Irving Gordon

He was born in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, he studied violin, and after attending public schools in New York City, went to work in the Catskill Mountains at some of the resort hotels in the area. While working in the hotels, he took to writing parody lyrics to some of the popular songs of the day. In the 1930s, he took a job with the music publishing firm headed by talent agent Irving Mills, at first writing only lyrics but subsequently writing music as well.
After writing "Mister and Mississippi", he decided he enjoyed puns on state names, and some years later write "Delaware." He is perhaps best known for his song, "Allentown Jail", which was played by numerous other musicians, and told the story of a man who stole a diamond for his girlfriend and ended up in the Allentown jail, unable to make bail. Late in his life he won a Grammy for Song of the Year when Natalie Cole re-recorded her father's (Nat "king" Cole) earlier hit of "Unforgettable".
He is noted for his contribution in music and lyrics of the Americana genre.
He died in Los Angeles, California.


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Total 28 sheet(s) found, listing between 20 - 28.
Song | Added By | Pages | Instruments | Sheet Type | File |
Checking the cell |
papahank (456)
5242d ago
|
10 | Piano, Drum, Guitar, Trumpet, Saxophone, Bass | Original |
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Unforgettable |
riversheet (4)
5251d ago
|
2 | Piano | Book |
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Unforgetable |
orviol (133)
5251d ago
|
1 | Piano, Guitar, Violin | Other |
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Unforgettable |
pavelo5 (2)
5267d ago
|
2 | Piano, Vocal | Original |
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Unforgettable |
dreamzfantasy (26)
5288d ago
|
2 | Piano, Vocal | Book |
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Unforgettable |
londonrob (1)
5335d ago
|
2 | Piano | Other |
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unforgettable |
jean (2)
5510d ago
|
1 | Saxophone | Original |
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unforgettable |
Neilton (1)
5510d ago
|
1 | Piano, Guitar, Saxophone | Original |
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