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Jimmy McHugh

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Jimmy McHugh
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(born July 10, 1894, Boston, Mass., U.S. — died May 23, 1969, Beverly Hills, Calif.) U.S. song composer. McHugh became a Tin Pan Alley song plugger and began writing songs for Broadway and Cotton Club revues. His extensive work for Broadway and Hollywood included collaborations with Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, and especially Dorothy Fields, with whom he wrote "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street."

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American Theater Guide: [James Francis] Jimmy McHugh
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McHugh, [James Francis] Jimmy (1894–1969), composer. The Boston‐born songwriter had a major hit with his first Broadway score for Blackbirds of 1928, remembered for “Diga Diga Doo,” “I Can't Give You Anything But Love,” and “I Must Have That Man.” His lyricist was Dorothy Fields, with whom he next wrote the scores for Hello, Daddy (1928) and the International Revue (1930). McHugh did not return to Broadway until 1939, when he scored The Streets of Paris (including “South American Way”), Keep Off the Grass (1940), and As the Girls Go (1948), whose superb songs are undeservedly neglected. His long Hollywood career between 1930 and 1947 produced many memorable songs, such as “I'm in the Mood for Love” and “A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening.”

Artist: Jimmy McHugh
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Jimmy McHugh

Formal Connection With:

Dorothy Fields, Harold Adamson, Howard Dietz, Ted Koehler, Ned Washington, Johnny Mercer, Frank Loesser
  • Born: July 10, 1894, Boston, MA
  • Died: May 23, 1969, Beverly Hills, CA
  • Active: '20s, '30s, '40s, '50s
  • Genres: Vocal Music
  • Instrument: Songwriter
  • Representative Albums: "The Songs of Jimmy McHugh," "I Feel a Song Coming On: The Songs of Jimmy McHugh"

Biography

Prolific pop composer Jimmy McHugh had hit songs and Broadway scores from the 1920s into the 1950s. Born in Boston, MA, on July 10, 1894, McHugh went to St. John's Prep School in the city. He first worked as an office boy at the Boston Opera House and later as a rehearsal pianist. McHugh eventually got a job as a song plugger for New York publishing houses, and wrote his first hit in 1916, "Carolina, I'm Coming Back to You." He didn't come up with another popular tune, however, until 1924's "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street." One of the most important songwriting partners McHugh had was lyricist Dorothy Fields, with whom he wrote "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" (1928), "On the Sunny Side of the Street" (1930), and "I'm in the Mood for Love" (1935). He also successfully collaborated with Fields on stage shows and movies from 1928 to 1935. The first of McHugh's numerous Broadway successes was Blackbirds of 1928. Working both with and without Fields, McHugh wrote for films throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Another major collaborator for McHugh was lyricist Harold Adamson, with whom he wrote "Dig You Later" and "Here Comes Heaven," for the 1945 film Doll Face. In addition to his partnerships with Fields and Adamson, McHugh occasionally collaborated with a number of lyricists, including Johnny Mercer, Ted Koehler, Ned Washington, and Frank Loesser. McHugh's last hit came in 1955 with "Too Young to Go Steady." ~ Joslyn Layne, All Music Guide
Actor: Jimmy McHugh
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  • Born: Jul 10, 1894 in Boston, Massachusetts
  • Died: May 23, 1969
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '30s-'50s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Musical
  • Career Highlights: Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman, Radio Days, The Caine Mutiny
  • First Major Screen Credit: Dance Fools Dance (1931)

Biography

Composer Jimmy McHugh got his start in his hometown of Boston, where he was rehearsal pianist for the Boston Opera House. His musical tastes veered from the classics to the popular when he began work as a song plugger for Irving Berlin's publishing house. In 1921, McHugh collaborated with Irving Mills and Gene Austin for his first hit song, "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street." While an executive with Mills Music in the early '20s, McHugh teamed with lyricist Dorothy Fields; their first Broadway hit was The Blackbirds of 1928, whence came the immortal "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby." In 1929, McHugh and Fields began dividing their time between the theatre and the movies. Their film compositions would be performed by artists ranging from Deanna Durbin ("I Love to Whistle") to Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer ("I'm in the Mood for Love"). In the '40s, McHugh's most frequent collaborator was Harold Adamson, with which he wrote the Frank Sinatra standards "This is a Lovely Way to Spend an Evening" and "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" for the 1943 RKO musical Higher and Higher. McHugh and Adamson also wrote "It's a Most Unusual Day" for MGM's 1948 A Date with Judy, and in-between film assignments composed the popular patriotic song "Coming In on a Wing and a Prayer." In 1956, McHugh paired with Victor Young for his last major screen song, "Around the World in 80 Days." Strangely enough, Jimmy McHugh never won an Oscar for any of the now-standards he penned during his three-decade Hollywood career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Jimmy McHugh
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Jimmy McHugh
Birth name James Francis McHugh
Born July 10, 1894(1894-07-10)
Origin Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died May 23, 1969 (aged 74)
Occupation(s) Songwriter

James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was a U.S. composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he composed over 270 songs. His songs were recorded by such artists as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, June Christy, Peggy Lee, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Contents

