Al Hoffman

Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer.^[1] 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

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.^[2]

Life and career

Hoffman was born in

In 1934, he moved to London to work on stage productions and movies, co-writing the hit songs "She Shall Have Music" and "Everything Stops for Tea".^[3] He returned to the U.S. three years later. In 1984, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He has over 1,500 songs registered with A.S.C.A.P. Hoffman died in New York City of prostate cancer, and was buried in New Jersey.^{[citation needed]}

Partial list of published songs

Songs written by Al Hoffman and Dick Manning

• "Allegheny Moon" (1956)
• "Dennis The Menace Song" (1960)
• "Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea" (1954)
• "
  Hot Diggity
  " (1956)
• "
  I Can't Tell A Waltz From A Tango
  " (1954)
• "I Love Her, That's Why!" (for George Burns and Gracie Allen) (1955)
• "Mama, Teach Me to Dance" (1956)
• "
  Moon Talk
  " (1958)
• "O Dio Mio" (1960)
• "Takes Two to Tango" (1952)

Songs written by Al Hoffman, Dick Manning, and another collaborator

• "
  Mark Markwell
  )
• "
  Mark Markwell
  )
• "Mighty Pretty Waltz" (1950) (with Moon Mullican)
• "
  Mark Markwell
  )
• "Papa Loves Mambo" (1954) (with Bix Reichner)
• "
  Mark Markwell
  )

Songs written by Al Hoffman, Mack David, and Jerry Livingston

• "Close to you" (1943)
• "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (1948)
• "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba" (1947)
• "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (1949)
• "Sing, Sweet Nightingale" (1950)
• "So This Is Love" (1950)
• "The Unbirthday Song" (1951)
• "Trick or Treat for Halloween" (1952)

Songs written by Al Hoffman, Maurice Sigler, and Al Goodhart

• "Everything Stops for Tea" (1935)
• "Everything's in Rhythm with My Heart" (1935)
• "I Saw Stars" (1934)
• "I Can Wiggle My Ears" (1935)
• "I’m in a Dancing Mood" (1936)
• "There Isn’t Any Limit to My Love" (1936)
• "Why Don’t You Practice What You Preach?"
• "Where There's You There's Me"

Others

• "Apple Blossoms and Chapel Bells"
• "Auf Wiedersehn, My Dear"
• "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" (1941)^[4]
• "Black-Eyed Susan Brown"
• "Close to You" (with Jerry Livingston and Carl Lampl)
• "Don’t Stay Away Too Long"
• "
  Fit as a Fiddle" (1932) (with Arthur Freed and Al Goodhart
  )
• "From One Minute to Another"
• "Goodnight, Wherever You Are"
• "Heartaches" (1931) (lyrics by John Klenner)
• "I Apologize" (1931) (lyrics by Al Goodhart)
• "
  Clem Watts
  )
• "I Must Have One More Kiss Kiss Kiss"
• "I Paid For The Lie I Told You" (1939) (with Al Sherman and Enoch Light)
• "I’m Gonna Live Till I Die" (1955) (with
  Mann Curtis
  )
• "If You Saw What I Saw In Nassau" (1949) (with
  Clem Watts
  )
• "Little Man You’ve Had a Busy Day" (1934) [with Maurice Sigler] [music by Mabel Wayne]
• "Mairzy Doats" (1943) (with Jerry Livingston and Milton Drake)
• "Roll Up the Carpet" (1933) (with lyrics by Raymond Klages, music by Raymond Klages, Al Goodhart, and Hoffman)
• "She Broke My Heart in Three Places" (c. 1944) (with Jerry Livingston and Milton Drake)
• "Fuzzy Wuzzy" (1944) (with Jerry Livingston and Milton Drake)
• "The Story of a Starry Night" (1941) (with
  Mann Curtis
  )
• "What’s the Good Word, Mr. Bluebird?" (1943) (with Allan Roberts and Jerry Livingston)
• "A Whale of a Tale" (1954) (with Norman Gimbel)
• "Who Walks in When I Walk Out?" (1933) (with Ralph Freed and Al Goodhart)
• "Without Rhythm"
• "You Meet the Nicest People in Your Dreams" (1939) (with Al Goodhart and Manny Kurtz)

References

External links

• Al Hoffman at the Songwriters Hall of Fame
• Al Hoffman recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
• Al Hoffman discography at Discogs