Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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McHUGH, Jimmy

(b 10 July 1894, Boston MA; d 23 May 1969, Beverly Hills, CA) Songwriter. He worked as an office boy at Boston Opera House, then as a rehearsal pianist, then for publishers in NYC. He co-wrote 'When My Sugar Walks Down The Street' '24 with Gene Austin (and the omnipresent Irving Mills, who published it, got a credit; the song was recorded by Austin, and was also later associated with Phil Harris); then 'I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me' '26 (words by Clarence Gaskill). He worked as a manager for Mills and collaborated with Dorothy Fields (b 15 July 1905, Allenhurst NJ; d 28 March 1974; daughter of comedian Lew Fields): they wrote revues for the Cotton Club and Lew Leslie's Blackbirds Of 1928 with Adelaide Hall and Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson, which included 'Diga Diga Doo' and 'Doin' The New Low Down' (both recorded by both Duke Ellington and Don Redman, one of Redman's takes of 'Low Down' having Bojangles tap-dancing on it), also 'I Must Have That Man', 'I Can't Give You Anything But Love'; Hello Daddy '28; The International Revue '30 ('On The Sunny Side Of The Street', 'Exactly Like You').

Fats Waller was said by the producer of Blackbirds to have sold melodies of 'I Can't Give You Anything But Love' and 'Sunny Side Of The Street' to McHugh: they sound like Waller's, especially the former, and this would fit with his profligacy: he could write songs almost as fast as he could spend the money.

McHugh and Fields went to Hollywood and wrote songs for films including Cuban Love Song '30, Dinner At Eight '33 ('Don't Blame Me'), Every Night At Eight '35 ('I'm In The Mood For Love'), Roberta '35 (collaborated with Jerome Kern), others. She also worked with Kern, Cole Porter, Arthur Schwartz, had an important partnership with Cy Coleman (Sweet Charity '66 inclcluded 'Big Spender'; others). McHugh worked with Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, Ted Koehler, others; his most important collaborator after Fields was Harold Adamson (b 10 December 1906, Greenville NJ; d 17 August 1980): they wrote songs for Calendar Girl '47 ('Have I Told You Lately That I Love You'), A Date With Judy '48 ('It's A Most Unusual Day'), many more. Adamson also worked with Hoagy Carmichael, Vincent Youmans, Burton Lane, Victor Young.