Roy Alfred
Roy Alfred (May 14, 1916 – 2008) was an American Tin Pan Alley lyricist whose successful songs included "The Hucklebuck", "Rock and Roll Waltz", "Who Can Explain?", and "Let's Lock the Door (And Throw Away the Key)". His first major success as a lyricist was "The Best Man", written with Fred Wise, and a hit for Nat "King" Cole in 1946. In 1949, Alfred wrote the words for "The Hucklebuck", a tune originally written as an instrumental credited to Andy Gibson, which was first recorded by Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers. The vocal version became a hit for Roy Milton, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and Frank Sinatra in 1949, and was later also successful for Chubby Checker (1960) and in Britain for Coast to Coast (1981). Alfred also wrote the lyrics for "Kee-Mo Ky-Mo", written with Bob Hilliard in 1949, and continued to write successfully through the 1950s and 1960s, often writing novelty lyrics. One of his most successful lyrics was "Rock and Roll Waltz", composed by Shorty Allen and an international hit for Kay Starr in 1955. Alfred's other successes included "Wisdom of a Fool" (written with Abner Silver, 1956), "That's It, I Quit, I'm Movin' On" (written with Del Serino, 1961), and "Let's Lock the Door (and Throw Away the Key)", written with Wes Farrell and a hit for Jay and the Americans in 1964. He set up the Jonroy music publishing company in 1988, and died in 2008. |
Birth and Death Data: Born May 14, 1916, Died 2008
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1947 - 1949
Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist, songwriter
= 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 | D7VB-0651 | 10-in. | 3/12/1947 | You don't learn that in school | Louis Armstrong Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-2716 | 10-in. | 12/19/1947 | A woman always understands | Garry Stevens ; Tex Beneke Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-2878 | 10-in. | 12/19/1947 | It's the sentimental thing to do | Vaughn Monroe ; Moon Maids ; Vaughn Monroe's Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with female vocal group and jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | D9VB-0980 | 10-in. | 3/22/1949 | The huckle-buck | Charlie Shavers ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | D9VB-1961 | 10-in. | 10/12/1949 | The huckle buck | June Carter Cash ; Homer and Jethro | Mixed vocal trio, with string band | lyricist | |
Victor | D9VB-2128 | 10-in. | 8/4/1949 | Cut off the fat (take out the bone) | Johnny Moore ; Three Blazers (Johnny Moore) | Male vocal solo, with instrumental quintet | songwriter | |
Victor | D9AB-2617 | 10-in. | 12/21/1949 | Don't do something to someone else | Jerry Fielding Orchestra ; Lucy Ann Polk | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | lyricist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Alfred, Roy," accessed November 25, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/355530.
Alfred, Roy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 25, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/355530.
"Alfred, Roy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
Wikidata: Roy Alfred - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21176291
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/72582311
MusicBrainz: Roy Alfred - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/fa49956a-ab48-48e5-984c-bb8c9375967b
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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