Dana Suesse facts for kids

Nadine Dana Suesse (born December 3, 1911 – died October 16, 1987) was an American musician, composer, and lyricist. She was known for writing popular songs, music for Broadway shows, and classical pieces.

About Dana Suesse

Dana Suesse was born in Kansas City, Missouri. When she was young, she started playing the piano. She was so good that she toured the Midwest in vaudeville shows. Vaudeville was a type of entertainment with different acts, like singing, dancing, and comedy. During her shows, Dana would ask the audience for a tune idea. Then, she would quickly create her own music from it right on the spot!

In 1926, Dana and her mother moved to New York City. There, she began writing bigger musical pieces. She would often take a small part of a tune and turn it into a song with words. Two of her most famous songs are "My Silent Love" and "You Oughta Be in Pictures". She worked with a lyricist named Edward Heyman on "You Oughta Be in Pictures" and other songs like "Ho-Hum." People in the 1930s even called her "the girl Gershwin," comparing her to the famous composer George Gershwin.

Her Musical Training

In New York, Dana Suesse studied piano with Alexander Siloti. He was the last student of the famous composer Franz Liszt. She also learned composition from Rubin Goldmark, who was one of George Gershwin's teachers. After World War II, she spent three years studying with Nadia Boulanger, a very important music teacher in Paris.

In 1931, a famous bandleader named Paul Whiteman asked her to write a piece called "Concerto in Three Rhythms." This was a big deal because Whiteman had also asked George Gershwin to write his famous "Rhapsody in Blue."

Working with Billy Rose

Starting in 1930, Dana Suesse began working with a show producer named Billy Rose. This partnership lasted through the 1940s. In 1936, she lived in Fort Worth, Texas, for three months. She wrote all the music for Rose's "Casa Mañana," a huge outdoor dinner theater show. With Billy Rose and Irving Kahal, she wrote "The Night Is Young And You're So Beautiful." This song became very popular and was played on the radio show "Your Hit Parade." Many orchestras recorded it, and it became a hit again in 1951.

In 1937, Dana Suesse and Billy Rose were even invited to dinner at the White House by President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt. Later, she wrote many more songs with Rose. This included "Yours For A Song," which was the main theme for "Billy Rose's Aquacade" at the 1939 New York World's Fair. In the 1940s, she was the main composer for Rose's "Diamond Horseshoe Revues." She also wrote songs like "Moon About Town" with lyricist E.Y. "Yip" Harburg.

Later Life and Legacy

After writing many popular songs, Dana Suesse moved to Paris for three years to study classical composition. She was accepted by Nadia Boulanger because of a recommendation from Robert Russell Bennett, a great music arranger and her tennis partner.

On December 11, 1974, Dana Suesse and her husband put on a special concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. The concert featured only her own musical compositions. A year later, she and her husband moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

After her husband passed away in 1981, Dana moved back to New York City. This was where she had created most of her music. She continued to write plays and songs for the theater. Just before she died in 1987, she was working on a new musical called Mr. Sycamore and a play called Nemesis.

Dana Suesse's music is still performed today. In 2003, the BBC Concert Orchestra in the UK played some of her compositions. Her works include music for Broadway shows like Sweet And Low (1930) and You Never Know (musical) (1938). She also wrote music for plays like The Seven Year Itch (1952).

Family Life

On July 26, 1940, Dana Suesse married Courtney Burr. They were married for some time before they divorced. Later, on April 16, 1971, she married Charles Edwin Delinks. They stayed married until he passed away in 1981.