Clay Boland
Clay Boland was a dentist and composer of popular songs. He was born October 25, 1903 in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, United States.[1]
He studied dentistry at the University of Philadelphia. In 1924, he won a university competition for a prom song with a composition entitled Dreary Weather.[2] He then composed music for the university's Mask and Wig Club, collaborating especially with lyricist Moe Jaffe in writing the songs for many of their shows. He also performed as a pianist with leading big bands of the era and was noted for his skills as an arranger. He subsequently practised as a dentist in Ardmore, Pennsylvania but continued to compose and participate as a partner in the music publishing business.[3]
During World War II, he served as a lieutenant commander in the US Navy's Dental Corps, and was called up again for active duty in 1950 at the time of the Korean War.[4]
In later life, he lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey and died on 23 July 1963, aged 59, in the Naval Hospital of St. Albans, Queens.[5]
Compositions
- "An Apple a Day"[5][6]
- "Delightful Delerium"[6]
- "Midnight on the Trail"[5]
- "The Gypsy in My Soul"[5]
- "Too Good to Be True"[5]
- "The Morning After"[5]
- "Something Has Happened to Me"[6]
- "Stop Beating Around the Mulberry Bush"[5]
- "Stop, It's Wonderful"
- "Tell Me at Midnight"[6]
- "When I Climb Down from My Saddle"[6]
Shows
- This Mad Whirl[6]
References
- IMDB
- "Dr. Clay Boland", Time, 47: 423, 1946
- Henry F. Unger (1948), "Hit-Parade Dentist", Tic Magazine
- "Music—As Written", Billboard, 62 (43): 20, 28 Oct 1950
- "Dr. Clay Boland 59, a writer of songs", The New York Times, July 25, 1963
- Warren W. Vaché (2000), The Unsung Songwriters, Scarecrow Press, pp. 33–35, ISBN 9780810835702