Composer, Songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he began his career as a movie house intermission pianist for silent movie theaters and went on to become a vaudevillian. During the 1920s and 1930s, he was writing songs for Hollywood motion picture studios with scores for the films "Honky Tonk, King of Jazz", "I'm No Body's Baby" and "Chasing Rainbows". His many hit songs included "Mama Goes Where Papa Goes", "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas!", "Ain't She Sweet?" and "Happy Days Are Here Again", which become the theme song for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 inauguration and has remained the theme song for the Democratic Party ever since. He died in Inglewood, California and is also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Composer, Songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he began his career as a movie house intermission pianist for silent movie theaters and went on to become a vaudevillian. During the 1920s and 1930s, he was writing songs for Hollywood motion picture studios with scores for the films "Honky Tonk, King of Jazz", "I'm No Body's Baby" and "Chasing Rainbows". His many hit songs included "Mama Goes Where Papa Goes", "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas!", "Ain't She Sweet?" and "Happy Days Are Here Again", which become the theme song for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 inauguration and has remained the theme song for the Democratic Party ever since. He died in Inglewood, California and is also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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