Joe Burke (composer)
Joseph A. Burke (March 18, 1884 – June 9, 1950) was an American composer and pianist.
Early life
Burke was born in Philadelphia.
Career
He graduated from the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music and started as a pianist accompanying silent movies and an arranger in a music publishing firm. It was during this time that he started writing songs for publication.
After he had a few hits, he started composing full-time. He partnered with some great lyricists; Benny Davis ("Carolina Moon") and Walter Donaldson ("'Just the Same") and Joseph McCarthy ("Rambling Rose"). However, the partners he had the most successes with were, Al Dubin ("Tiptoe Through the Tulips", "I'm Painting the Clouds with Sunshine", "For You") and Edgar Leslie ("On Treasure Island", "A Little Bit Independent", "In a Little Gypsy Tea Room", "Moon Over Miami", "It Looks Like Rain on Cherry Blossom Lane")
He spent most of his professional career on the East Coast but, for a short time in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he lived in Los Angeles where he composed film scores and several songs for movies.
Death and legacy
He died in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.
Songs for movies
- Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929)
- Hearts in Exile (1929)
- Sally (1929)
- Little Johnny Jones
- She Couldn't Say No
- Hold Everything (1930)
- Dancing Sweeties
- Oh Sailor Behave (1930)
- Top Speed
- Sweethearts on Parade
- Big Boy and Palooka (also known as The Great Schnozzle)
His other works
- "Carolina Moon" – Gene Austin (1929)
- "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" – Nick Lucas (1929)
- "Dancing With Tears in My Eyes" – Nat Shilkret (1930)
- "On Treasure Island" – Tommy Dorsey (1935)
- "Moon Over Miami" – Eddy Duchin (1936)
- "Rambling Rose" – Perry Como (1948)
- "Who Wouldn't Love You" – Kay Kyser (1942)
- "Baby Your Mother"
- "For You"
- "Yearning"
- "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight"
- "A Little Bit Independent"
- "In a Little Gypsy Tearoom"
- "It Looks Like Rain in Cherry Blossom Lane"
- "In the Valley of the Moon"
- "Painting the Clouds with Sunshine"
- "At a Perfume Counter"
- "Rambling Rose" (1947)
- "By the River of the Roses"
- "The Kiss Waltz"
- "She Was Just a Sailor's Sweetheart"
- "Robins and Roses"
- "Cling To Me"
- "Midnight Blue"
- "We Must be Vigilant"
- "Villanova Alma Mater"
- "Getting Some Fun Out of Love"
- "There's a Little Picture Playhouse in My Heart"
- "No Wonder (That I Love You)"
Artists who recorded his songs
Some of the artists who have recorded his songs include: Dean Martin, Kate Smith, Perry Como ("Carolina Moon"), Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Ray Charles ("Moon over Miami"), Fats Waller ("A Little Bit Independent"), Rudy Vallee("Dancing With Tears in My Eyes"), Doris Day, Frank Sinatra ("Oh, How I Miss You Tonight"), Ricky Nelson ("For You"), Twiggy ("I'm Painting the Clouds With Sunshine"), Chet Atkins, Eydie Gorme, Nick Lucas and, of course, Tiny Tim ("Tiptoe Through the Tulips"). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
References
- Songwriters Hall of Fame
- Tin Pan Alley: The Composers, the Songs, the Performers and their Times by David A. Jasen, ISBN 9781556110993