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 201-225 of 245 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OKeh | 9117 | 10-in. | 5/15/1925 | Someday we'll meet again | Louis Forbstein ; Rex Newman ; Royal Syncopators | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
OKeh | S-71834 | 10-in. | Sept. 1923 | Marcellonie | Green Brothers' Marimba-Saxo Band | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
OKeh | W402539 | 10-in. | 7/31/1929 | In the hush of the night | The Four Deuvilliers | Vocal and instrumental ensemble | composer | |
OKeh | W404270 | 10-in. | 7/23/1930 | Good evenin' | Seger Ellis | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
OKeh | W404388 | 10-in. | 8/29/1930 | Just a little dance, mam'selle | The Mariners' Trio | Male vocal trio, with guitar and piano | songwriter | |
OKeh | W404816 | 10-in. | 1/26/1931 | Heartaches | Lanin’s Famous Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Brunswick | E30074 | 10-in. | 6/18/1929 | In the hush of the night | Hal Kemp Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take G) | composer | |
Brunswick | E30186 | 10-in. | 6/24/1929 | In the hush of the night | Tom Waring | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | XE30952 | 12-in. | 9/16/1929 | Brunswick brevities program G [part unknown] | Abe Lyman’s California Orchestra | Radio transcription disc : Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Brunswick | E34077 | 10-in. | Aug. 1930 | I don’t mind walkin’ in the rain | Cotton and Morpheus | Male vocal duet, with violin and guitar | songwriter | |
Brunswick | E34118 | 10-in. | 8/28/1930 | I don’t mind walkin’ in the rain | Ozzie Nelson Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Brunswick | E35174 | 10-in. | 1/18/1931 | Heartaches | Chester Gaylord ; Jacques Renard Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Brunswick | E35924 | 10-in. | 1/14/1931 | If you haven’t got a girl | Benny Goodman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Brunswick | E35951 | 10-in. | 1/22/1931 | Heartaches | Will Osborne and his Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Brunswick | E36190 | 10-in. | 2/26/1931 | Heartaches | Seger Ellis | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | E36861 | 10-in. | 6/12/1931 | Makin’ faces at the man in the moon | Snooks Friedman Memphis Stompers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Brunswick | E36875 | 10-in. | 6/20/1931 | What am I gonna do for lovin’? | Benny Goodman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Brunswick | E36947 | 10-in. | 7/30/1931 | I apologize | Dorsey Brothers Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Brunswick | E37003 | 10-in. | 8/4/1931 | I apologize | Ben Bernie Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Brunswick | E37080 | 10-in. | 8/17/1931 | Makin’ faces at the man in the moon | Boswell Sisters ; The New Yorkers [Bill Challis Orchestra] | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal trio | lyricist | |
Brunswick | E37085 | 10-in. | 8/19/1931 | I apologize | Bing Crosby | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Brunswick | E34878-E34879 | 10-in. | 10/16/1930 | Drifting on to Avalon | Castlewood Marimba Band | Jazz/dance band, with vocal; without vocal (take G) | lyricist | |
Brunswick | C2004 | 10-in. | 6/13/1928 | In a little two by four for two | Melba Caldwell | Female vocal solo | lyricist | |
Brunswick | C2057 | 10-in. | 7/14/1928 | In a little two by four for two | Melba Caldwell | Female vocal solo, with clarinet, guitar, and piano | lyricist | |
Brunswick | C2188 | 10-in. | 8/9/1928 | In a little two by four for two | Melba Caldwell | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hoffman, Al," accessed November 24, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109280.
Hoffman, Al. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 24, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109280.
"Hoffman, Al." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 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
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.