Bing Crosby: Brother Can You Spare A Dime?
Posted by clarkspicks in broadway, jazz, music, show tunes, tags: broadway, brother can you spare a dime, E Y Harburg, George Gershwyn, Jay Gorney, jazz, musicals, show tunesIn 1929 E.Y.”Yip” Harburg was a co-owner of the Consolidated Electrical Appliance Company. He wrote poetry, which was sometimes published in the local newspapers. After the stock market crash Harburg was unemployed and $50,000 in debt. His high school and college friend, George Gershwyn introduced Harburg to composer Jay Gorney and the two went to work writing songs for a show Earl Carroll’s Sketchbook. Harburg and Gorney collaborated on several shows, including the 1932 production Americana, for which they wrote Brother Can You Spare A Dime. The song was recorded in 1932 by both Rudy Vallee and Bing Crosby. Both recordings were hits and became the soundtrack of the 1932 Presidential election, in which Franklin Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover.
Yip Harburg went on to write lyrics to many Broadway shows and Hollywood musicals. His best known work was The Wizard of Oz, for which he was the head screenwriter in addition to collaborating with Harold Arlen on all of the songs.
I heard a wonderful analysis of Brother Can You Spare A Dime on NPR’s Weekend Edition this morning, by composer Rob Kapilow. Here is Bing Crosby’s 1932 recording, set to a series of photos from the Great Depression.
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