Biography
American pop composer Al Hoffman crafted successful numbers and soundtracks for both the Broadway stage and Hollywood films beginning in the 1930s and continuing into the final years of the 1950s. Born in Minsk, Russia, in 1902, he arrived in the United States alongside his family in 1908. The household established itself in Seattle, WA, the city where Hoffman spent his formative years and later fronted his own ensemble. Relocating to New York in 1928, he secured employment as a nightclub drummer before turning to songwriting two years afterward. Success arrived swiftly when “I Don’t Mind Walkin’ in the Rain” (1930) became his initial hit. Additional chart successes followed in quick succession, among them “Heartaches” (1931), “Auf Wiedersehen, My Dear” (1932), and “I Saw Stars” (1934). In 1934 Hoffman traveled to England, where he remained until 1937, supplying material for both theater and motion pictures. Throughout that period he continued his partnership with longtime associate Al Goodhart, first forged in the early 1930s, and also worked with Maurice Sigler. Across his career he further joined forces with Ed Nelson, Sammy Lerner, and Jerry Livingston. Mack David and Hoffman together supplied the music for Disney’s Cinderella, featuring the songs “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” and “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (1949). Among Hoffman’s most widely recognized compositions stand “I Apologize” (1931), “Fit As a Fiddle” (1932), “Black Coffee” (1935), “I’m in a Dancing Mood” (1936), “On the Bumpy Road to Love” (1938), “Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba” (1947), “Takes Two to Tango” (1953), and the 1959 piece “La Plume de Ma Tante,” his last major success.