Where can I find information about a vaudeville singer and composer named Tommy Lyman?

Answer 1

I believe the reference contained in the above answer is lacking an Oxford comma, and was meant to say that Tommy Lyman was a pal of Mildred Bailey...not that he was a pal of Bessie Smith. "She (Mildred Bailey) played records for him (Bing Crosby) and Al (Rinker), including Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, and her [Mildred Bailey's] pal Tommy Lyman...."

Answer 2

Here are a flock of things about Tommy Lyman in no particular order: Tommy Lyman Radio singer - adopted "My Blue Heaven" as his theme song in 1927 Well known cabaret singer Speakeasy singer Broadway nightclub performer Late-place singer - "...arrived at midnight and sang into the wee hours of the morning." "Sing a torch song" is commonly used in Broadway late-places as a request for a Ballad in commemoration of the lonesome state. Tommy Lyman is said to have created the slang and he announced one night: 'My famous torch song: "Come To Me, My Melancholy Baby". (_Vanity Fair_, November 1927) Torch song is 1927 ("My Melancholy Baby," performed by Tommy Lyman, is said to have been the first so-called), from carry a torch "suffer an unrequited love" (also 1927), an obscure notion from Broadway slang. Pal of Bessie Smith "She (Mildred Bailey) played records for him (Bing Crosby) and Al (Rinker), including Ethel Walters, Bessie Smith and her pal Tommy Lyman, whose "Montmartre Rose" - the maudlin account of a Parisian courtesan with "a true heart of gold" - she played constantly. Torch song is 1927 ("My Melancholy Baby," performed by Tommy Lyman, is said to have been the first so-called), from carry a torch "suffer an unrequited love" (also 1927), an obscure notion from Broadway slang. [Bing Crosby, A Pocketful of Dreams - The Early Years, 1903 - 1940 by Gary Giddins] "Sang in saloons. Table singer." [Nick Lucas, 1897 - 1982] Dardanella is not a Fred Fisher song. It was apparently composed by Felix Bernard, who then sold the rights for $100 to vaudevillian Johnny S. Black, as a piano rag. Black's biggest hit was "Paper Doll", which was later used by Tommy Lyman, and still later a huge 1942 hit for the Mills Brothers vocal group. Mother in Ireland (Words and Music by Gerald Griffin, Herman Kahn, and Tommy Lyman) [Complete recordings of John McCormack] "Melancholy Baby" was written by George A. Norton and Ernie Burnett and popularized by Walter Van Brunt. The song was actually introduced under the title "Melancholy" around 1912. It has been associated with drunken crowds for a couple of reasons. First, an early cabaret performer by the name of Tommy Lyman performed it (typically very late in shows that didn't even begin until midnight) in the 1920s. [Indiana State University library] Title: I've got the wonder where he went and when he's coming back blues.

First Line:

Chorus:

Music by: Little, George A., and Tommy Lyman.

Words by: Little, George A., and Tommy Lyman.

P/P/D: New York : Irving Berlin, Inc., c1922. Tommy Lyman is supposed to have 500 songs that he can sing at a moment's notice. - Vaudeville From The Honky Tonks To The Palace (1953) Joe Laurie, Jr. Search the web (using Google, Alta vista, Ask or others) and see what you can find. A search done currently turned up no biography of Tommy Lyman. As more books are archived electronically, it may be possible to find more information or even a short biography on this early performer. If a lack of web searching skill is hampering anyone's quest for information, start learning. It isn't that difficult to learn it, and good proficiency in web searching only comes with practice. Any family member or friend can help. There is a lot of expertise just an arm's length away.

Answer 3

Tommy’s handwritten songs and many news articles about him are currently being compiled and sent to the University of Indiana. He was loved by many. Although I never met him, his wife Patricia was the wisest woman I ever knew. He has many personal letters from the celebrities and dignitaries of the time. It appears he loved, as she loved.