James Cavanaugh

If absolute proof of the adage "it's the singer not the song" is required, then songwriter James Cavanaugh is the man of the hour. Mention of the song "You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You" immediately brings to mind Dean Martin, yet it was lyricist Cavanaugh who came up with the whole idea. Indeed, the melody this universal concept hangs on was nothing but alot of humming and piano tinkling before Cavanaugh came along to express things in words. He was a member of quite a few different songwriting partnerships from the '20s through the '50s, sometimes working with composers such as Harold Arlen or Chick Webb, who also drummed and led bands. "Long Time, No See" was one of the musical greetings he came up with for the popular Andrews Sisters, while "The Man With the Mandolin" was typical of his co-writing ventures, a sentimental song-story dreamt up with the help of Frank Weldon and John Redmond and a smash hit as well, spending a total of 10 weeks on the hit parade of 1939. Cavanaugh came solidly out of the Tin Pan Alley tradition. During times of war, he cooked up propaganda songs such as "The Man of the Hour, General Eisenhower" and when television networks came looking for holiday material in the '50s, he was happy to craft a musical impression of "Christmas In Killarney". Some of this composer's best-known works have a southern flavor, including "Mississippi Mud", recorded by everyone from Bix Beiderbecke to The Muppets, and "Strictly From Dixie", written with Webb and Harry Brooks. Throughout the music business, movers and shakers tended to have great faith in Cavanaugh's material. One of the best examples is Joe Davis, active for more than 50 years as an A&R man, songwriter, publisher and record label owner. The latter enterprise might never have occured to...