- Ben Oakland
Infobox musical artist
Name = Ben Oakland
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Born =September 24 ,1907
New York City, New York
Died =August 26 ,1979 (aged 71)
Hollywood, California
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Occupation =songwriter
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Notable_instruments =Ben Oakland (
September 24 ,1907 -August 26 ,1979 ) was an American composer, lyricist [ [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=12210 Internet Broadway Database: Ben Oakland Credits on Broadway ] ] and pianist most active from the 1920s through the 1940s. He composed mainly for Broadway and vaudeville, though he also worked on several Hollywood scores including for the filmMy Little Chickadee .Oakland often composed music only, collaborating with lyricists including
Oscar Hammerstein II ,Milton Drake ,L. Wolfe Gilbert , andArtie Shaw . Notable compositions include "Java Jive" (covered by the Manhattan Transfer and used in several commercial advertisements), "I'll Take Romance", and "I'm A Hundred Percent For You" [ [http://nfo.net/cal/to1.html COMPOSERS - LYRICISTS DATABASE - 'O' entries page 1 ] ] .Although often credited with writing the music to "
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star " [ [http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/notable_bio.asp?notableWriterId=29 Songwriters Hall of Fame ] ] , the tune is actually a French melody "Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman" dating first published in 1761 ["The melody was first known as 'Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman,' the music of which appeared (without words) in 1761 in 'Les Amusements d'une Heure et Demy' by Mr. Bouin (Paris), p. 1." [http://listserv.cuny.edu/Scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0112b&L=opera-l&T=0&P=13756] ] .The Songwriter's Hall of Fame lists Oakland on their notable (non-inducted) songwriters list [ [http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/notable_songwriters.asp Songwriters Hall of Fame ] ] for contributions to the American popular song.
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*ibdb name|id=12210|name=Ben Oakland
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