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 226-245 of 245 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brunswick | C4454 | 10-in. | 4/17/1930 | On a blue and moonless night | Lloyd Huntley Isle O’ Blues Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take G) | songwriter | |
Brunswick | C5722 | 10-in. | 5/5/1930 | What kinda people are you? | Freddie Rose | Male vocal solo, with piano | lyricist | |
Brunswick | C6122 | 10-in. | Aug. 1930 | In my heart it’s you | Isham Jones Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal | songwriter | |
Brunswick | C6123 | 10-in. | Aug. 1930 | In my heart it’s you | Isham Jones Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take G) | songwriter | |
Brunswick | C6128 | 10-in. | Aug. 1930 | Good evenin’ | Isham Jones Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal; without vocal (take G) | songwriter | |
Brunswick | LAE474 | 10-in. | 4/25/1929 | That’s what I call sweet music | Earl Burtnett ; Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal trio; without vocal (take G) | composer | |
Brunswick | TCL1535 | 10-in. | 9/23/1931 | I apologize | Dixie Lee | Female vocal solo | songwriter | |
Brunswick | B23761 | 10-in. | 11/28/1938 | You're gonna see a lot of me | Billie Holiday ; Teddy Wilson Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | songwriter | |
Edison | 7674 | 10-in. | 12/10/1920 | Good as gold | Max Fells' Della Robbia Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Edison | N-1077 | 10-in. | 8/19/1929 | In the hush of the night | Melville Morris ; Piccadilly Players | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | composer | |
Gramophone | 0EA2637 | 10-in. | 12/4/1935 | Everything stops for tea | Jack Hylton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Gramophone | 0EA2662 | 10-in. | 1/3/1936 | She shall have music | Jack Hylton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal | songwriter | |
Gramophone | 0EA2664 | 10-in. | 1/3/1936 | My first thrill | Jack Hylton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Gramophone | 0EA2665 | 10-in. | 1/3/1936 | May all your troubles be little ones | Jack Hylton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal | songwriter | |
Gramophone | 0EA2675 | 10-in. | 1/19/1936 | Moanin' Minnie | Jack Hylton | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
Gramophone | 0EA2693 | 10-in. | 2/4/1936 | This'll make you whistle | Jack Hylton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal | songwriter | |
Gramophone | 0B4634 | 10-in. | 7/12/1933 | Roll up the carpet | Ray Noble Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor (Canada) | 7355 | 10-in. | 1/8/1932 | Auf Wiedersehen, my dear | Jack Denny Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor (Canada) | 7358 | 10-in. | 1/9/1932 | Oh! What a thrill (to hear it from you) | Jack Denny Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CB11366 | 10-in. | approximately 1945 | Buonanotte ovunque tu sia | Jone Caciagli | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hoffman, Al," accessed November 25, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/109280.
Hoffman, Al. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 25, 2024, from https://adpprod2.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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