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Harold Adamson

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For the Toronto police chief, see Harold Adamson (police officer).
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–1960s

Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980)[1] was an American lyricist from the 1930s through the 1960s.

Early life

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Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, was born in Greenville, New Jersey, United States.[2] He was raised in Brooklyn, New York, where he went to public schools. He later attended the Hackley prep school in Tarrytown, New York.[3]

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 study acting at the University of Kansas and Harvard,[2] where he wrote the book and lyrics for Close-Up, the first musical produced by the Harvard Dramatic Club.[3]

Career

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Vincent Youmans had noticed Adamson's work at Harvard and, after Adamson graduated, recruited him to write lyrics for his 1930 Broadway musical Smiles.[3] Adamson then began working with composer Burton Lane, contributing the song "Say the Word" to The Third Little Show[4] and "Crazy Street" to Singin' the Blues[5], and writing the songs for Earl Carroll's Vanities,[6] all in 1931. In the same year, Adamson, with lyricist Mack Gordon and composer Harry Revel, also placed "(I'm) All Wrapped Up in You" in the revue Everybody's Welcome[7] and "Where's My Happy Ending?" in Revel and Gordon's musical Fast and Furious.[8] In 1932 Adamson collaborated with Revel and Gordon on "Do Say You Do" for their musical Smiling Faces.[9]

Adamson and Lane both entered into songwriting contracts with MGM in 1933.[3] Their first film was Dancing Lady, for which they wrote the hit song "Everything I Have Is Yours". Adamson went on to write lyrics for original songs for more than 60 films. After Lane he worked with Walter Donaldson, then, on many films, with Jimmy McHugh, and later with Jule Styne, Hoagy Carmichael, Harry Warren, Sammy Fain and others.[10]

Later in his career, Adamson periodically returned to Broadway, writing lyrics for Banjo Eyes (1941)[11] and As the Girls Go (1948).[12] In 1963 he added words to Victor Young's music for the 1956 film Around the World in 80 Days (he had written lyrics for the film's theme, "Around the World", though they were not used in the film[3]), and also wrote new songs with Sammy Fain, for a stage adaptation presented at the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York.[13] His shows Hi Ya, Gentlemen, with Johnny Green (1940),[14] and Strip for Action, with Jimmy McHugh (1956),[15] closed out of town.

In 1941 Adamson collaborated with Pierce Norman and baseball's Joe DiMaggio to write "In the Beauty of Tahoe", published by Larry Spier, Inc.[16]

Adamson also occasionally worked in television. In 1953 he added lyrics to Eliot Daniel's theme for the sitcom I Love Lucy.[17] He and Harry Warren wrote the themes for two Western series: The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, which aired from 1955 to 1961, and The Californians, which aired from 1957 to 1959.[18]

Adamson was adept at adding lyrics to previously written melodies. In addition to "Around the World" and the I Love Lucy theme, in 1942 he added lyrics to Louis Alter's "Manhattan Serenade" and to "Mardi Gras" from Ferde Grofé's 1926 Mississippi Suite, which became "Daybreak". Both adaptations were commercial successes.[3] He also wrote "The Woodpecker Song" to Eldo Di Lazzaro's music for "Reginella campagnola" and "Ferry-Boat Serenade" to Di Lazzaro's "La piccinina", both hits in 1940.[19]

His last projects, along with Around the World in 80 Days, were the films A Ticklish Affair and Island of Love in 1963 and The Incredible Mr. Limpet in 1964.[3]

Personal life

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Adamson married Judy Crisfeld in 1935. They had a daughter, Eve, who later founded the Jean Cocteau Repertory in New York City. Harold and Judy divorced in 1941. In 1947 he married Gretchen Davidson, a Broadway actress.[3]

Awards and nominations

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Five of Adamson's songs written for films were nominated for Academy Award for Best Song (see Notable songs).

