Vincent Youmans

Vincent Youmans (New York, 1898 – Denver, 1946) was one of the most outstanding composers of Broadway musical comedy in the 1920s. His work belongs to the height of the American musical theatre, and his music was widely heard in both New York and Europe, which is why he is remembered today as the author of standard songs.

Before devoting himself fully to composition, he worked as a piano salesman and as a maker of piano-roll arrangements for the Aeolian company, where he was mentored by Felix Arndt. He then served as rehearsal pianist for Victor Herbert and worked as a song plugger for the publishers Remick and Harms. During the First World War, while serving in the navy, he began to compose; Sousa admired one of his marches and orchestrated it for the band of the Marine Corps. His first published song, The Country Cousin, dates from 1920.

His first Broadway score, Two Little Girls in Blue, opened in 1921 in collaboration with Paul Lannin. The success of this title and of The Wildflower (1923) established his fame. That same year brought No, No, Nanette, which includes 'Tea for Two' and 'I want to be happy' and was the biggest musical comedy hit of the 1920s in both Europe and the United States. From 1927 he also produced his own shows. Hit the Deck! (1927), with 'Hallelujah', was another major triumph, but his subsequent productions failed at the box office, although many of his songs remained popular. His last contributions to Broadway were some songs for Take a Chance (1932).

His early songs are notable for their economy of melodic material: phrases of two, three or four notes are repeated and varied through subtle harmonic or rhythmic changes. Later, possibly influenced by Kern, he adopted longer musical phrases and more fluid melodic lines. Tuberculosis forced him to retire in 1934, after a professional career of barely thirteen years. Although he published fewer than a hundred songs, eighteen were judged standards by ASCAP, attesting to his lasting legacy in the American popular repertoire.