Heart of My Heart

"(The Gang that Sang) Heart of My Heart" is a popular song. The music and lyrics were written by Ben Ryan (1892-1968) in 1926. It reminisces about singing a song called "Heart of My Heart" in a youthful quartet.

The original "Heart of My Heart," so longed for in the 1926 song, is also known as "The Story of the Rose," and was written by Andrew Mack (1863-1931) in 1899, according the Barbershop Harmony Society. Andrew Mack was a popular Irish actor, singer and comedian who reportedly first sang this song in an 1899 show at The Academy of Music in New York. The show was "The Last of the Rohans," written and produced by Mack.

The earlier 1899 song is a standard among barbershop quartets the world over. It's one of the most popular songs sung on Valentine's Day, as quartets deliver Singing Valentines to unsuspecting recipients in their homes, offices, classrooms, shops, train stops and other likely and unlikely places. In this context, the verses are usually omitted and only the chorus is sung.

A version of the popular 1926 song was recorded by The Four Aces on October 14, 1953 and was issued by Decca Records. It reached #7 on Billboard. Another version recorded by Don Cornell, Alan Dale, and Johnny Desmond also charted in 1953, reaching #10 on Billboard. In the United Kingdom, a version by Max Bygraves charted at #7.

Other versions of the song are known, including one by Frankie Laine.

Ben Ryan was also the co-writer with Jimmy Durante of Durante's signature song, "Inka Dinka Doo" in 1933 and was, as well, a film actor and screen writer.

External links

* [http://www.singingvalentines.com/ Singing Valentines] , as promoted by the Barbershop Harmony Society
* [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=50907 Information on Mack and his shows.]