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 ...

, she was the wife of Dr. Jere Faison, a New York

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

. She was interred in Greenwood Cemetery, Monmouth County, NJ as Josephine Proffitt Faison.

References

*Virginia L. Grattan: ''American Women Songwriters: A Biographical Dictionary''. Greenwood Press, 1993, , p. 10 * David A. Jason: ''Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song''. Routledge, 2003, p. 259 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dee, Sylvia 1914 births 1967 deaths 20th-century American women musicians Songwriters from Arkansas University of Michigan alumni Writers from Little Rock, Arkansas 20th-century American songwriters