|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Youmans, Vincent (Millie)
Youmans, Vincent [Millie] (1898–1946), composer. Born in New York, where his father and grandfather were well‐known hatters, he originally considered a career in engineering but soon turned to music. A stint in the navy in World War I, during which time John Philip Sousa played one of his compositions, confirmed him in his decision. Youmans served as a song plugger and inserted interpolations into a failed revue before writing much of the score for Two Little Girls in Blue (1921). In 1923 he collaborated on Wildflower and Mary Jane McKane, then a year later wrote his first complete score for Lollipop. The biggest musical comedy success of the 1920s was his No, No, Nanette (1925), whose songs included “I Want to Be Happy” and “Tea for Two.” Oh, Please! (1926) offered “I Know That You Know,” while from the far more successful Hit the Deck! (1927) came “Hallelujah” and “Sometimes I'm Happy.” Thereafter Youmans decided to abandon musical comedy writing and return to operetta. He had also co‐produced Hit the Deck! and ambitiously attempted to produce other offerings. But his subsequent shows proved failures and drove him to bankruptcy. Rainbow (1928) was followed by Great Day (1929), which despite its short run left behind its title melody as well as “More Than You Know” and “Without a Song.” Youmans's last shows were Smiles (1930), Through the Years (1932), and Take a Chance (1932). Especially in his early years, his identifying signature was his employment of the shortest themes, often two to four notes, repeated with variations in harmony and in tempo. In later years Youmans's musical line was frequently longer, but he never fully discarded his early technique. After writing the music for the film Flying Down to Rio, he contracted tuberculosis. This, his heavy drinking and partying, coupled with a curious intractability in negotiations, all combined to remove him from the scene and hastened his death. Biography: Days to Be Happy, Years to Be Sad, Gerald Bordman, 1982.
|
|
|
Cite this article
Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Youmans, Vincent (Millie)." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Youmans, Vincent (Millie)." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-YoumansVincentMillie.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Youmans, Vincent (Millie)." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-YoumansVincentMillie.html |
|
Youmans, Vincent (Millie)
Youmans, Vincent (Millie) (b NY, 1898; d Denver, 1946). Amer. composer. Worked as mus. publisher 1918. Wrote successful musical comedies from 1921, having enormous success on both sides of Atlantic with No, No, Nanette (1924), which incl. song ‘Tea for Two’. Illness forced retirement 1933. Among his other songs are ‘I want to be happy’, ‘Hallelujah’, ‘Sometimes I'm happy’, ‘Carioca’, ‘Without a Song’, and ‘More than you know’.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Youmans, Vincent (Millie)." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Youmans, Vincent (Millie)." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-YoumansVincentMillie.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Youmans, Vincent (Millie)." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-YoumansVincentMillie.html |
|
Vincent Youmans
Vincent Youmans 1898–1946, American composer, b. New York City. He first began composing while in the navy during World War I. His first musical, Two Little Girls in Blue, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, opened (1921) on Broadway. It was followed by such successes as Wildflower (1923), No, No, Nanette (1925), and Hit the Deck (1927). |
|
|
Cite this article
"Vincent Youmans." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Vincent Youmans." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Youmans.html "Vincent Youmans." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Youmans.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
