Biography
Born as Abraham Jacob Gornetzsky on 12 December 1894 in Bialystok, Russia, the future composer died on 14 June 1990 in New York City. At the age of ten he arrived in the United States with his family and settled in Detroit, Michigan, where he took up piano studies and performed with a school orchestra, in local bars, and alongside silent films. After completing coursework in both law and music theory at the University of Michigan, he practiced law only briefly before devoting himself entirely to music. Beginning in the early 1920s his songs found their way into stage productions, most frequently in partnership with lyricist E.Y. “Yip” Harburg. For the 1923 musical Dancing Girl he supplied the number “I’ve Been Waiting For You,” and he went on to furnish complete scores for Top Hole (1924), Merry-Go-Round (1927), The Sketch Book (1929), and Earl Carroll Vanities (1930). In 1932 he wrote the music for Americana, which yielded the enduring hit “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?” created with Harburg.
Gorney also contributed to motion pictures in multiple capacities. For The Battle Of Paris (1929) he composed “What Makes My Baby Blue?” and “When I Am Housekeeping For You,” both with Dick Howard; for Applause (1929), starring Morgan, he wrote “What Wouldn’t I Do For That Man?” with Harburg; and for Roadhouse Nights (1930), which starred Morgan and Jimmy Durante, he supplied “Just A Melody For A Memory” and “It Can’t Go On Like This,” again with Harburg. Additional film songs include “You’re My Thrill,” written with Sidney Clare for Jimmy And Sally (1933); “Baby, Take A Bow,” created with Lew Brown for Stand Up And Cheer! (1934) and featuring Shirley Temple and John Boles; and “Song Of A Dreamer,” written with Jack Yellen for Maria Galante (1934). He also served as screenwriter on Moonlight And Pretzels (1933). On Broadway he contributed to the 1939 revue Meet The People, whose songs “The Stars Remain,” “A Fellow And A Girl,” and “The Same Old South” were written with Edward Eliscu and Henry Myers.
In the early 1940s he worked on The Heat’s On (1943), which starred Mae West and William Gaxton, acted as screenwriter for Hey, Rookie (1944), and produced The Gay Senorita (1945). Later stage and screen credits include the score for Heaven On Earth (1948), containing “So Near And Yet So Far,” and the songs “Wish Me Luck” and “Funny Old, Little Old World” for Touch And Go (1949). Throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s he produced and composed for television. He and Harburg collaborated once more on The Happiest Girl In The World (1961), for which Gorney adapted melodies originally written by Jacques Offenbach. He was the father of actress and dancer Karen Lynn Gorney.
Gorney also contributed to motion pictures in multiple capacities. For The Battle Of Paris (1929) he composed “What Makes My Baby Blue?” and “When I Am Housekeeping For You,” both with Dick Howard; for Applause (1929), starring Morgan, he wrote “What Wouldn’t I Do For That Man?” with Harburg; and for Roadhouse Nights (1930), which starred Morgan and Jimmy Durante, he supplied “Just A Melody For A Memory” and “It Can’t Go On Like This,” again with Harburg. Additional film songs include “You’re My Thrill,” written with Sidney Clare for Jimmy And Sally (1933); “Baby, Take A Bow,” created with Lew Brown for Stand Up And Cheer! (1934) and featuring Shirley Temple and John Boles; and “Song Of A Dreamer,” written with Jack Yellen for Maria Galante (1934). He also served as screenwriter on Moonlight And Pretzels (1933). On Broadway he contributed to the 1939 revue Meet The People, whose songs “The Stars Remain,” “A Fellow And A Girl,” and “The Same Old South” were written with Edward Eliscu and Henry Myers.
In the early 1940s he worked on The Heat’s On (1943), which starred Mae West and William Gaxton, acted as screenwriter for Hey, Rookie (1944), and produced The Gay Senorita (1945). Later stage and screen credits include the score for Heaven On Earth (1948), containing “So Near And Yet So Far,” and the songs “Wish Me Luck” and “Funny Old, Little Old World” for Touch And Go (1949). Throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s he produced and composed for television. He and Harburg collaborated once more on The Happiest Girl In The World (1961), for which Gorney adapted melodies originally written by Jacques Offenbach. He was the father of actress and dancer Karen Lynn Gorney.
Albums