James Cavanaugh (songwriter)

James Anthony Cavanaugh (New York City, 29 October 1892 - New York City, 18 August 1967) was an American songwriter.[1] Among his best known songs were "Mississippi Mud" (1927, made popular by Bing Crosby), "Crosstown" (1940, co-written with John Redmond), and "The Gaucho Serenade" (title track of the soundtrack to the Gene Autry 1940 movie Gaucho Serenade).

Biography

Marriage, work as chauffeur and military service during WWI

Born in 1892 in New York City, in 1917 Cavanaugh was living in Manhattan, at 511 W 130th St., was married to "Martha V. Conroy", and was working as a private chauffeur for a businessman at 43 West 55th St. also in Manhattan.[2] In October of 1918, he was drafted despite this, but luckily the armistice was signed 11/11/18 and Cavanaugh was discharged honorably in mid-December in the general demobilization.[3]

From chauffeur to professional songwriter, through a house moving and military service during WWII

James and Martha Cavanaugh would go on to raise six children. In the 1930 Census he still listed himself as a chauffeur, still living in Manhattan. In the 1940 US census, the family had moved to 316 East 184th Street in the Bronx, but Cavanaugh, despite having written successful songs for seven years by that time, still listed his occupation as "chauffeur". Finally, by 1942, when he registered for the "Old Man Draft" at the age of 50, he listed his employer as ASCAP, 30 Rockefeller Center, NYC, and he was already living in the Bronx (where he will live until his death in 1967): he had made the transition to become a professional songwriter.[4]

Songs

(Note: listing is incomplete)

References
  1. Warren W. Vaché The unsung songwriters: America's masters of melodies 2000 Page 58 "James Cavanaugh was born in New York City, and he died there on August 18, 1967. Not much is known of his early career, except that he worked in vaudeville and wrote his own material"
  2. [WWI draft card claiming married exemption, 6/5/17, a month before the birth of his first son, Charles]
  3. [US WWI Draft Registration Cards]
  4. [US WW II Draft Registration Cards, 1942]
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