Walter Donaldson (February 15, 1893 - July 15, 1947) was a prolific United States popular songwriter, composing many hit songs of the 1910s and 1920s.
Walter Donaldson was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a piano teacher. While still in school he wrote original music for school productions, and had his first professional songs published in 1915. The following year he had a hit with "The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady". After serving in the Unite...
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Walter Donaldson (February 15, 1893 - July 15, 1947) was a prolific United States popular songwriter, composing many hit songs of the 1910s and 1920s.
Walter Donaldson was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a piano teacher. While still in school he wrote original music for school productions, and had his first professional songs published in 1915. The following year he had a hit with "The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady". After serving in the United States Army in World War I, Donaldson was hired as a songwriter by Irving Berlin Music Company. He stayed with Berlin until 1928, producing many hit songs, then in 1928 established his own publishing company. His company was legally known as "Donaldson, Douglas & Gumble, Inc", but all the publications had Walter Donaldson's name in large letters, and the legal name of the company in fine print.
Donaldson is primarily known as a composer, rather than as a lyricist. He published some 600 original songs. His biggest hits included:
Several of...
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