He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972.[20]

In 2007, ASCAP and Adamson's heirs established the annual Harold Adamson Lyric Award, given to aspiring lyricists who "demonstrate talent and an intelligent and sensitive use of language".[21] In 2024, ASCAP awarded the first Harold Adamson Prize for Mid-Career Concert Music Composers and Performers.[22]

Films

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Harold Adamson wrote several original songs for each of these films:[23]

He contributed original songs to many other films.[23]

Notable songs

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See also Songs with lyrics by Harold Adamson and Films with songs by Harold Adamson.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Larkin, pp. 41-42
  2. ^ a b Jasen, p. 2
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Ewen
  4. ^ Bloom, p. 1114
  5. ^ Bloom, p. 1026
  6. ^ Green & Ginell, p. 76
  7. ^ Bloom, p. 298
  8. ^ Bloom, p. 310
  9. ^ Bloom, p. 1036
  10. ^ Burton, Jack (1953). The Blue Book of Hollywood Musicals. Watkins Glen, N.Y.: Century House. p. 40. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  11. ^ Mordden, p. 26
  12. ^ Green & Ginell, p. 1948
  13. ^ Bloom, p. 49-50.
  14. ^ Bloom, p. 477
  15. ^ Bloom, pp. 1074-1075
  16. ^ "Joe DiMaggio Auction, Lot Number: 911" Hunt Auctions June 14, 2017
  17. ^ "I Love Lucy: An American Legend". LoC.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  18. ^ Burlingame, Jon (2023). Music for Prime Time: A History of American Television Themes and Scoring. Oxford University Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-19-061830-8. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  19. ^ "Songs from the Year 1940". tsort.info. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  20. ^ "Prodigious Hollywood composer gave us score to "Around the World in 80 Days" and dozens more". SongHall.org. Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  21. ^ "The ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Lyric Awards". ascapfoundation.org. The ASCAP Foundation. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Mary Kouyoumdjian Selected to Receive Inaugural ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Prize for a Mid-Career Concert Music Composer and Performer". ascapfoundation.org. The ASCAP Foundation. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  23. ^ a b Craig, Warren (1980). The Great Songwriters of Hollywood. San Diego: A.S. Barnes. pp. 140–142. ISBN 0498024393. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  24. ^ Burton 1953, p. 49.
  25. ^ Burton 1953, p. 57.
  26. ^ Burton 1953, p. 74.
  27. ^ Burton 1953, p. 72.
  28. ^ Burton 1953, p. 84.
  29. ^ Burton 1953, p. 88.
  30. ^ Burton 1953, p. 95.
  31. ^ Burton 1953, p. 99.
  32. ^ Burton 1953, p. 98.
  33. ^ Burton 1953, p. 96.
  34. ^ Burton 1953, p. 110.
  35. ^ Burton 1953, p. 115.
  36. ^ Burton 1953, p. 112.
  37. ^ Burton 1953, p. 179.
  38. ^ Burton 1953, p. 182.
  39. ^ Burton 1953, p. 183.
  40. ^ Burton 1953, p. 195.
  41. ^ Burton 1953, p. 200.
  42. ^ a b Burton 1953, p. 208.
  43. ^ Burton 1953, p. 214.
  44. ^ Burton 1953, p. 229.
  45. ^ Burton 1953, p. 230.
  46. ^ Burton 1953, p. 235.
  47. ^ Burton 1953, p. 240.
  48. ^ Craig 1980, p. 164.
  49. ^ Craig 1980, p. 109.
  50. ^ Craig 1980, p. 86.
  51. ^ Hischak 1995, p. 348-349
  52. ^ Hischak 1999, p. 70
  53. ^ Hischak 1999, p. 361
  54. ^ "The 9th Academy Awards - 1937". oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  55. ^ Hischak 1999, p. 303
  56. ^ Hischak 1999, p. 338
  57. ^ Hischak 1999, p. 336-337
  58. ^ Hischak 1999, p. 362
  59. ^ "The 11th Academy Awards - 1939". oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  60. ^ Hischak 1999, p. 362-363
  61. ^ Hischak 2002, p. 186
  62. ^ Hischak 2002, p. 104
  63. ^ Hischak 2002, p. 409-410
  64. ^ Hischak 2002, p. 229
  65. ^ Hischak 2002, p. 78-79
  66. ^ Hischak 2002, p. 67
  67. ^ "The 16th Academy Awards - 1944". oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  68. ^ Hischak 1999, p. 191
  69. ^ "The 17th Academy Awards - 1945". oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  70. ^ Hischak 1999, p. 107
  71. ^ Hischak 1999, p. 152-153
  72. ^ Hischak 1995, p. 403
  73. ^ Hischak 1999, p. 212
  74. ^ Hischak 2002, p. 21
  75. ^ Bloom, p. 1074-1075
  76. ^ "The 30th Academy Awards - 1958". oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 4 June 2025.

References

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