Biography
Born on 1 June 1879 in Urbana, Ohio, Raymond Hubbell died in Miami, Florida, on 13 December 1954. He pursued his musical training in Chicago, where he simultaneously directed a dance band. After serving as pianist and arranger for publisher Charles K. Harris, he devoted himself to songwriting. His first notable numbers, “If I Were A Bright Little Star” and “A Kiss For Each Day Of The Week,” both with lyrics by Addison Burkhardt, appeared in Chow Chow (1902), a work later transferred to New York under the title The Runaways.
Most of his subsequent shows were written in New York. These included Fantana (1905), containing “That’s Art” and “My Word” to Robert B. Smith’s words, Mexicana (1906), and A Knight For A Day (1907), which introduced “Life Is A See-Saw” and “Little Girl Blue,” again with Smith’s lyrics. Between 1911 and 1914 he supplied material for the Ziegfeld Follies, among them “Take Care Little Girl” and “My Beautiful Lady” (George V. Hobart) plus “The Broadway Glide” and “Romantic Girl” (Smith). In 1910 he scored both The Jolly Bachelors and The Bachelor Belles; two years later he composed The Man From Cook’s and A Winsome Widow.
In 1916 Hubbell responded to the Metropolitan Opera’s current production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly by writing “Poor Butterfly,” with John L. Golden supplying the lyric, for The Big Show; the song stayed in the active repertory of numerous vocalists for the following ninety years. For the 1917 edition of the Ziegfeld Follies he contributed “Beautiful Garden Of Girls,” “Just You And Me,” and “Chu Chin Chow,” all with words by Hobart and Gene Buck. Later scores encompassed Good Times (1920), which enjoyed 456 performances at the Hippodrome Theatre, incidental music for the 1921 piece Sonny (later retitled Sonny Boy), and the 1922 productions Better Times and The Elusive Lady.
Further stage works arrived in 1927 with Yours Truly and The Girl From Cook’s, followed by Three Cheers (1928). For Yours Truly, Anne Caldwell and Clyde North supplied book and lyrics; the production, presented by Buck and staged by Paul Dickey and Ralph Reader, completed 129 performances plus an additional sixteen at the Century Theatre the next season, with Irene Dunne and Leon Errol among the cast members. At fifty Hubbell chose to retire from active composition.
Most of his subsequent shows were written in New York. These included Fantana (1905), containing “That’s Art” and “My Word” to Robert B. Smith’s words, Mexicana (1906), and A Knight For A Day (1907), which introduced “Life Is A See-Saw” and “Little Girl Blue,” again with Smith’s lyrics. Between 1911 and 1914 he supplied material for the Ziegfeld Follies, among them “Take Care Little Girl” and “My Beautiful Lady” (George V. Hobart) plus “The Broadway Glide” and “Romantic Girl” (Smith). In 1910 he scored both The Jolly Bachelors and The Bachelor Belles; two years later he composed The Man From Cook’s and A Winsome Widow.
In 1916 Hubbell responded to the Metropolitan Opera’s current production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly by writing “Poor Butterfly,” with John L. Golden supplying the lyric, for The Big Show; the song stayed in the active repertory of numerous vocalists for the following ninety years. For the 1917 edition of the Ziegfeld Follies he contributed “Beautiful Garden Of Girls,” “Just You And Me,” and “Chu Chin Chow,” all with words by Hobart and Gene Buck. Later scores encompassed Good Times (1920), which enjoyed 456 performances at the Hippodrome Theatre, incidental music for the 1921 piece Sonny (later retitled Sonny Boy), and the 1922 productions Better Times and The Elusive Lady.
Further stage works arrived in 1927 with Yours Truly and The Girl From Cook’s, followed by Three Cheers (1928). For Yours Truly, Anne Caldwell and Clyde North supplied book and lyrics; the production, presented by Buck and staged by Paul Dickey and Ralph Reader, completed 129 performances plus an additional sixteen at the Century Theatre the next season, with Irene Dunne and Leon Errol among the cast members. At fifty Hubbell chose to retire from active composition.