Harold Adamson

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Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980)<ref name="LarkinGE">Larkin, pp. 41-42</ref> was an American lyricist from the 1930s through the 1960s.

Biography

Early life

Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, was born in Greenville, New Jersey, United States.<ref name="Jasen">Jasen, p. 2</ref> He was raised in Brooklyn, New York, where he went to public schools. He later attended the Hackley prep school in Tarrytown, New York.<ref name="ewen">Ewen</ref>

Adamson suffered from polio as a child which limited the use of his right hand. Initially, Adamson was interested in acting, but he began writing songs and poetry as a teenager.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

He went on to study acting at the University of Kansas and Harvard,<ref name="Jasen"/> where he wrote the book and lyrics for Close-Up, the first musical produced by the Harvard Dramatic Club.<ref name="ewen"/>

Career

Vincent Youmans had noticed Adamson's work at Harvard and, after Adamson graduated, recruited him to write lyrics for his 1930 Broadway musical Smiles.<ref name="ewen"/> Adamson then began working with composer Burton Lane, contributing the song "Say the Word" to The Third Little Show<ref>Bloom, p. 1114</ref> and "Crazy Street" to Singin' the Blues,<ref>Bloom, p. 1026</ref> and writing the songs for Earl Carroll's Vanities,<ref>Green & Ginell, p. 76</ref> all in 1931. In the same year, Adamson, with lyricist Mack Gordon and composer Harry Revel, also placed "(I'm) All Wrapped Up in You" in the revue Everybody's Welcome<ref>Bloom, p. 298</ref> and "Where's My Happy Ending?" in Revel and Gordon's musical Fast and Furious.<ref>Bloom, p. 310</ref> In 1932 Adamson collaborated with Revel and Gordon on "Do Say You Do" for their musical Smiling Faces.<ref>Bloom, p. 1036</ref>

Adamson and Lane both entered into songwriting contracts with MGM in 1933.<ref name="ewen"/> Their first film was Dancing Lady, for which they wrote the hit song "Everything I Have Is Yours". Adamson went on to write lyrics for original songs for more than 60 films. After Lane he worked with Walter Donaldson, then, on many films, with Jimmy McHugh, and later with Jule Styne, Hoagy Carmichael, Harry Warren, Sammy Fain and others.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Later in his career, Adamson periodically returned to Broadway, writing lyrics for Banjo Eyes (1941)<ref>Mordden, p. 26</ref> and As the Girls Go (1948).<ref>Green & Ginell, p. 139</ref> In 1963 he added words to Victor Young's music for the 1956 film Around the World in 80 Days (he had written lyrics for the film's theme, "Around the World", though they were not used in the film<ref name="ewen"/>), and also wrote new songs with Sammy Fain, for a stage adaptation presented at the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York.<ref>Bloom, p. 49-50.</ref> His shows Hi Ya, Gentlemen, with Johnny Green (1940),<ref>Bloom, p. 477</ref> and Strip for Action, with Jimmy McHugh (1956),<ref>Bloom, pp. 1074-1075</ref> closed out of town.

In 1941 Adamson collaborated with Pierce Norman and baseball's Joe DiMaggio to write "In the Beauty of Tahoe", published by Larry Spier, Inc.<ref>"Joe DiMaggio Auction, Lot Number: 911" Hunt Auctions June 14, 2017</ref>

Adamson also occasionally worked in television. In 1953 he added lyrics to Eliot Daniel's theme for the sitcom I Love Lucy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He and Harry Warren wrote the themes for two Western series: The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, which aired from 1955 to 1961, and The Californians, which aired from 1957 to 1959.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Adamson was adept at adding lyrics to previously written melodies. In addition to "Around the World" and the I Love Lucy theme, in 1942 he added lyrics to Louis Alter's "Manhattan Serenade" and to "Mardi Gras" from Ferde Grofé's 1926 Mississippi Suite, which became "Daybreak". Both adaptations were commercial successes.<ref name="ewen"/> He also wrote "The Woodpecker Song" to Eldo Di Lazzaro's music for "Reginella campagnola" and "Ferry-Boat Serenade" to Di Lazzaro's "La piccinina", both hits in 1940.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

His last projects, along with Around the World in 80 Days, were the films A Ticklish Affair and Island of Love in 1963 and The Incredible Mr. Limpet in 1964.<ref name="ewen"/>

Personal life

Adamson married Judy Crisfeld in 1935. They had a daughter, Eve, who later founded the Jean Cocteau Repertory in New York City. Harold and Judy divorced in 1941. In 1947 he married Gretchen Davidson, a Broadway actress.<ref name="ewen"/>

Awards and nominations

Five of Adamson's songs written for films were nominated for Academy Award for Best Song (see Notable songs).

He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2007, ASCAP and Adamson's heirs established the annual Harold Adamson Lyric Award, given to aspiring lyricists who "demonstrate talent and an intelligent and sensitive use of language".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2024, ASCAP awarded the first Harold Adamson Prize for Mid-Career Concert Music Composers and Performers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Films

Harold Adamson wrote several original songs for each of these films:<ref name="craig">Template:Cite book</ref>

He contributed original songs to many other films.<ref name="craig"/>

Notable songs

See also Songs with lyrics by Harold Adamson and Films with songs by Harold Adamson.

Notes

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References

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