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 1-25 of 245 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-43665 | 10-in. | 4/22/1928 | Forget-me-not | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BVE-50543 | 10-in. | 3/15/1929 | That's what I call sweet music | Eddie Harkness Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BVE-50575 | 10-in. | 4/1/1929 | That's what I call sweet music | Ted Shapiro Orchestra ; Sophie Tucker | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | PBVE-50858 | 10-in. | 4/25/1929 | That's what I call sweet music | Herman Kenin Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BRC-53012 | 10-in. | 4/15/1931 | Ya got love | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten ; Jimmy Rushing | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BVE-53947 | 10-in. | 7/25/1929 | In the hush of the night | Park Central Orchestra ; Ben Pollack | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BVE-58526 | 10-in. | 1/27/1930 | Blue eyes (Get red red ready for love) | Johnny Marvin | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | songwriter | |
Victor | BVE-59905 | 10-in. | 3/29/1930 | Are you ashamed of me? | Gene and Glenn | Male vocal duet, with piano | songwriter | |
Victor | BVE-59910 | 10-in. | 4/1/1930 | On a blue and moonless night | Wayne King Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BVE-62295 | 10-in. | 6/27/1930 | Roses are for-get-me-nots (reminding me of you) | Frank Munn ; Nathaniel Shilkret ; Victor Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BVE-62692 | 10-in. | 7/24/1930 | In my heart it's you | Bernie Cummins ; Walter Cummins ; New Yorker Hotel Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BVE-63120 | 10-in. | 7/16/1930 | Good evenin' | Connecticut Yankees ; Rudy Vallée | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BVE-63631 | 10-in. | 9/8/1930 | I don't mind walking in the rain (when I'm walking in the rain with you) | Bix Beiderbecke's Orchestra ; Joe Venuti | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BVE-67404 | 10-in. | 1/19/1931 | Heartaches | Bert Lown Hotel Biltmore Orchestra ; Biltmore Trio | Jazz/dance band, with vocal trio | composer | |
Victor | BVE-67761 | 10-in. | 1/5/1931 | If you haven't got a girl | Red Nichols and his Big Ten ; Paul Small | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | PBS-68424 | 10-in. | 2/2/1933 | Suzanne | Gus Arnheim Orchestra ; The Three Rhythm Boys | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | composer | |
Victor | BRC-69970 | 10-in. | 6/23/1931 | Makin' faces at the man in the moon | Connecticut Yankees ; Rudy Vallée | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and whistling solo | lyricist | |
Victor | BRC-70134 | 10-in. | 7/29/1931 | I apologize | Nathaniel Shilkret ; Paul Small ; Victor Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BRC-70226 | 10-in. | 9/11/1931 | Cutest kid in town | Walter Ashby ; Elly Bellare ; Snooks Friedman ; Ken Herlin ; Memphis Ramblers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | songwriter | |
Victor | BRC-70941 | 10-in. | 11/2/1931 | I'll always remember September | Peter Van Steeden Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BRC-70949 | 10-in. | 11/6/1931 | One little quarrel | High Hatters ; Frank Luther | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BRC-70988 | 10-in. | 12/18/1931 | You're foolin' yourself (When you try to fool me) | Gene Kardos Orchestra ; Dick Robertson | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
Victor | BVE-72001 | 10-in. | 3/1/1932 | Oh what a thrill | Chicago Hot Five | Jazz/dance quintet, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Victor | BRC-72243 | 10-in. | 4/6/1932 | Auf Wiedersehen, my dear | Russ Columbo | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
Victor | BRC-72564 | 10-in. | 5/11/1932 | Happy go-lucky you and broken hearted me | California Cavaliers ; Buddy Rogers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hoffman, Al," accessed November 2, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/109280.
Hoffman, Al. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 2, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/109280.
"Hoffman, Al." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 2 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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