Clarence Gaskill(1892-1947)

Composer, songwriter ("Minnie the Moocher", "Prisoner of Love"), author, pianist and publisher, educated at St. John's School and Friends School in Philadelphia. He also studied music with his mother and with private teachers. At sixteen, he was a pianist in a Philadelphia theatre, and at 21 he owned a music publishing firm. During World War I he served as a machine gunner, and earned a Purple Heart. Thereafter he toured in vaudeville as Melody Monarch. Joining ASCAP in 1921, his chief musical collaborators included Jimmy McHugh, Cab Calloway, Irving Mills, Leo Robin, and Duke Ellington. His other popular-song compositions include "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me", "Another Perfect Day Has Passed Away", "Doo-Wacka-Doo", "Swanee River Rhapsody", "Strange Interlude", and "Still I Love Her".