Al Dubin

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Al Dubin was an American lyricist, born in 1891 in Zürich to a Russian-Jewish family that moved to the United States. He grew up in Philadelphia. As a teenager he played truant to see Broadway shows in New York, and at fourteen he was already writing songs for a vaudeville performer in Tin Pan Alley. In 1911 he wrote Oh, You, Mister Moon with Joe Burke. In 1917 he was called up for the army and wrote a song there for his division. In 1921 he became a member of ASCAP.

Music and breakthrough

In 1925 he met Harry Warren, the composer with whom he later worked at Warner Bros. in Hollywood. That same year he had his first big hit with Joseph Meyer, A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You. From 1932 he officially formed a team with Warren for the film musical 42nd Street. Between 1932 and 1939 they wrote sixty hits for Warners musicals, including for Gold Diggers of 1933, Footlight Parade, Dames and Wonder Bar. Lullaby of Broadway from Gold Diggers of 1935 won an Oscar for best song in 1936.

Influence

Dubin was a striking and exuberant personality, but in the 1940s he struggled with alcohol and drugs and hardly worked any more. He died in 1945. His lyrics for Hollywood musicals are an important part of the American songbook tradition, and the 1980 Broadway version of 42nd Street used his songs again.

Listening

In School of Rock

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