Home » Jazz Musicians » Sammy Cahn

Sammy Cahn

Sammy Cahn was nominated for more than 30 Oscars, and won four times. His songs were recorded by virtually every major singer. And he wrote some of the best known of all popular songs. He was born Samuel Cohen in New York on June 18, 1913 into a family of Jewish immigrants from Polish Galicia, and spent his childhood on the Lower East Side. He attended Seward Park High School. Early on, he learned to play the violin, and from the time he was fourteen he played in local Bar Mitzvah bands. While still in his teens, he played the violin in pit bands of burlesque houses. He became friendly with fellow band-member, pianist Saul Chaplin, and they began writing songs together. At first they wrote specialty numbers for vaudeville acts. Then, in 1935 they wrote "Rhythm Is Our Business" for the Jimmy Lunceford Band. Lunceford recorded it, and it became the Lunceford Band's theme song. In 1936 they had another success with "Until The Real Thing Comes Along". In 1937, they adapted "Bei Mir Bist Du Shon", which they mistakenly believed to be a Yiddish folk song- -it was actually a modern Yiddish theater song by Sholom Secunda--into English for the then- unknown Andrews Sisters. The Andrews Sisters had a huge hit with the song, and Cahn and Chaplin were on their way. In 1940, Cahn and Chaplin went to Hollywood. Soon they parted ways, and in 1942 Cahn began writing with Jules Styne. They would write songs together for 19 films between 1942 and 1951. Among their songs were "I've Heard That Song Before" (1942); "I'll Walk Alone"(1944); "Saturday Night Is The Loneliest Night Of The Week"(1944); "It's The Same Old Dream" (1947); and "Time After Time" (1947). In 1948, for the Doris Day film Romance on the High Seas, they wrote "It's Magic" and "Put 'Em In A Box, Tie 'Em With A Ribbon". In 1947, Styne and Cahn wrote a successful Broadway musical High Button Shoes. Other results of Cahn's collaboration with Styne were "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow", "There Goes That Song Again", "The Things We Did Last Summer", and "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry". With music by Nicholas Brodzsky, Cahn wrote Mario Lanza's first hit "Be My Love"(1950). Working again with Jules Styne, Cahn won an Oscar for the title song of the 1954 film Three Coins in the Fountain.

Read more

Tags

15
Anatomy of a Standard

"Time After Time" by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn

Read ""Time After Time" by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn" reviewed by Tish Oney


In 1946 Jule Styne (1905-1994) and Sammy Cahn (1913-1993) collaborated to write a song for Frank Sinatra for the film It Happened In Brooklyn. Sarah Vaughan was the first artist to record the new gem that same year, backed by the Teddy Wilson Quartet. In 1957 Sinatra finally recorded it with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. The song's timeless theme of looking backward over a life of faithful, monogamous love has resonated with fans ever since the song's debut.

Read more articles
1

Performance / Tour

Come Fly With Me: The Sammy Cahn Centennial Concert Starring Frank Sinatra, Jr., Steve Tyrell And The New Jersey Symphony Chamber Orchestra

Come Fly With Me: The Sammy Cahn Centennial Concert Starring Frank Sinatra, Jr., Steve Tyrell And The  New Jersey Symphony Chamber Orchestra

Source: Josh Balber

Sammy Cahn, the lyricist whose contributions to America’s musical heritage include such beloved standards as “Love and Marriage,” “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” “Come Fly with Me,” “Time After Time,” “Three Coins in the Fountain” and “I’ll Walk Alone.” will be celebrated in a swinging concert on Sunday, November 24 at 3:00pm in NJPAC’s Prudential Hall. Starring Frank Sinatra, Jr., Steve Tyrell and the New Jersey Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the performance, titled Come Fly with Me: ...

Photos

Music

Videos

Similar

George Gershwin
composer / conductor
Cole Porter
composer / conductor
Johnny Mercer
composer / conductor
Ira Gershwin
composer / conductor

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.