Biography
Composer Joseph Meyer sustained a prolonged period of productivity that stretched from the peak years of Tin Pan Alley well into the 1940s, supplying melodies for enduring pop standards that included “California Here I Come” and “If You Knew Susie (Like I Know Susie).” Born on March 12, 1894, in Modesto, California, he devoted a year at age thirteen to violin studies in Paris. Following graduation from high school, he took retail positions in San Francisco while performing violin on the side at a neighborhood café. After serving in World War I, Meyer began experimenting with songwriting upon his return; in 1921 he relocated to New York City to pursue composition as a full-time career. His initial success arrived swiftly with the 1922 release “My Honey’s Lovin’ Arms,” co-written with lyricist Harry Ruby and later interpreted by Barbra Streisand. The 1924 piece “California Here I Come,” crafted with lyricist Buddy DeSylva, soon became one of Al Jolson’s signature numbers and a lasting standard. Another Jolson vehicle, “If You Knew Susie (Like I Knew Susie),” initially failed to gain traction but achieved major success when Eddie Cantor performed it in 1925. That same year proved especially fertile, yielding partnerships with Ballard MacDonald, Billy Rose—who both contributed to “Clap Hands, Here Comes Charley,” later adopted as the theme for orchestra leader Charlie Kunz—Al Dubin, E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, Eddie DeLange, Frank Loesser, and others. In 1928 Meyer joined Roger Wolfe Kahn to compose the music for the popular “Crazy Rhythm,” which featured lyrics by Irving Caesar. Throughout the 1930s he expanded into film work, providing material for the 1930 production Remote Control and for the 1931 Joan Crawford/Clark Gable melodrama Possessed, which included the song “How Long Will It Last?” Several of his compositions appeared in the 1934 edition of the Ziegfeld Follies, many of them sung by Sophie Tucker, and the following year he supplied multiple numbers for the film musical George White’s Scandals of 1935. Meyer’s most active era concluded with the close of the decade, though he continued to write the occasional piece, among them 1945’s “Sergeant Housewife,” created with Dorothy Fields. He received induction into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame and died on June 22, 1987, following an extended period of declining health.
Albums
