Fred E. Ahlert(1892-1953)
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
He was educated at Townsend Harris Hall, at City College of New York
and at Fordham University Law School. He began arranging for Waterson,
Berlin and Snyder, and wrote special material for vaudeville. He did
the first arrangements for the new Fred Waring Glee Club. Joining ASCAP in
1920, he served as a director for 20 years, between 1933 and 1953, and
as its president from 1948 to 1950. His chief musical collaborators
included Roy Turk, Sam Lewis, Joe Young, Harry Richman, Bing Crosby, and Edgar Leslie. His
popular songs include "I'll Get By"; "The Moon Was Yellow"; "I'm Gonna
Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"; "Where the Blue of the Night
Meets the Gold of the Day" (the Bing Crosby theme); "Mean to Me"; "Walkin'
My Baby Back Home"; "I'd Love to Fall Asleep and Wake Up in My Mammy's
Arms"; You Oughta See My Baby"; "I Gave You Up Before You Threw Me
Down"; "There's a Cradle in Caroline"; "Love, You Funny Thing"; "Sing
an Old-Fashioned Song"; "Life is a Song"; "The Image of You"; "Take My
Heart"; I Don't Know Why"; and "I Wake Up Smiling".
