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In the mid-1940s, Jaffe formed a business collaboration with Paul Kapp, a personal manager for musical artists. Together, they founded
General Music Publishing Company, which had its first big hit in 1948 with Jaffe's song "I'm My Own Grandpaw", co-written with Dwight Latham. Latham was a singer with
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Although "book shows" like the Mask & Wig productions provide songwriters with a context, most of Jaffe's subsequent songs, written with various collaborators, were created independently of the stage. In 1937, for example, Jaffe teamed up with Henry Tobias and Larry
Vincent to write "If I Had My
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In 1944, Jaffe took credit for words and music, without collaboration, on "Bell Bottom
Trousers"—although he freely admitted that it wasn't an entirely original concept. For a hundred years or more, sailors sang a much bawdier version of the tune, much too "blue" for the times. Jaffe's cleaned-up
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Lyricist Moe Jaffe teamed with Clay Boland to write the scores for nine Mask & Wig shows between 1936 and 1950. One of their first collaborations, "An Apple a Day" (from the 1936 Mask & Wig show "This Mad Whirl"), was recorded by
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Show. These "varsity shows" were major productions at the time, playing in theaters and drawing audiences from outside the university community. The songs were printed in a portfolio and sold as souvenirs. In 1935, Brooks Bowman wrote
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never recorded "An Apple a Day" commercially, but his orchestra did play it on radio broadcasts. "The Gypsy in My Soul" has been recorded at least 100 times since then, it was wise for Jaffe and Boland to retain the rights.
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Waring's recording helped make "Collegiate" number three in the country, selling more than one million copies of sheet music. To date, the song has sold over five million discs and was "interpolated" into several movies.
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included a scene wherein
Baravelli (played by Chico Marx) plays a piano version of the theme accompanied by an offscreen orchestra during a feigned voice lesson for the protagonists' love interest.
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By the 1960s, the music industry had changed dramatically, and the kind of songs Jaffe wrote fell out of public favor. A few of his tunes continued to be recorded, especially "
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Moe Jaffe. He was survived by his wife, Gladys
Matusow Jaffe, and three children: Robert Jaffe, Ann Jaffe Pace, and Howard Jaffe. Composer, Dead; Wrote "Gypsy in My Soul,"
504:'s Orchestra with The Jubalaires; "Pray", written with Reichner and Clay Boland in 1950, recorded by Hank Snow; "Just Whisper", written with Reichner in 1951, recorded by
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124:(October 23, 1901 – December 2, 1972) was a songwriter and bandleader who composed more than 250 songs. He is best known for six: "Collegiate", "
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A few Jaffe songs have a spiritual or gospel flavor, such as: "Get
Together with the Lord", written with Bickley Reichner in 1945, recorded by
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More likely, the idea for "Grandpaw" may have derived from a story called "Singular
Intermarriages," which was published in C.C. Bombaugh's
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favorite. Their music was broadcast live from the
Georgian Room of the Benjamin Franklin Hotel. For many summers, he also took his band to
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466:(1874). Whatever its origins, "I'm My Own Grandpaw" has been consistently performed and recorded ever since, including a 2001 release by
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The
Jesters, a popular trio known for their novelty songs. He was probably the one who remembered an anecdote, then attributed to
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and others made "Bell Bottom
Trousers" Tune-Dex Digest's number two selling song for 1944-45 (second to "Don't Fence Me In").
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Jaffe continued his songwriting, primarily as a lyricist, though he wrote the music for some songs. In 1927, a
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Other songs in the Jaffe catalog include "Oh, You Sweet One," written with Paul Kapp in 1949, recorded by The
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and his Orchestra introduced the song (with Bob Eberly's vocal), it went on to take a permanent place among
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From the late 1920s through the mid '40s, Jaffe's songwriting made Jaffe and his orchestra a
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Written by Jaffe and fellow student Nat Bonx, "Collegiate" was well known on the campus when
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Orchestra; "It's Just a Matter of Opinion," written with Carl Lampl in 1946, recorded by
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production, "Listen, Dearie", had included the song "Sweetest Little Girl" by Jaffe,
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222:(class of '26) by playing piano and leading a campus dance band, Jaffe's Collegians.
