Vincent Youmans facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vincent Youmans
Background information
Birth name	Vincent Millie Youmans
Born	(1898-09-27)September 27, 1898 New York City, U.S.
Died	April 5, 1946(1946-04-05) (aged 47) Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Broadway composer, Broadway producer, song publisher

Vincent Millie Youmans (born September 27, 1898 – died April 5, 1946) was an American composer and producer for Broadway shows. He wrote music for many popular musicals.

Vincent Youmans was one of the most important Broadway composers of his time. He worked with many famous lyricists, who write the words for songs. Some of these included Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Irving Caesar. Youmans wrote fewer than 100 songs in total. But, a remarkable 18 of them became very famous and are still known today.

Life Story of Vincent Youmans

Vincent Youmans was born in New York City, USA. His family was wealthy and made hats. When he was two, his family moved to a nice town called Larchmont, New York. Vincent went to schools in Mamaroneck and Rye, New York.

He first wanted to be an engineer and even studied at Yale University for a short time. But he left college to work for a company on Wall Street. Soon after, he joined the Navy during World War I. He didn't fight in battles, but he started producing shows for the Navy troops in Illinois. This was his first taste of theater!

After the war, Youmans worked in a place called Tin Pan Alley. This was a famous area in New York City where many music publishers and songwriters worked. He was a "song-plugger," which meant he played new songs for people to try and get them published. He also played piano for famous composer Victor Herbert's operettas, which are like short operas with spoken parts.

First Broadway Hits

In 1921, Vincent Youmans worked with lyricist Ira Gershwin on a musical called Two Little Girls in Blue. This was his first time composing for Broadway. He had his first hit song from this show, called "Oh Me! Oh My!". This success helped him get a contract with a big music publisher, T. B. Harms.

His next big show was Wildflower in 1923. He worked with Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II on the lyrics. This musical was a huge success!

No, No, Nanette and Worldwide Fame

Youmans' most famous musical was No, No, Nanette. It had lyrics by Irving Caesar. This show became a hit on Broadway in 1925. It was so popular that it toured across the US and even internationally. No, No Nanette was the biggest musical-comedy success of the 1920s in both Europe and America.

Two songs from No, No Nanette became worldwide hits: "Tea for Two" and "I Want to Be Happy". These songs are still very well-known today. "Tea For Two" was one of the most recorded popular songs for many years.

Producing His Own Shows

In 1927, Youmans started producing his own Broadway shows. He also left his publisher and began publishing his own songs. He had another big success with Hit the Deck! in 1927. This show included popular songs like "Sometimes I'm Happy" and "Hallelujah".

However, some of his later shows after 1927 were not as successful, even though they had some great songs. These songs included "Great Day" and "Without a Song" from Great Day (1929), "Time On My Hands" from Smiles (1930), and the title song from Through the Years. His last new songs for Broadway were for the musical Take a Chance in 1932.

Hollywood and Later Years

In 1933, Youmans wrote songs for the movie Flying Down to Rio. This was the first movie to feature the famous dancing duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers together. His songs for the film included "Orchids in the Moonlight", "The Carioca", "Music Makes Me", and the movie's title song. The film was a huge hit and helped Youmans' career, but he never wrote for Astaire and Rogers again.

After working for only 13 years, Youmans had to stop composing in 1934. He became very sick with tuberculosis, a serious lung disease. He spent the rest of his life fighting this illness.

He did return to Broadway once more in 1943 with a big show called Vincent Youmans' Ballet Revue. It was an ambitious mix of Latin American and classical music. However, this production lost a lot of money.

Vincent Youmans died from tuberculosis at the age of 47 in Denver, Colorado. He left behind many songs that had not been published yet.

His Legacy

In 1970, Vincent Youmans was honored by being added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This means his work is recognized as very important in music history. In 1971, his musical No, No Nanette was brought back to Broadway. It was very popular again and helped start a trend of bringing back old musicals. In 1983, he was also added to the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Broadway Musicals with Music by Vincent Youmans

Here are some of the Broadway shows that featured music by Vincent Youmans:

• Two Little Girls in Blue (1921)
• Wildflower (1923)
• Mary Jane McKane (1923)
• Lollipop (1924)
• No, No, Nanette (1925, revived 1971)
• Oh, Please! (1926)
• Hit the Deck (1927)
• Rainbow (1928)
• A Night in Venice (1929)
• Great Day! (1929)
• Smiles (1930)
• Through the Years (1932)
• Take a Chance (1932); he wrote additional songs for this show.
• The Vincent Youmans Ballet Revue (1943)

Films with Music by Vincent Youmans

Vincent Youmans' music was also used in these films:

• No, No, Nanette (1930)
• Hit the Deck (1930)
• Song of the West (1930)
• What a Widow! (1930)
• Take a Chance (1933)
• Flying Down to Rio (1933)
• No, No, Nanette (1940)
• Tea for Two (1950)
• Hit the Deck (1955)

Famous Songs by Vincent Youmans

Here are some of the most well-known songs composed by Vincent Youmans:

• "Carioca"
• "Flying Down to Rio"
• "Great Day"
• "Hallelujah"
• "I Want to Be Happy"
• "Music Makes Me"
• "Oh Me, Oh My, Oh You"
• "Orchids in the Moonlight"
• "Sometimes I'm Happy (Sometimes I'm Blue)"
• "Tea for Two"
• "Through the Years"
• "Time on My Hands"
• "Without a Song"