Burton Lane ( Levy; February 2, 1912 – January 5, 1997) was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include Finian's Rainbow in 1947 and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever in 1965.
Biography
Early life
Burton Lane was born Burton Levy, in Manhattan, New York City, on February 2, 1912, to Lazarus and Frances Fink Levy.
[Vallance, Tom. Obituary: Burton Lane" The Independent, January 8, 1997][Severo, Richard. "Burton Lane, Composer for 'Finian's Rainbow' and 'Clear Day,' Is Dead at 84" The New York Times, January 7, 1997][ This source gives the most exact location of Lane's birth.][ This source errs in giving Lane's birth name as "Morris Hyman Kushner".] When a teenager, Burton changed his surname to Lane at the suggestion of someone with whom he was auditioning, and his brother and cousins followed suit.
Lane's parents loved music, and his mother played piano, but she died when Burton was two years old. He studied piano, viola and cello as a child, and composed two marches for his school band which were published. At age 14 the theatrical producers the Shubert family commissioned him to write songs for a revue, The Greenwich Village Follies. That show was canceled, but Lane remained committed to music.
Lane dropped out of high school to compose for the music publisher J.H. Remick.
Lane's early days on Tin Pan Alley and Broadway ended when his employer, Irving Berlin Inc., sent him to Hollywood for six weeks, and he remained there for 21 years.
Career and notable works
Lane wrote the majority of his music for films. He composed freelance, usually with his New York colleague Harold Adamson, for several different studios from 1933 to 1936. He worked for Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1941, and for other studios for more than a decade after that. He wrote original songs for
more than 50 movies with Adamson, Harburg, Alan Jay Lerner,
Ralph Freed,
Frank Loesser and other lyricists, including
Dancing Lady (1933),
Babes on Broadway (1941), and
Royal Wedding (1951).
But Lane was most celebrated for his Broadway theatre Musical theater Finian's Rainbow (1947, with Harburg) and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965, with Lerner).
Lane's best-known songs include "How About You?" from Babes on Broadway, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1942;
Professional and personal life
Lane was president of the American Guild of Authors and Composers for ten terms beginning in 1957, during which period he campaigned against music piracy. He also served three terms on the board of directors of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972,
elected its director in 1973, and awarded its highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award, in 1992.
Lane married Marian Seaman in 1935, and had a daughter with her. In 1961 they divorced and he married Lynn Baroff Kaye. He died at his home in Manhattan on January 5, 1997.
Discovery of Judy Garland
Lane claimed to have discovered the 13-year-old
Judy Garland[ Frances Gumm and her sisters began performing under stage names in 1934.] in 1935:
He caught her sisters' act at the Paramount theater in downtown Los Angeles, which featured a live stage show along with the movie. The older sisters, Suzy and Jimmy, brought on their younger sister Judy. Lane immediately called the head of the music department at MGM and told him he'd just heard a great new talent. The head told Lane to have her brought in for an audition. Lane went backstage and arranged an audition with the girls' father.
The head of MGM, Louis B. Mayer, was so impressed by Garland's audition that he ordered every producer, director and writer to hear her, with the result that the audition, which began at 9:30 am, finished at 7:30 pm, and MGM signed her. Lane left MGM soon after and worked with other studios and projects for some years, so he didn't work with Garland until they made Babes on Broadway in 1941.
That's how Lane told the story (aside from minor inaccuracies of names and the date). Other people also claimed to have arranged that audition, and their and Garland's accounts differ from Lane's.
Stage credits
-
Artists and Models (1930) – revue – co-composer
-
Three's a Crowd (1930) – revue – co-composer
-
The Third Little Show (1931) - revue - co-composer
-
Earl Carroll's Vanities (1931) – revue – co-composer
-
Singin' the Blues (1931) – play with music – co-composer
-
Hold On to Your Hats (1940) – musical – composer
-
Laffing Room Only (1944) – revue – composer and lyricist
-
Finian's Rainbow (1947, revivals in 1955, 1960, 2009) – musical – composer
-
Jollyanna and The Little Doll Laughed (revisions of Flahooley, 1952) – musical – composer
-
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965) – musical – composer – nominated for Tony Award for Best Original Score
-
Carmelina (1979) – musical – composer – nominated for Tony Award for Best Original Score
See also Musicals by Burton Lane.
Films
Lane wrote several original songs for each of these films.
-
Dancing Lady (1933, lyrics by Harold Adamson)
-
Bottoms Up (1934, lyrics by Harold Adamson)
-
Here Comes the Band (1935, lyrics by Harold Adamson and Ned Washington)
-
Cocoanut Grove (1938, lyrics by Frank Loesser and Ralph Freed)
-
College Swing (1938, lyrics by Frank Loesser)
-
St. Louis Blues (1939, lyrics by Frank Loesser)
-
She Married a Cop (1939, lyrics by Ralph Freed)
-
Dancing on a Dime (1940, lyrics by Frank Loesser)
-
Babes on Broadway (1941, lyrics by Yip Harburg and Ralph Freed)
-
Ship Ahoy (1942, lyrics by Yip Harburg)
-
Rainbow Island (1944, lyrics by Ted Koehler)
-
Royal Wedding (1951, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner)
-
Give a Girl a Break (1953, lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
-
Jupiter's Darling (1955, lyrics by Harold Adamson)
-
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner)
-
Heidi's Song (1982, lyrics by Sammy Cahn)
He contributed original songs to many other films.
Notable songs
-
"Everything I Have Is Yours". Lyrics by Harold Adamson. From the 1933 film Dancing Lady.
-
"Your Head on My Shoulder". Lyrics by Harold Adamson. From the 1934 film Kid Millions.
-
"Swing High, Swing Low". Lyrics by Ralph Freed. From the 1937 film of the same name.
-
"Says My Heart". Lyrics by Frank Loesser. From the 1938 film Cocoanut Grove.
-
"Moments Like This". Lyrics by Frank Loesser. From the 1938 film College Swing.
-
"The Lady's in Love with You". Lyrics by Frank Loesser. From the 1939 film Some Like It Hot.
-
"I Hear Music". Lyrics by Frank Loesser. From the 1940 film Dancing on a Dime.
-
"How About You?". Lyrics by Ralph Freed. From the 1941 film Babes on Broadway.
-
"Feudin' and Fightin'". Lyrics by Burton Lane and Frank Loesser. From the 1944 revue Laffing Room Only.
-
"How Are Things in Glocca Morra?",
-
"Too Late Now". Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. From the 1951 film Royal Wedding.
-
"On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)". Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. From the 1965 musical of the same name.
See also Songs with music by Burton Lane.
Recordings of Lane's works
Stage shows and films
-
This is a reissue of the 1947 original cast recording on 78 RPM shellac.
Songs
External links
Interviews
-
Audio interview with Lane on diverse topics. Includes sung and played performance of "On a Clear Day".
-
Burton Lane interview NAMM Oral History Library (1989)
-
"The Unchristmas Show" features an interview with Burton Lane's widow.
Databases