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Sentimental Journey: Intimate Portraits of America's Great Popular Songs, 1920-1945
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in 1937 for the 50th annual production of the University of Pennsylvania's
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One of his most successful songs, "The Gypsy in My Soul", was written with
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On August 18, 1925, the song achieved notoriety when interpolated with the
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for Brunswick, by Tempo King for Bluebird, and by Ruby Newman for Victor;
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It was the band's theme song, "Collegiate", that turned him toward
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Gleanings for the Curious from the Harvest-Fields of Literature
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His first success, Collegiate, is considered a "quintessential
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Life to Live Over", a sentimental waltz that caught on after
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In 1941, Jaffe, Nat Bonx and musician Jack Fulton adapted
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version was tame enough for Ruth McCullough to sing when
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Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
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On April 4, 1925, Waring recorded "Collegiate" at the
427:'s arrangement. This version is featured in the film
590:"PATHE numerical listing discography: 10100 - 12000"
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and his overall health was failing. He had lived in
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695:Fred Waring's group singing the song in the 1920s
538:for many years, and died at a hospital in nearby
151:song". Premiering in 1925, it was a theme for
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770:University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni
735:American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
419:'s greatest hits—recorded on Columbia with
530:'s hit, though, Jaffe was suffering from
249:(a Pennsylvania State grad) brought his "
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
562:Paymer, Marvin E.; Post, Don E. (1999).
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183:Jaffe was born into a Jewish family in
220:University of Pennsylvania Law School
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690:as entry music for Harpo - 7:30 mark
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423:'s arrangement, and on Capitol with
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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765:Musicians from Teaneck, New Jersey
173:Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians
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785:20th-century American songwriters
521:I Left My Heart in San Francisco
497:in 1940, and recorded by Lopez.
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760:People from Keyport, New Jersey
660:Chico Marx playing "Collegiate"
276:recorded his song "Bolshevik".
34:needs additional citations for
258:Victor Talking Machine Company
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130:If I Had My Life to Live Over
313:In 1932, Marx Brothers film
750:Songwriters from New Jersey
730:Jewish American songwriters
241:First success: "Collegiate"
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780:20th-century American Jews
740:Keyport High School alumni
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568:. Noble House Publishers.
485:and Laura Leslie with the
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212:University of Pennsylvania
16:Songwriter and bandleader
179:Early life and education
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218:(class of '23) and the
775:Musicians from Vilnius
206:After graduating from
134:If You Are But a Dream
755:Wharton School alumni
540:Englewood, New Jersey
266:electrical microphone
333:Poland Spring, Maine
289:which opened in the
155:as the Professor in
138:Bell Bottom Trousers
126:The Gypsy in My Soul
43:improve this article
536:Teaneck, New Jersey
532:Parkinson's disease
208:Keyport High School
201:Keyport, New Jersey
640:Complete Biography
623:The New York Times
506:Savannah Churchill
262:Camden, New Jersey
225:I love Moe Jaffe.
142:I'm My Own Grandpa
575:978-1-881907-09-1
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720:1972 deaths
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669:Thelma Todd
608:, 1930. At
483:Don Cornell
439:Tony Pastor
398:Buddy Clark
355:Clay Boland
348:Clay Boland
323:On Broadway
260:studios in
247:Fred Waring
99:August 2022
58:"Moe Jaffe"
709:Categories
546:References
510:Jan Peerce
491:Gene Krupa
487:Sammy Kaye
455:Mark Twain
430:Radio Days
402:Bob Eberly
394:Kate Smith
383:Later hits
163:Chico Marx
153:Harpo Marx
69:newspapers
650:Moe Jaffe
502:Andy Kirk
282:Gay Paree
274:Lee Morse
197:Lithuania
122:Moe Jaffe
686:used in
372:Hal Kemp
344:Nat Bonx
285:musical
140:", and "
700:YouTube
684:YouTube
665:YouTube
193:Vilnius
187:in the
149:flapper
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229:Career
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