L. Wolfe Gilbert papers, 1907-1971

L. Wolfe Gilbert (1886-1970) was an American lyricist and composer during the twentieth century. Known as the "Dean of Tin Pan Alley", Gilbert was born in Odessa, Ukraine and immigrated to the United States with his family as an infant. He later moved to New York City and started working in vaudeville as a teenager. Gilbert wrote his first hit song, "Waitin' for the Robert E. Lee" in 1912 and went on to write more than 250 songs, including "Down Yonder" (1921), "Lucky Lindy" (1927), and "Peanut Vendor' (1931). His songs were performed and recorded by numerous performing artists, including Fred Waring, Count Basie, and Xavier Cugat. Gilbert also wrote lyrics and composed for radio, motion pictures, and television, and his work included writing music for the "Eddie Cantor Show", writing the lyrics for the song "Ramona" (which became the first ever motion picture theme song for the movie "Ramona" in 1936), and writing the lyrics for "Hopalong Cassidy March" (which became the theme song for Hopalong Cassidy's movies and television show during the 1940s and 1950s). In addition to his musical activities, Gilbert was an active member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, serving as its director from 1941 to 1944. He was also the author of his autobiography Without Rhyme or Reason (1956).