__NOTOC__ V. C. Gilbert (May 28, 1901 – May 3, 1984), also known as Jack Gilbert, was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes 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 ...

best known for writing the popular songs "

Shifting Whispering Sands __NOTOC__ Shifting Whispering Sands is a Western song and poem written by Vivian Clark Gilbert and his wife Mary Margaret Hadler. It has been widely recorded, and was one of the top songs in the U.S. in 1955 and again in 1962. Members of the Western ...

" and "Chapel by the Sea", in collaboration with his wife,

Mary Hadler Mary Hadler (February 28, 1902 – September 27, 1971), also known as Mary Margaret Hadler and Mary Gilbert, was an American songwriter best known for writing the popular songs "Chapel by the Sea" and "Shifting Whispering Sands", in collaboration ...

. Both songs were written in the 1950s, and were recorded and played around the world. He was born Vivian Clark Gilbert in

Spearfish, South Dakota Spearfish ( Lakota: ''Hočhápȟe'') is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota. The population was 12,193 at the time of the 2020 census. History Before the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans (primarily band ...

, moving to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

in 1924. He worked as a carpet layer and as a commercial fisherman on the Columbia River. He and his wife began writing songs in the late 1940s. "Sands" was based on one of his personal experiences, and "Chapel" was reminiscent of a time when the Gilberts lived on

Sauvie Island Sauvie Island, in the U.S. state of Oregon, originally Wapato Island or Wappatoo Island, is the largest island along the Columbia River, at , and one of the largest river islands in the United States. It lies approximately ten miles northwest ...

, near Portland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, V. C. Songwriters from Oregon 1901 births 1984 deaths People from Spearfish, South Dakota