Al Hoffman
Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of which are still sung and recorded today. He was posthumously made a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984. The popularity of Hoffman's song, "Mairzy Doats", co-written with Jerry Livingston and Milton Drake, was such that newspapers and magazines wrote about the craze. Time magazine titled one article "Our Mairzy Dotage". The New York Times simply wrote the headline, "That Song". Hoffman's songs were recorded by singers such as Frank Sinatra ("Close To You", "I'm Gonna Live Until I Die"), Billy Eckstine ("I Apologize") Perry Como ("Papa Loves Mambo", "Hot Diggity"), Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong ("Who Walks In When I Walk Out"), Nat "King" Cole, Tony Bennett, the Merry Macs, Sophie Tucker, Eartha Kitt, Patsy Cline, Patti Page ("Allegheny Moon") and Bette Midler. In October, 2007, Hoffman's "I'm Gonna Live Til I Die" was the lead single from Queen Latifah's album, Trav'lin' Light. Though Hoffman had apparently little connection to Chicago, he wrote the Chicago Bears fight song "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" in 1941 under the pseudonym Jerry Downs. |
Birth and Death Data: Born September 25, 1902 (Stoŭbcy District), Died July 21, 1960 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1920 - 1950
Roles Represented in DAHR: songwriter, composer, lyricist, adapter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 126-150 of 245 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | E0FB-5765 | 10-in. | 10/11/1950 | Cenicienta | Alfredo Antonini ; Rosita Serrano | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | songwriter | |
Victor | D4AB-0028 | 10-in. | 2/1/1944 | Mairzy doats (Mares eat oats and does eat oats) | Four King Sisters | Female vocal quartet, with male vocal ensemble | songwriter | |
Victor | D5VB-0775 | 10-in. | 6/6/1945 | Promises | Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye ; Billy Williams [1913-2001] | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Victor | D5VB-1314 | 10-in. | 12/22/1945 | I'm a big girl now | Betty Barclay ; Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Victor | D6VB-1343 | 10-in. | 3/11/1946 | Little man you've had a busy day | Perry Como ; Russ Case Orchestra ; The Satisfiers | Male vocal solo, with vocal group and jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | D6VB-1495 | 10-in. | 4/24/1946 | That wonderful worrisome feeling | Ruth Christian ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Victor | D6VB-2068 | 10-in. | 5/9/1946 | Dingbat the singing cat | Freddy Martin Orchestra ; Glenn Hughes ; Martin Men ; Stuart Wade | Male vocal duet, with male vocal group and jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Victor | D6VB-3018 | 10-in. | 10/16/1946 | It's a lie | Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye | Jazz/dance band, with vocal solos and vocal chorus | songwriter | |
Victor | D6VB-3096 | 10-in. | 10/19/1946 | A gay little melody | Larry Green Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Victor | D7VB-0409 | 10-in. | 1/7/1947 | I had too much to dream last night | Jane Harvey ; Page Cavanaugh Trio | Female vocal solo, with piano trio and string quintet | songwriter | |
Victor | D7VB-0851 | 10-in. | 5/16/1947 | Chi-baba chi-baba | Alys Robi ; Russ Case Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
Victor | D7VB-1304 | 10-in. | 7/15/1947 | Our hour (the puppy love song) | City Slickers ; Spike Jones | Vocal ensemble, with instrumental ensemble, sound effects, and vocal solos | songwriter | |
Victor | D7VB-1340 | 10-in. | 9/12/1947 | The story of a starry night | Stuart Foster ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Victor | D7VB-1341 | 10-in. | 9/13/1947 | None but the lonely heart | Stuart Foster ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | adapter, lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-1598 | 10-in. | 8/31/1947 | Don't you love me anymore | Freddy Martin Orchestra ; Martin Men ; Freddy Martin ; Clyde Rogers | Male vocal solo, with male vocal group and jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Victor | D7VB-1656 | 10-in. | 9/28/1947 | Mahalani papa do (hoy hoy) | Vaughn Monroe ; Moon Maids ; Vaughn Monroe's Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with female vocal quintet and jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Victor | D7VB-2038 | 10-in. | 11/11/1947 | California is wonderful (if you're a grapefruit) | Louis Prima Orchestra ; Louis Prima | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Victor | D7VB-2343 | 10-in. | 12/5/1947 | Far into the night | Nancy Evans ; Wayne King Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist, adapter | |
Victor | D7VB-2344 | 10-in. | 12/5/1947 | When the nightingale sings | Nancy Evans ; Wayne King Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist, adapter | |
Victor | D7VB-2345 | 10-in. | 12/5/1947 | Let your heart lead the way | Nancy Evans ; Wayne King Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist, adapter | |
Victor | D7VB-2346 | 10-in. | 12/5/1947 | There was moonlight in her hair | Wayne King ; Wayne King Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist, adapter | |
Victor | D7VB-2348 | 10-in. | 12/5/1947 | Cling to me | Nancy Evans ; Wayne King Orchestra | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist, adapter | |
Victor | D7VB-2349 | 10-in. | 12/5/1947 | Anna Rosa | Billy Leach ; Wayne King Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist, adapter | |
Victor | D7VB-2350 | 10-in. | 12/5/1947 | Do we have to say goodnight? | Billy Leach ; Wayne King Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist, adapter | |
Victor | D7VB-2526 | 10-in. | 11/26/1947 | Remind me to tell you | Artie Dunn ; Sun Maids ; Three Suns | Male vocal solo, with female vocal group and instrumental trio | songwriter |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hoffman, Al," accessed November 25, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109280.
Hoffman, Al. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 25, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109280.
"Hoffman, Al." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Hoffman, Al, 1902-1960 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no92010056
Wikidata: Al Hoffman - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2829347
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/22338836
MusicBrainz: Al Hoffman - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/17051835-d7f4-45ee-b985-a9a640b570fd
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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