Cecil Mack

Cecil Mack (November 6, 1873 – August 1, 1944) was an American composer, lyricist and music publisher.^[1][2]

Biography

Born as Richard Cecil McPherson in

Mack married Dr. Gertrude Curtis on April 8, 1912, in Manhattan. Curtis was a pioneering African-American dentist who practiced in Harlem. They remained married to her until his death. They had no children. Gertrude re-married in 1946 to Ulysses "Slow Kid" Thompson (1888–1990), a comedian.

Death

Mack died in Manhattan, aged 70. The New York Age, quoting his obituary from The Christian Science Monitor, observed, "Not even Irving Berlin exceeded the output of this talented New York Negro. His songs were as American as Stephen Foster's – one or two of them may be remembered as long – and were typically representative of the pre-radio era when fortunes were made over the 10-cent-store counters. Cecil Mack's songs were pure fun and never had an off-color line."^[8]

Notable works

As lyricist, Mack's notable works include:

• "Good Morning, Carrie" (1901, co-wrote music and lyrics with
  J. Tim Brymn
  )
• "Please Go Away and Let Me Sleep" (1902)
• "He's a Cousin of Mine" (1902)
• "The Little Gypsy Maid" (1904 or before)
• "Zongo, My Congo Queen" (1904 or before)
• "Teasing" (1904)
• "All in down and out" (1906)^[9]
• "You're In the Right Church (But the Wrong Pew)" (1908, co-wrote music and lyrics with Chris Smith)
• "I'm Miss Hanna from Savannah" (between 1908 and 1910)
• "That's Why They Call Me Shine"(1910)
• "Way Down East" (1911) words by Cecil Mack, music by Joe Young and Harold Norman
• "Someone's Waiting Down in Tennessee" (1912, co-wrote music and lyrics with James Reese Europe)
• "Charleston" (1923, co-wrote music and lyrics with James P. Johnson)
• "Old Fashioned Love" (1923, co-wrote music and lyrics with James P. Johnson for the show Runnin' Wild)

Bibliography

Notes

References linked to notes

• Cecil Mack biodata
• Cecil Mack at
  IMDb