Rome, Harold (Jacob)

Rome, Harold [Jacob] (1908–93), composer and lyricist. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he studied both law and architecture at Yale, then accepted work as a draftsman before he began composing songs for summer camp shows. Rome's first Broadway score was for the long‐running union revue Pins and Needles (1937), followed by the revues Sing Out the News (1938) and Call Me Mister (1946). His book musicals (for which he continued to write both music and lyrics) included Wish You Were Here (1952), Fanny (1954), Destry Rides Again (1959), and I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962). Stanley Green has written, “The ability to express in songs honest emotions of those who are least articulate has been one of his most distinguishing characteristics. For Rome is, essentially, a people's composer and lyricist who . . . provides the common man with uncommon musical expressions.”