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Raymond B. Egan

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This article is about a songwriter. For the rugby union coach, see Ray Egan (rugby union coach).
Egan

Raymond Blanning Egan (November 14, 1890 – October 13, 1952) was a Canadian-born American songwriter of popular music. Many of his songs have appeared in films and musical theatre. He often collaborated with composer Richard A. Whiting.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Egan was born in Windsor, Ontario. He moved with his family to the United States in 1892 and settled in Michigan, where he attended the University of Michigan.[3]

Career

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Egan's first job was a bank clerk, but he soon moved on to be a staff writer for Ginnells Music Co. in Detroit.

Beginning in the 1910s, he and Whiting wrote many popular songs, including "Till We Meet Again", "The Japanese Sandman"[4] and "Ain't We Got Fun".[5]

Egan wrote songs for Vaudeville[4] and for Broadway acts, including Robinson Crusoe, Jr., Silks and Satins, Holka Polka and Earl Carroll’s Sketch Book of 1935. He also wrote a number of songs for the films Paramount on Parade, Red-Headed Woman, The Prizefighter and the Lady and MGM's 1932 Lord Byron of Broadway.[6] As well as Whiting, he later went on to write songs with Walter Donaldson, Ted Fiorito, Harry Tierney, and Gus Kahn.

His song "I Never Knew" was included on Judy Garland's 1950 Second Souvenir Album.[7]

Egan died in Westport, Connecticut, aged 61. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.[8] One of his works (co-written with Richard A. Whiting) named Hands In Hand Again was remixed and covered by the dark ambient band Midnight Syndicate in their 2005 album The 13th Hour.

Selected compositions

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  • "Coaling Up in Colon Town" (1916). m: Richard A. Whiting[9]
  • "Bravest Heart of All" (1917). m: Richard A. Whiting[9]
  • "I Wonder Where My Buddies Are To-Night" (1917). m: Richard A. Whiting[9]
  • "So Long, Mother" (1917). m: Egbert Van Alstyne[10]
  • "Throw Me a Kiss from Over the Sea" (1917). m: Richard A. Whiting[10]
  • "I'll Love You More for Losing You a While" (1918). m: Richard A. Whiting[9]
  • "Kaiser Bill" (1918). m: Egbert Van Alstyne[9]
  • "Smile as You Kiss Me Good-Bye" (1918). m: Art Gillham[10]
  • "Till We Meet Again" (1918). m: Richard A. Whiting[10]
  • "You'll Be Welcome as Flowers in the Maytime" (1918). m: Richard A. Whiting[10]
  • "Eyes of the Army" (1919). m: Richard A. Whiting[9]
  • "Hand in Hand Again" (1919). m: Richard A. Whiting[9]
  • "Rose of Verdun" (1919). m: Richard A. Whiting[10]
  • "They Called it Dixieland"
  • "Mammy’s Little Coal Black Rose"
  • "Where the Morning Glories Grow"
  • "Ain't We Got Fun?"
  • "The Japanese Sandman"[11][12]
  • "In a Little While"
  • "Tea Leaves"
  • "Sleepy Time Gal"[13]
  • "You’re Still an Old Sweetheart of Mine"
  • "Some Sunday Morning"
  • "Three on a Match"
  • "Somebody’s Wrong"
  • "Tell Me Why You Smile, Mona Lisa"
  • "Dear Old Gal, Who’s Your Pal Tonight?"
  • "There Ain’t No Maybe in My Baby’s Eyes"
  • "I Never Knew I Could Love Anybody"
  • "Downstream Drifter"
  • "Red Headed Woman”

References

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  1. ^ Adam Harvey (6 March 2007). The Soundtracks of Woody Allen: A Complete Guide to the Songs and Music in Every Film, 1969-2005. McFarland. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-7864-2968-4.
  2. ^ Ann Ommen van der Merwe (26 March 2009). The Ziegfeld Follies: A History in Song. Scarecrow Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-8108-6716-1.
  3. ^ Don Tyler (1 January 2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-rock Era. McFarland. p. 385. ISBN 978-0-7864-2946-2.
  4. ^ a b Marvin E. Paymer; Don E. Post (1999). Sentimental Journey: Intimate Portraits of America's Great Popular Songs, 1920-1945. Noble House Publishers. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-881907-09-1.
  5. ^ Michigan History Magazine. Vol. 85. Michigan Department of State. 2001. p. 53.
  6. ^ Edwin M. Bradley (1 January 2004). The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 through 1932. McFarland. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-7864-2029-2.
  7. ^ "Judy Garland Second Souvenir Album". AllMusic Review by William Ruhlmann.
  8. ^ "Raymond Egan". Canadian Songwriters' Hall of Fame website
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music - Volume 1. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 59, 77, 127, 209, 263, 277, 333. ISBN 978-0-7864-2798-7.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music - Volume 2. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 563, 588, 590, 698, 705, 805. ISBN 978-0-7864-2799-4.
  11. ^ Irene Kahn Atkins (1 February 1983). Source music in motion pictures. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-8386-3076-1.
  12. ^ Arnold Shaw (30 November 1989). The Jazz Age: Popular Music in the 1920s. Oxford University Press. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-19-536298-5.
  13. ^ Dan Dietz (18 February 2016). The Complete Book of 1980s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-1-4422-6092-4.
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