Abner Silver
Abner Silver c. 1935
Abner Silver c. 1935
Background information
Birth nameAbner Silberman
Born(1899-12-28)December 28, 1899
OriginNew York City, United States
DiedNovember 24, 1966(1966-11-24) (aged 66)
New York, United States
Occupation(s)Composer

Abner Silberman (28 December 1899, in New York City, New York, United States – 24 November 1966) as pen name Abner Silver, was an American songwriter who worked primarily during the Tin Pan Alley era of the craft.

Career

Usually composing the music while others handled the lyrics, Silver wrote for half a century, starting with World War I–era songs such as 1918's "You Can't Blame the Girlies (They All Want to Marry a Soldier)," and continuing through the decades with such classics as 1921's "I'm Going South", 1925's "Chasing Shadows" and 1940's "How Did He Look?" Silver frequently teamed with lyricists Benny Davis, Al Sherman and Al Lewis. Between 1931 and 1934, during the last days of Vaudeville, Silver and several of his fellow hitmakers formed a sensational revue called "Songwriters on Parade", performing all across the Eastern seaboard on the Loew's and Keith circuits.[1][2][3][4][5]

Silver's songs were covered by virtually every major vocalist of the day, among them Al Jolson, Ruth Etting, Jack Leonard, Mildred Bailey, Eddie Cantor, Rudy Vallee, Helen Kane, Kate Smith, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Tormé, Eddie Fisher, Peggy Lee and Julie London. In a later era his songs were sung by Elvis Presley, Frankie Lymon, Etta Jones, Johnny Mathis, Brenda Lee and Dame Shirley Bassey. Numerous performers covered what became a country standard, "My Window Is Facing South," including Willie Nelson, Vassar Clements, Commander Cody and Lyle Lovett. Among band leaders who performed tunes composed by Silver were: Shep Fields,[6] Django Reinhardt, Louis Prima, Lionel Hampton and Les McCann.

In the late 1950s he penned several numbers for Elvis Presley to perform in his movies, including the songs "Young and Beautiful," [7] "What's She Really Like?" and "Lover Doll." Sung by Tom Jones, Silver's "With These Hands" (with lyrics by Benny Davis) was featured in the movie Edward Scissorhands, starring Johnny Depp. His early song "He's So Unusual" was covered by Cyndi Lauper on her breakout album, the similarly titled She's So Unusual.

Silver died on November 24, 1966, in New York.[8]

Partial list of songwriting credits

External audio
audio icon You may hear Abner Silver's song
"An Old Curiosity Shop" played by Shep Fields with Hal Derwin and John Serry in 1938 Here

References

  1. ↑ The Billboard" - New Turns and Returns: Abner Silver and Mildred Feeley, September18, 1926, p. 19 on Google Books
  2. ↑ The Unsung Songwriters: Americas Masters of Melody, Vache, Warren. 2000, p. 461 Abner Siver biography on Google Books.com
  3. ↑ Tyler, Don (2007-04-16). Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-2946-2.
  4. ↑ The Canadian Patent Office Record and Register of Copyrights 1925, p. 2114 Abner Silver on Google Books
  5. ↑ Abner Silver on JSTOR
  6. ↑ "An Old Curiosity Shop" - composer Abner Silver recorded by the Shep Fields Orchestra on adp.library.uscb.edu
  7. ↑ "The Gospel According to Elvis" - April 30th 1957 Soundtrack Recordings - Young and Beautiful. Gouch, Kevin. 2012 Abner Silver on Google books
  8. ↑ "Abner Silver Composer Dies", The Washington Observer, Nov. 25, 1966, p. 10 Abner Silver Obituary on Google Books
  9. ↑ "Discography of American Historical Recordings" - "An Old Curiosity Shop" Composer Sam Coslow, performers: Shep Fields, Hal Derwin, John Serry on adp.library.ecsb.edu
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