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| Mack David | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mack David |
| Birth name | Morris David |
| Birth date | February 5, 1912 |
| Birth place | Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States |
| Death date | January 30, 1993 |
| Death place | Beverly Hills, California, United States |
| Occupation | Lyricist, songwriter, composer |
| Years active | 1930s–1980s |
| Relatives | Hal David (brother) |
Mack David was an American lyricist and songwriter prominent in the mid-20th century popular music, Broadway, and Hollywood film industries. He wrote lyrics for hit popular songs, musicals, and motion pictures, and collaborated with composers, performers, and studios across Tin Pan Alley‑era Broadway, Hollywood and the American recording industry. David's work bridged popular music publishing, film scoring, and television songwriting, contributing material for notable artists and studios.
Mack David was born Morris David in Brooklyn, New York City in 1912 and raised in a Jewish immigrant family alongside his younger brother Hal David, who also became an acclaimed lyricist. He grew up during the heyday of Tin Pan Alley, absorbed the influence of New York's Brill Building songwriting culture, and developed ties to local music publishing houses and vaudeville circuits. David received his formative exposure to songwriting through participation in neighborhood performances and associations with publishers in Manhattan, later moving into professional songwriting during the 1930s amid the rise of the American popular song industry.
David's professional career began in the 1930s when he published songs that entered the repertoires of big bands and popular vocalists. He established working relationships with composers and arrangers active in Radio City Music Hall circuits and New York recording studios, leading to engagements with Columbia Records, Decca Records, and other labels. In the 1940s and 1950s David transitioned to Hollywood, contributing lyrics for studio musicals and motion pictures produced by studios such as MGM, Warner Bros., and RKO Pictures. He collaborated with composers across stylistic lines, writing for traditional pop, jazz standards, and children's music, and maintained professional ties with performers on the Billboard charts and programs broadcast on NBC and CBS radio and television networks.
David penned lyrics for several widely recorded songs and collaborated with notable composers and performers. Among his early successes were songs recorded by luminaries such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Doris Day, and he worked with composers including Jerry Livingston, Jule Styne, and Henry Mancini. David co-wrote the popular standard "Because of You" with Arthur Hammerstein—a composition that became a signature hit for Tony Bennett and a chart-topper on the Billboard Hot 100 era charts. He supplied lyrics to "It's Impossible" (English lyrics for a song associated with Armando Manzanero), and his collaborations produced recordings by jazz instrumentalists and vocal groups featured on Capitol Records and RCA Victor pressings. David also teamed with his brother Hal David on various projects, contributing to the mid-century American songwriting milieu that included contemporaries such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Harold Arlen.
In Hollywood, David wrote lyrics for animated features and live-action films, contributing to musicals produced by Walt Disney and major studio productions. He authored the lyrics for songs in Disney's animated projects and provided material for television variety shows, musical specials, and Peabody Award‑winning broadcasts. His songs were featured in films performed by stars including Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and contemporary screen performers in musical comedies and family films. David's television credits encompass songwriting for anthology series and prime-time specials on ABC, and his music was licensed for use in cinematic soundtracks distributed by the major Hollywood studios.
David received recognition from industry organizations and award bodies for his songwriting. He was nominated for and won awards from institutions such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (in nomination circles for song categories), and received honors from the Songwriters Hall of Fame community and guilds associated with motion picture music. His compositions earned gold and platinum recordings through the Recording Industry Association of America metrics when interpreted by leading vocalists, and his contributions were acknowledged in retrospectives by music historians and by institutions preserving American popular song heritage such as the Library of Congress and archives connected to Broadway documentation projects.
David settled in Beverly Hills, California, where he continued to write and consult for studios and performers until his death in 1993. He was part of a songwriting dynasty that included his brother Hal David; together their careers exemplified the mid-century American popular-music tradition shared with figures like Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. David's songs remain in the repertoires of contemporary performers, featured in revivals, compilation albums, and retrospective collections issued by labels including Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. Musicological studies and biographies of mid‑20th‑century American songwriters cite David's melodic sensibility and lyrical craftsmanship, and his work continues to appear in productions that draw on the legacy of American musical theatre and classic Hollywood songwriting.
Category:American lyricists Category:1912 births Category:1993 deaths