David Mann (songwriter)

David Mann (David Freedman, October 3, 1916, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — March 1, 2002, New York^[1]) was an American songwriter of popular songs. His best known songs are "There! I've Said It Again" (1945), popularized first by Vaughn Monroe and later by Bobby Vinton, and "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (1950), recorded most notably by Frank Sinatra, but covered by many other artists over the decades.

Career

Mann was able to play the piano by ear, at the age of 4, and by age 13, he was playing around Philadelphia. He attended the Curtis Institute of Music, where, when Mann was graduating, Leonard Bernstein, was entering, and the two men became friends. In 1939, he changed his name from Freedman to Mann for the WCAU radio station's Mann-Irwin Show.^[2]

In late 1939, Mann moved to New York and became a Decca Records session musician. He was in Charley Spivak's orchestra until 1941. He also worked with the Jimmy Dorsey band, singer Gordon Macrae, and Artie Shaw's orchestra. All the while, Mann was composing, and had an office in the Brill Building.^[2]

During World War II, Mann joined the United States Army. Upon his discharge from the Army in 1945, they had the honor of placing Mann as personal pianist to President Truman.^[2]

Mann appeared in the films: Twenty Grand, I Dood It, Four Jills and A Jeep, Pin-Up Girl, and (during his Artie Shaw days) Second Chorus. He went to Hollywood, California in the 1950s where he composed the scores for three Disney Nature Series films, - The Living Desert, Water Birds and Seal Island.^[2]

One of Mann's hits "There I've Said it Again" - the Bobby Vinton version of 1963 - was the last #1 in the United States before the British Invasion. It was knocked off the top spot by The Beatles' song "I Want to Hold Your Hand".^[2] Thereafter his songwriting career fizzled away and he left the music industry.

David Mann died in March 2002 from complications due to pneumonia and kidney failure.^[2]

Songs written

"Abbreviation Song, The", with Bob Hilliard

"Aggravatin' Situation", with Gene Irwin and Bickley S. Reichner

"All I Want is Everything", with Redd Evans

"Apple", with Bob Hilliard

"Baby Come Home", with Jack Murray

"Boutonniere", with Bob Hilliard

"Castanets and Lace", with Bob Hilliard and Milton Leeds

"Castles in the Sand", with Bob Hilliard

"Champagne", with Al Stillman

"Cocker Spaniel Polka", with Bob Hilliard

"Come Down to Earth Mr Smith", with Jack Murray

"Dearie", with Bob Hilliard

"Don't Go To Strangers", with Redd Evans and Arthur Kent

"Down in Nashville Tennessee", with Bob Hilliard

"Downhearted", with Bob Hilliard

"Downhill", with Bob Hilliard

"Elegy", originally by Louis Marie A. Gallet and Jules Emile F. Massenet, with both Mann and Charlie Spivak credited with the modern version.

"Genius at Work", with Jimmy Dorsey also credited

"Gentle Lover",

"Golden Roses and Silver", with Bob Hilliard

"Hot Meat Blue Plate Special", with J. Francis Burke and Mack David

"How Come the Mortgage Ain't Paid", with Bob Hilliard and Steve Nelson

"I'de Wanna Walk Right", with Buddy Kaye

"I Hate You", with Jack Murray

"I Like Stinky Cheese", with Mart Fryberg

"I'll Sing to You", with Tolchard Evans and Harold Simpson

"I'm Gonna Go Back Home", with Redd Evans

"I'm in Favor of Friendship", with Bob Hilliard

"I've Only Myself to Blame", with Redd Evans

"I Went Down to Virginia", with Redd Evans

"In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", with Bob Hilliard

"In Your Loving Care", with Bob Hilliard

"It Might As Well Rain", with Mack Discant

"Jealous Eyes", with Bob Hilliard

"Just for the Bridegroom", with Bob Hilliard

"Just Got to Have Him Around", with Redd Evans

"King's Alley", with Gerhard Winkler

"Let's Have a Party", with Bob Hilliard

"Lolly Lolly Loo", with Maurice Sigler

"Long Distance Love", with Bob Hilliard

"Look Out the Window", with Bob Hilliard

"Love Mystery Adventure", with Bob Hilliard

"Made Up My Mind", with Redd Evans

"Mile Down the Highway", with Bob Hilliard

"My Baby is Blue", with Jeanne Burns and Redd Evans

"No Moon at All", with Redd Evans

"No Well on Earth", with Bob Hilliard

"Old Familiar Love Song, An", with Bob Hilliard

"Only Man on the Island", with Bob Hilliard

"Passing Fancy, A", with Bob Hilliard

"Peter Platypus", with Leo G. Diamond

"Rhyme Your Name", with Redd Evans

"Roses Roses Roses", with Bob Hilliard

"Smorgasbord at a Party", with Bob Hilliard

"Solid as a Rock", with Bob Hilliard

"Somebody Bad Stole de Wedding Bell", with Bob Hilliard

"Something Made Me Wait", with Jack Murray

"Song and Dance Man", with Bob Hilliard

"Southern Cross, The", with Bob Hilliard

"Sweet Forgiveness", with Bob Hilliard

"Take Me With You",

"There! I've Said It Again", with Redd Evans

"These Will be The Best of Times", with Bob Hilliard

"Tiptoe", with Buck Ram

"Trust My Foolish Heart", with Claudia Carson and Virginia Johnson

"You Dance With Me", with Jack Murray

^[2]

See also

• List of songs introduced by Frank Sinatra

References

1. ^ Mini-biography @ Jazzhouse.org
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Composers - Lyricists database @ nfo.net

Persondata
Name	Mann, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1916
Place of birth
Date of death	2002
Place of death