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Harold Adamson

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Harold Adamson
Background information
Birth nameHarold Campbell Adamson
Born(1906-12-10)December 10, 1906
Greenville, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedAugust 17, 1980(1980-08-17) (aged 73)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
OccupationLyricist
Years active1930s–1940s

Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980)[1] was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s.

Early life

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Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, was born and raised in Greenville, New Jersey, United States.[2]

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.[1]

He went on to studying acting at the University of Kansas and Harvard.[2]

Career

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Ultimately he entered into a songwriting contract with MGM in 1933. During his stint with MGM, he was nominated for five Academy Awards. Among his best-known compositions was the theme for the hit sitcom, I Love Lucy.

He retired from songwriting in the early 1960s,[2] and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972.

In 1941, he collaborated with Pierce Norman, and baseball's Joe DiMaggio to write "In the Beauty of Tahoe", published by Larry Spier, Inc.[3] He was the lyricist for the Broadway musicals Smiles (1930),[4] The Earl Carroll Vanities of 1931,[5] Singin' the Blues (1931), Banjo Eyes (1941),[6] and As the Girls Go (1948).[7]

Songs or lyrics by Harold Adamson

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Larkin, pp. 41-42
  2. ^ a b c Jasen, p. 2
  3. ^ "Joe DiMaggio Auction, Lot Number: 911" Hunt Auctions June 14, 2017
  4. ^ Suskin, p. 83
  5. ^ Green & Ginell, p. 76
  6. ^ Mordden, p. 26
  7. ^ Green & Ginell, p. 1948

References

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  • Bloom, Ken (1996). "Harold Adamson". American Song: Songwriters, The complete companion to Tin Pan Alley Song. Schirmer Books. pp. 5–6. ISBN 9780028654782.
  • Fisher, James (1999). "Adamson, Harold Campbell (10 December 1906–17 August 1980)". American National Biography. Vol. 1. pp. 135–136. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1801376.
  • Green, Stanley; Ginell, Cary (2019). Broadway Musicals: Show by Show. Applause, Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781493050710.
  • Jasen, David A. (2003). Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song. New York and London: Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 0415938775.
  • Larkin, Colin., ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 41–42. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  • Mordden, Ethan (1999). Beautiful Mornin': The Broadway Musical in the 1940s. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195128512.
  • Suskin, Steven (2000). Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers. Oxford University Press. p. 83. ISBN 9780195125993.
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