Harold Spina(1906-1997)
- Music Department
- Writer
- Composer
Wrote first song words at age ten. At 16 had own orchestra, playing
Catskills, Adirondacks, Poconos, also local New York jobs. At 18
started with Witmark & Sons Music Publishers, in Minstrel Department,
"producing" shows for fraternal, religious and other organizations,
supplying them with songs, skits, and jokes from Tams Library.
Transferred to "Professional" departments of various music publishers.
Duties included song plugging, rehearsing singers, writing special
material, punch lines, gags and skits. His first published songs had
lyrics by Spina and music by others. In early 1930s had minor hit songs
"Let's Drift Away on Dreamer's Bay" and "We Were Only Walkin' in the
Moonlight." A collaboration with Johnny Burke led to many successes in
the middle 1930s, such as "Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and "The
Beat o' My Heart." Spina adapted the Mexican song "La Cucaracha" from a
6/8-meter song to 4/4. It became a worldwide hit with his treatment.
Lyrics were by Johnny Burke. They used the name JUAN Y D'LORAH on the
published song, "Juan" being Johnny Burke, and "d'lorah" being Harold
spelled backwards. Burke and Spina composed songs for the top orchestra
leaders of the 1930s. For Guy Lombardo they wrote "Annie Doesn't Live
Here Anymore" (with Joe Young), for Paul Whiteman they wrote "The Beat
o' My Heart," and for Fred Waring they wrote "It's Dark on Observatory
Hill." Fats Waller recorded several of their songs, including "You're
Not the Only Oyster in the Stew." At the Long Island film studios they
wrote songs for several short subjects, which featured the talents of
Bob Hope, Bert Lahr, Lillian Miles, and Ethel Waters. Burke and Spina
went separate ways in 1936, when Burke teamed up with Arthur Johnston
for the film Pennies from Heaven (1936). Spina went to Hollywood in 1937 and
wrote many film songs with lyricist Walter Bullock. They wrote songs
for film stars Jimmy Durante, Shirley Temple, Kenny Baker, George Murphy, Bill Robinson and Alice Faye. Later he wrote for
MGM and Columbia. The best known of these songs are "I Love to Walk in
The Rain" (from Just Around the Corner (1938), "I Still Love to Kiss You
Goodnight" (from 52nd Street (1937)) and "Be Optimistic" (from Little Miss Broadway (1938)). 1940 Spina wrote the book and music for "Stovepipe Hat," a
musical legend produced in New York in 1944. In London, Spina wrote
directed and recorded 76 of his own compositions with his orchestra and
vocalists for BBC radio. Spina returned to lyric writing in 1947 and
had a hit with "Cumana" (written with Roc Hillman and Barclay Allan),
popularized by Freddy Martin's Orchestra. In the 1950s he wrote,
directed and recorded numerous LPs, which utilized the talents of Cesar Romero, Marie Wilson, George Jessel and the Merry Macs. At Capitol
Spina wrote for Anthony Quinn's album "In My Own Way." On radio Spina
created and produced the Jim Ameche Show, one of the first disk
jockey shows with international syndication. On television Spina was
involved with many song writer tributes. They were called "Down Tin Pan
Alley" (Harold Spina, host) and "And Then I Wrote" (writer, director).
In 1950 he had a huge success with the song "It's So Nice to Have a Man
Around the House" (lyrics by Jack Elliott) and "Would I Love You, Love
You, Love You" which sold over a million records for Patti Page.