Jack Yellen
Born: July 6, 1892; Raczki, Poland
Died: April 17, 1991; Concord, NY
|
Pop lyricist Jack Yellen was most active during the 1920s and '30s, composing scores with songwriting partner Milton Ager for Broadway and later writing screenplays for Hollywood. Born in Poland in 1892, Yellen came to the U.S. at the age of five and eventually attended the University of Michigan. After graduation, he worked for a short time as a N.Y. newspaper reporter before taking up songwriting in the early '10s. He started out writing for
...
Read more
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Biography |
by Joslyn Layne
|
| Pop lyricist Jack Yellen was most active during the 1920s and '30s, composing scores with songwriting partner Milton Ager for Broadway and later writing screenplays for Hollywood. Born in Poland in 1892, Yellen came to the U.S. at the age of five and eventually attended the University of Michigan. After graduation, he worked for a short time as a N.Y. newspaper reporter before taking up songwriting in the early '10s. He started out writing for vaudevillian Sophie Tucker and came up with one of her biggest hits in 1935, "My Yiddish Momme." Yellen eventually ended up co-owner of the publisher Ager-Yellen-Bernstein Music Company. Just a few of the many Broadway musicals he scored are What's in a Name? (1920), Rain or Shine (1928), You Said It (1931), and Boys and Girls Together (1940). In addition to mainly collaborating with Milton Ager, Yellen worked with other composers like Lew Pollack and Sammy Fain. Some of his most successful and enduring songs include "Hard Hearted Hannah," "Alabama Jubilee," "Cheatin' on Me," "I Wonder What's Become of Sally," "Ain't She Sweet," "Happy Days Are Here Again," and "Sing, Baby, Sing." Yellen later wrote numerous screenplays for Hollywood, a few of which are Pig-Skin Parade, Love Is News, Wake Up and Live, and many more. During the 1950s and '60s, Yellen again took up songwriting for Sophie Tucker. |
| |
|
