Mack David - Composer and Lyricist of Popular Songs

Composer and Lyricist of Popular Songs

In addition to his many Academy Award nominations, Mack David also had a number of hit songs, including:

  • "Rain, Rain, Go Away" (1932)
  • Duke Ellington's "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So" (1939)
  • I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine sung by Patti Page in 1950 (with subsequent cover versions)…it was later covered by Elvis Presley as a rockabilly-styled tune in 1954.
  • The Shirelles' "Baby It's You" (1961 with Burt Bacharach and Barney Williams)
  • "(Beware of) The Blob" (a charted hit by The 5 Blobs; film theme song to 1958 camp-horror classic The Blob, starring Steve McQueen, with Burt Bacharach
  • It Must Be Him (1967 with Gilbert Becaud)
  • Casper the Friendly Ghost theme song (19?? with Jerry Livingston)

Mack David also collaborated with many composers, including Raymond Scott, Al Hoffman, Alex Kramer, Count Basie, Burt Bacharach, Henry Mancini, and Jerry Livingston, on numerous songs for stage and screen, including Casper the Friendly Ghost, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Bourbon Street Beat, Surfside 6 and "This Is It" (for the 1960s The Bugs Bunny Show).

But perhaps David's most popular lyrics were those written for "La Vie En Rose," a French song with lyrics by Édith Piaf and music by Louigny (Louis Guglielmi), which had been Piaf's "signature song". Although David did not write an English Translation of Piaf's lyrics, his words captured the spirit of the song and became a very popular American version because of performances by artists such as Louis Armstrong. The song has also been recorded by over eighty international singers and musicians, and been featured in several dozen motion pictures.

David's song "Candy" (co-written with Whitney and Kramer) was recorded by Ella Fitzgerald for her 1968 album 30 by Ella.

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