Walter Donaldson
b. 15 February 1893, New York City, New York, USA, d. 15 July 1947. A self-taught pianist, despite his mother being a piano teacher, Donaldson began composing while still attending school. After leaving school he worked in various finance companies, but also held down jobs as a song plugger and piano demonstrator. He had his first small successes in 1915 with Back Home In Tennessee (lyrics by William Jerome), You'd Never Know The Old Town Of Mine ( Howard Johnson) and other songs popularizing places and regions. Donaldson's first major success was The Daughter Of Rosie O'Grady in 1918, just before he began a period entertaining at US army camps. After the war he had some minor successes with songs used in Broadway shows, the best known of which was How Ya Gonna KeepEm Down On The Farm’ (Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young). It was another song, written by Donaldson with Lewis and Young, that established him as a major songwriter of the '20s. This was My Mammy, popularized by Al Jolson and which ever afterwards became synonymous with the blackface entertainer. Jolson also sang other Donaldson compositions, including My Buddy and Carolina In The Morning (both with Gus Kahn). With Kahn, Donaldson also wrote I'll See You In My Dreams, Yes Sir, That's My Baby, I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight, That Certain Party, Makin Whoopee’ and Love Me Or Leave Me. These last two songs came from the Broadway show, WHOOPEE, written by Donaldson and Kahn in 1928, where they were sung respectively by Eddie Cantorand Ruth Etting. When the Hollywood version of the show was filmed, in 1930, among additional songs Donaldson and Kahn wrote was My Baby Just Cares For Me. In the '30s Donaldson also contributed numbers to films such as HOLLYWOOD PARTY, Kid Millions, The Great Ziegfeld, SUZY, Sinner Take All, AFTER THE THIN MAN, SARATOGA, and THAT'S RIGHT-YOU'RE WRONG. Although his collaboration with Kahn was enormously successful, Donaldson sometimes worked with other lyricists, including George Whiting (My Blue Heaven), Howard Johnson (Georgia), Cliff Friend (Let It Rain, Let It Pour) and Abe Lyman (What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry). On occasions he also wrote lyrics to his own music, notably on At Sundown, You're Driving Me Crazy and Little White Lies. In the '30s, Donaldson wrote many songs for films with such collaborators as Kahn and Howard Dietz, and he also worked with Johnny Mercer.