Harry Akst

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Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963) was an American songwriter who started out his career as a pianist in vaudeville accompanying singers such as Nora Bayes, Frank Fay and Al Jolson.^[1]

In 1916, he enlisted in the army and met Irving Berlin (in 1921 they would write "Home Again Blues"). His most notable success came with the song he wrote in 1925 with Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young: "Dinah". It would go on to multiple hit recordings by the likes of Bing Crosby, The Mills Brothers, Louis Armstrong, and Fats Waller.

In 1927 he worked on the Broadway production of Artists and Models, eventually moving to Hollywood to continue songwriting for Broadway musicals.

Harry Akst was inducted in the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1983.

Contents

1 Select Songs
2 Original Works for Broadway
3 Notes
4 External links

"Home Again Blues" (1921), with Irving Berlin
"Dinah" (1925), with Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young
"Dearest (You're The Nearest To My Heart)", with Benny Davis
"Am I Blue?" (1929), with Grant Clarke
"Guilty" (1931) G. Khan / R. A. Whiting - H. Akst. (Track 7 on the soundtrack CD for the film Amélie.)

Artists and Models of 1927 (1927) - revue, co-composed with Maurie Rubens, lyrics by J. Keirn Brennan, Benny Davis, Ted Lewis, and Jack Osterman
Calling All Stars (1934) - revue, lyrics by Lew Brown

^ Laurie, Joe, Jr. Vaudeville: From the Honky-tonks to the Palace. New York: Henry Holt, 1953. p. 326, 327.

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Categories: American songwriters | American musical theatre composers | Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees | Jewish American musicians | Jewish classical musicians | Jewish composers and songwriters | 1894 births | 1963 deaths | Vaudeville performers | United States composer stubs

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