Career

After struggling in a variety of jobs, including rehearsal pianist for the Boston Opera House and pianist/song plugger for Irving Berlin’s publishing company, in 1921, at the age of 26, McHugh relocated to New York City. Eventually finding employment as a professional manager with the prominent music publisher Jack Mills Inc., it was here that McHugh published his first song “Emaline”, and briefly teamed up with Irving Mills as The Hotsy Totsy Boys to write the hit song “Everything Is Hotsy Totsy Now”. This songwriting partnership was just the first of McHugh’s many illustrious collaborations, among them Ted Koehler (“I’m Shooting High”), Al Dubin (“South American Way”) and the great Harold Adamson (“It’s a Most Unusual Day”). As impressive as these master lyricists were, perhaps McHugh’s best symbiotic musical relationship was with the school teacher and poet Dorothy Fields. Having written material for many of Harlem’s Cotton Club revues, it was no coincidence that their first combined success would be the score for the all-black Broadway musical Blackbirds of 1928, which jump-started the fledgling duo’s career with the memorable songs “I Can't Give You Anything But Love,” “Diga Diga Doo” and “I Must Have That Man.” Other hits written for the stage were soon to follow, including what is arguably their most famous composition, 1930’s “On The Sunny Side of the Street” for Lew Leslie’s International Revue, which also contained the favorite “Exactly Like You”; “Blue Again” for The Vanderbilt Revue; and in 1932, “Don’t Blame Me,” which was featured in the Chicago revue Clowns In Clover.

McHugh and Fields contributed title songs for films such as "Cuban Love Song", "Dinner at Eight" and "Hooray For Love", as well as “I Feel A Song Comin’ On” and “I’m In The Mood For Love” from 1935’s Every Night at Eight. In the artistically fruitful years 1930 through 1935, McHugh and Fields wrote over 30 songs for the film world.

Works

Broadway credits

There was a medley of his songs in the 1979 Broadway show Sugar Babies, which starred Ann Miller and Mickey Rooney. The songs included were "I Can't Give You Anything But Love", "I'm Shooting High", "Roll Your Blues Away" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street".

Other well known songs of his include "I'm in the Mood for Love", "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening", "Cuban Love Song", and hundreds more.

  • BLUE AGAIN – Louis Armstrong (McHugh/Fields) (Okeh/Sony BMG)
  • COMIN’ IN ON A WING AND A PRAYER – Bing Crosby (McHugh/Adamson) (Decca/UMG)
  • CUBAN LOVE SONG – Edmundo Ros (McHugh/Stothart/Fields) (London/WMG)
  • DIGA DIGA DOO – The Mills Brothers w/ Duke Ellington (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG)
  • DOIN’ THE NEW LOW DOWN – Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG)
  • DON’T BLAME ME – The Everly Brothers (McHugh/Fields) (Warner Bros./WMG)
  • EXACTLY LIKE YOU – Aretha Franklin (McHugh/Fields) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
  • I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH ME – Dean Martin (McHugh/Gaskill) (Capitol/EMI)
  • I CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE – Judy Garland (McHugh/Fields) (Capitol/EMI)
  • I COULDN’T SLEEP A WINK LAST NIGHT – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
  • I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT LOVE – Dinah Washington (McHugh/Adamson) (Mercury/UMG)
  • I MUST HAVE THAT MAN – Billie Holiday (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG)
  • I’M SHOOTING HIGH – Ann Richards (McHugh/Koehler) (Capitol/EMI)
  • IT’S A MOST UNUSUAL DAY – Andy Williams (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
  • ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Fields) (Capitol/EMI)
  • SOUTH AMERICAN WAY – The Andrews Sisters (McHugh/Dubin) (Capitol/EMI)
  • TOO YOUNG TO GO STEADY – Nat King Cole (McHugh/Adamson) (Capitol/EMI)
  • WARM AND WILLING – Nat King Cole (McHugh/Livingston/Evans) (Capitol/EMI)
  • WHEN MY SUGAR WALKS DOWN THE STREET – Peggy Lee (McHugh/Austin/Mills) (Capitol/EMI)
  • WHERE ARE YOU? – Johnny Mathis (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
  • A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING – June Christy (McHugh/Adamson) (Capitol/EMI)
  • "DREAM DREAM DREAM – Joni James (McHugh/Parish/Melle/Mottier) (MGM/UMG)
  • "Happy Times" – Hal Kemp & His Orchestra (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG)
  • "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" – Judy Garland (McHugh/Fields) (Capitol/EMI)
  • I COULDN’T SLEEP A WINK LAST NIGHT – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
  • I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT LOVE – Dinah Washington (McHugh/Adamson) (Mercury/UMG)
  • "I Love to Whistle" – Fats Waller (McHugh/Adamson) (RCA/Sony BMG)
  • I MUST HAVE THAT MAN – Billie Holiday (McHugh/Fields) (Brunswick/Sony BMG)
  • I’VE GOT MY FINGERS CROSSED – Louis Armstrong (McHugh/Koehler) (Decca/UMG)
  • IT’S A MOST UNUSUAL DAY – Andy Williams (McHugh/Adamson) (Columbia/Sony BMG)
  • ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET – Frank Sinatra (McHugh/Fields) (EMI)
  • THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE AIR – Ruth Etting (McHugh/Adamson) (Decca/UNI)
  • WHEN MY SUGAR WALKS DOWN THE STREET – Peggy Lee (McHugh/Austin/Mills) (Capitol/EMI)

References

Bibliography

  • Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre by Stanley Green. Published by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York 1976.
  • The Oxford Companion to Popular Music by Peter Gammond. Published by Oxford University Press 1991.

Notes

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jimmy McHugh".  Read more

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