John De Vries

John DeVries (December 2, 1915 – April 17, 1992) was an American lyricist, interior designer and illustrator.

He was born in Wayne, Pennsylvania in 1915. Collaborating with the pianist Joe Bushkin, he wrote the lyrics for many songs, the most famous being "Oh! Look at Me Now", a hit for Frank Sinatra in 1941. They also wrote "There'll be a Hot Time in the Town of Berlin" later during the Second World War when they were in the army; it was recorded by several artists. DeVries also wrote songs with Eddie Condon.

He was an interior designer for celebrated New Yorkers, and for jazz clubs in New York, including Eddie Condon's on 54th Street in the 1970s. He was an illustrator for advertising and for books and music publishing, including album covers.

Birth and Death Data: Born December 2, 1915 (Wayne), Died April 17, 1992

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1941 - 1947

Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-058760 10-in. 1/6/1941 Oh! Look at me now Connie Haines ; The Pied Pipers ; Frank Sinatra ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet and male vocal ensemble lyricist  
Victor BS-060617 10-in. 2/4/1941 Oh! Look at me now Bob Chester Orchestra ; Bill Darnell Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Victor BS-067914 10-in. 9/18/1941 How do you do without me? Frank Sinatra ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Victor BS-068077 10-in. 11/4/1941 How do you do without me? Dick Judge ; Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet lyricist  
Victor D7VB-1085 10-in. 10/16/1947 Lovely weather we're having Louis Armstrong ; Louis Armstrong All-Stars Male vocal solo, with jazz sextet lyricist  
Victor D7VB-3018 10-in. 12/22/1947 You can never shake love Tommy Dorsey Orchestra ; Town Criers Vocal group, with jazz/dance band lyricist  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "De Vries, John," accessed November 9, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/112022.

De Vries, John. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/112022.

"De Vries, John." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/112022

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