Biography
Born on 16 July 1904 in Brooklyn, New York, USA, and passing away on 19 June 1978, Mabel Wayne remained a relatively obscure songwriter whose notable output stretched from the mid-1920s into the mid-1950s. After attending the New York School of Music and studying further in Switzerland, she embarked on concert tours across the United States and abroad as a pianist and vocalist during her teenage years. Shifting focus to popular songwriting, she achieved early recognition in 1925 when orchestras led by Vincent Lopez and Howard Lanin recorded “Don’t Wake Me Up (Let Me Dream),” a piece she created alongside L. Wolfe Gilbert and Abel Baer.
The following year brought greater visibility when Paul Whiteman—who would later interpret many of her works—elevated her appealing “In A Little Spanish Town,” co-written with Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, to the top of the American charts. Deadpan comic Virginia O’Brien later included the number in the star-studded 1943 film Thousands Cheer, while David Carroll And His Orchestra delivered a successful revival in 1954. In 1927 she again joined forces with L. Wolfe Gilbert to produce what became her most cherished composition, the beguiling waltz “Ramona.” Written as a tribute to Mexican screen star Dolores Del Rio, the melody accompanied screenings of the actress’s silent film bearing the same title.
Additional late-1920s successes included “Cheerie Beerie Bee,” penned with Lewis and Young, and “Chiquita,” created with Wolfe Gilbert. Wayne next supplied two numbers for the lavish early musical King Of Jazz (1930). Although “Ragamuffin Romeo,” written with Howard da Costa, faded from memory, her other contribution, “It Happened In Monterey” with Billy Rose, proved lasting; John Boles and Jeannette Loff introduced it on screen, and Wayne herself later recorded a selection of her hits, accompanying her own vocals at the piano during the 1930s.
Throughout that era she also completed “Little Man, You’ve Had A Busy Day” with Maurice Sigler and Al Hoffman, “His Majesty The Baby” alongside Neville Fleeson and Arthur Terker, the self-penned “Home Again,” and “Why Don’t You Fall In Love With Me?” with Al Lewis. Published in 1937, the last of these gained renewed traction in the early 1940s through recordings by Connee Boswell, Dinah Shore, and Dick Jurgens. In 1943 it appeared both in the London revue Hi-De-Hi, headlined by Flanagan And Allen, and in the film musical Hollywood Lodge.
During the 1940s she teamed with veteran lyricist Kim Gannon on at least two pieces, “I Understand” and “A Dreamer’s Holiday.” Her further efforts through the following decade encompassed “Under A Strawberry Moon,” “The Language Of Love,” “The Right Kind Of Love,” “So Madly In Love,” and the 1954 song “Guessing.”
The following year brought greater visibility when Paul Whiteman—who would later interpret many of her works—elevated her appealing “In A Little Spanish Town,” co-written with Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, to the top of the American charts. Deadpan comic Virginia O’Brien later included the number in the star-studded 1943 film Thousands Cheer, while David Carroll And His Orchestra delivered a successful revival in 1954. In 1927 she again joined forces with L. Wolfe Gilbert to produce what became her most cherished composition, the beguiling waltz “Ramona.” Written as a tribute to Mexican screen star Dolores Del Rio, the melody accompanied screenings of the actress’s silent film bearing the same title.
Additional late-1920s successes included “Cheerie Beerie Bee,” penned with Lewis and Young, and “Chiquita,” created with Wolfe Gilbert. Wayne next supplied two numbers for the lavish early musical King Of Jazz (1930). Although “Ragamuffin Romeo,” written with Howard da Costa, faded from memory, her other contribution, “It Happened In Monterey” with Billy Rose, proved lasting; John Boles and Jeannette Loff introduced it on screen, and Wayne herself later recorded a selection of her hits, accompanying her own vocals at the piano during the 1930s.
Throughout that era she also completed “Little Man, You’ve Had A Busy Day” with Maurice Sigler and Al Hoffman, “His Majesty The Baby” alongside Neville Fleeson and Arthur Terker, the self-penned “Home Again,” and “Why Don’t You Fall In Love With Me?” with Al Lewis. Published in 1937, the last of these gained renewed traction in the early 1940s through recordings by Connee Boswell, Dinah Shore, and Dick Jurgens. In 1943 it appeared both in the London revue Hi-De-Hi, headlined by Flanagan And Allen, and in the film musical Hollywood Lodge.
During the 1940s she teamed with veteran lyricist Kim Gannon on at least two pieces, “I Understand” and “A Dreamer’s Holiday.” Her further efforts through the following decade encompassed “Under A Strawberry Moon,” “The Language Of Love,” “The Right Kind Of Love,” “So Madly In Love,” and the 1954 song “Guessing.”