Gordon Clifford
Gordon Clifford (1902–1968) was an American lyricist who wrote music for Hollywood films in the 1930s. His best-known songs include Nacio Herb Brown's "Paradise", Alfred Newman's "Who Am I?" and Harry Barris's "It Must Be True" and "I Surrender Dear". Clifford was born in Rhode Island and started studying the violin as a child. His first success as a songwriter came in the early 1930s, when Bing Crosby recorded "It Must Be True" and "I Surrender Dear" with Gus Arnheim's orchestra. The latter song has been recorded by many artists and is considered a jazz standard. Pola Negri sang Clifford and Nacio Herb Brown's "Paradise" in the 1931 film A Woman Commands. Although the film was unsuccessful, Bing Crosby's cover version of "Paradise" became a hit. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 28, 1902 (Providence), Died May 11, 1968 (Las Vegas)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1930 - 1946
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 (Results 1-25 of 41 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | PBVE-61048 | 10-in. | 10/28/1930 | It must be true | Bing Crosby ; Gus Arnheim Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Victor | PBVE-61068 | 10-in. | 1/19/1931 | I surrender, dear | Cocoanut Grove Orchestra ; Bing Crosby | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Victor | PBVE-68315 | 10-in. | 10/13/1931 | Who am I? | Cole McElroy's Spanish Ballroom Orchestra ; George Eichhorn | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | PBVE-68318 | 10-in. | 10/14/1931 | Was it wrong? | Lofner-Harris St. Francis Hotel Orchestra ; Muzzy Marcellino | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BRC-68815 | 10-in. | 3/23/1931 | I surrender dear | Richard Barry ; Henry Busse Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal chorus | lyricist | |
Victor | BRC-71205 | 10-in. | 12/28/1931 | Paradise | Leo Reisman Orchestra ; Frances Maddux | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | lyricist | |
Victor | BRC-72244 | 10-in. | 4/6/1932 | Paradise | Russ Columbo | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Victor | BRC-72546 | 10-in. | 5/5/1932 | Paradise | Dell Lampe Orchestra ; Rob Roy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Victor | BS-84975 | 10-in. | 11/13/1934 | Let's be thankful | George Hall ; Hotel Taft Orchestra ; Loretta Lee | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BS-85011 | 10-in. | 11/12/1934 | Let's be thankful | Lee Bennett ; Jan Garber Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | PBS-09647 | 10-in. | 8/16/1937 | I surrender, dear | Lionel Hampton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | PBS-036379 | 10-in. | 7/28/1939 | Paradise | Lou Bring ; Dorothy Lamour | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | BS-037160 | 10-in. | 5/31/1939 | Paradise | Hal Kemp Orchestra ; Nan Wynn | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | lyricist | |
Victor | BS-041915 | 10-in. | 8/24/1939 | I surrender, dear | Hal Derwin ; Shep Fields ; Rippling Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Victor | PD6VB-2525 | 10-in. | 7/24/1946 | It must be true | Mary Lou Williams' Girl Stars | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance quintet | lyricist | |
Columbia | W151249 | 10-in. | 1/28/1931 | It must be true | Carmen Lombardo ; Guy Lombardo ; Royal Canadians | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Columbia | W151286 | 10-in. | 2/6/1931 | I surrender, dear | Mickie Alpert and his Orchestra ; Helen Rowland | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | lyricist | |
Columbia | W151826 | 10-in. | 10/5/1931 | Who am I? | Ted Wallace and his Campus Boys [California Ramblers] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | lyricist | |
Columbia | W151855 | 10-in. | 10/13/1931 | Was it wrong? | Anson Weeks Orchestra ; Don Raymond | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Columbia | W351104 | 10-in. | 9/22/1931 | Was it wrong? | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Columbia | W351109 | 10-in. | 10/8/1931 | Who am I? | Selvin’s Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | songwriter | |
OKeh | W404423 | 10-in. | 4/20/1931 | I surrender, dear | Louis Armstrong Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
OKeh | W404832 | 10-in. | 1/27/1931 | It must be true | Ed Kirkeby Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
OKeh | W404838 | 10-in. | 2/9/1931 | I surrender, dear | Fred Rich Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Brunswick | VO1039 | 10-in. | 6/25/1931 | I surrender, dear | Alabama Washboard Stompers | Instrumental ensemble, with female vocal solo | lyricist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Clifford, Gordon," accessed November 25, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/116320.
Clifford, Gordon. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 25, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/116320.
"Clifford, Gordon." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Clifford, Gordon, 1902-1968 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr00037042
Wikidata: Gordon Clifford - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q15267007
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/24441489
MusicBrainz: Gordon Clifford - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/3c1d6ce1-0bca-4b0f-9c4b-8e77331672c2
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