William Dillon
William A. Dillon | |
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 1927 publicity photo | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Austin Dillon |
| Born | November 6, 1877 Cortland, New York, U.S |
| Died | February 10, 1966 (aged 88) Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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William Austin Dillon (November 6, 1877 – February 10, 1966) was an American songwriter and Vaudevillian. He is best known as the lyricist for the song "I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (1911), written in collaboration with Harry Von Tilzer.[1][2], which can be heard in Show Business (1944) and The Jolson Story (1946).
Dillon was born in Cortland, New York and performed in vaudeville with his brothers John and Harry, as well as with own act, billed as the "man of a thousand songs".[3]
Dillon married in 1918 to Georgia Leola Head, daughter of George and Mary (Steen) Head.
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He quit the vaudeville stage around 1912 after injuries suffered in a car accident, but remained active in the entertainment world as a songwriter andtheater operator. Dillon eventually returned to performing for troops in World War II and made television appearances.
He died in Ithaca, New York on February 10, 1966. [4]
Selected songs
[edit]- "Every Little Bit Added to What You've Got Makes Just a Little Bit More" (1907, written with his brother Lawrence)
- "I'd Rather Have a Girlie Than an Automobile" (1908)
- "Keep Your Foot on the Soft Pedal" (1909)
- "I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (1911, with von Tilzer)
- "All Alone" (1911, with Tilzer)
- "That Girl of Mine" (1916, with Harry Tobias and Arthur Lange)
- "I'll Wed the Girl I Left Behind" (1916)
- "On the Old Back Seat of the Henry Ford" (1916, with Lawrence)
- "My Grandfather's Girl" (1916)
- "Take Me to My Alabam" (1916)
- "Keep Right on to the End of the Road" (1924, with Harry Lauder)
- "Me and My Uncle Sam" (1941)[5][6]
References
[edit]- ^ Clift, Gene (25 March 1962). He Got The Girl, Just As The Song Said, Daytona Beach Morning Journal
- ^ Dabes, Ruth. Man of a Thousand Songs, The Rotarian (May 1953), p. 39
- ^ (3 October 1908). London Letter, The Billboard
- ^ (11 February 1966). Will Dillon dies; Lyricist was 89; Wrote 'I Want a Girl' With Harry Von Tilzer in '11, The New York Times
- ^ Studwell, William Emmett. [They also wrote: evaluative essays on lesser-known popular American songwriters prior to the rock era] (2000)
- ^ Jones, John Bush The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music And the Home Front, 1939-1945, p. 70 (2006)
External links
[edit]- Sheet music for "Take me to my Alabam': Come back, they're calling you", New York: M. Witmark & Sons, 1916, from the Alabama Sheet Music Collection
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