Vernon Duke
b. Vladimir Dukelsky, 10 October 1903, Parfianovka, Russia, d. 16 January 1969. Duke was a child prodigy; he was already composing music in the classical form. He studied extensively, mainly at Kiev and Odessa, but in the early '20s began experimenting with songs written in the style of such currently popular composers as Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. For these early efforts at popular song writing, he used pseudonyms, a practice he continued when, in 1921, he emigrated to the USA. For the next three decades he used his real name for his classical compositions and the name Vernon Duke for his popular songs. His first songs in the New World suffered through his lack of a thorough grasp of English and his adherence to the styles of other songwriters. By the mid-20s, Duke was in Paris, pursuing his classical studies and writing music for the piano and the ballet. In London in the late '20s, he wrote for the musical stage, mostly for revues and in the field of operetta. Back in the USA before the decade was out, he was hired to write incidental music for films but still hoped to find popular success. This began with I Am Only Human After All, with lyrics by E. ‘Yip’ Harburg and Ira Gershwin, which featured in GARRICK GAIETIES OF 1930. He continued to write for Broadway, with varying levels of success, and in the 1932 show, WALK A LITTLE FASTER, introduced his first standard, April In Paris (with Harburg). For the 1934 show, THUMBS UP, Duke wrote his own lyric for another song destined to become a standard, Autumn In New York, and the same year wrote What Is There To Say?, and I Like The Likes Of You for ZIEGFELD FOLLIES. For the ZIEGFELD FOLLIES OF 1936 Duke composed I Can't Get Started, sung in the show by Bob Hope and Eve Arden. In 1940 he wrote the music for CABIN IN THE SKY, which opened on Broadway in October and featured an all-black cast. The show's songs included Taking A Chance On Love (lyrics by John Latouche and Ted Fetter), introduced on the stage by Ethel Waters, and destined to become another standard. Duke's shows of the early '40s were not so well received and he followed his military service with a two-year sojourn in Paris. Back in the USA in the early '50s, Duke worked on a number of shows, but he was never able to recapture his earlier success. He continued to write classical music, including oratorios and ballets. He died in January 1969.