Andy Razaf
Birth name Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo
Born (1895-12-16)December 16, 1895
Origin Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died February 3, 1973(1973-02-03) (aged 77)
Occupations Poet, composer, and lyricist

Andy Razaf (December 16, 1895 – February 3, 1973) was an American poet, composer and lyricist of such well-known songs as "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose".

Contents

Biography [link]

Razaf was born in Washington, D.C. His birth name was Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo. He was the son of Henri Razafinkarefo, nephew of Queen Ranavalona III of Imerina, and Jennie (Waller) Razafinkarefo, the daughter of John L. Waller, the first African American consul to Imerina. The French invasion of Madagascar left his father dead, and forced his pregnant 15-year-old mother to escape to the United States, where he was born in 1895.[1]

He was raised in Harlem, and at the age of 16 he quit school and took a job as an elevator operator at a Tin Pan Alley office building. A year later he penned his first song text, embarking on his career as a lyricist. During this time he would spend many nights in the Greyhound bus station in Times Square and would pick up his mail at the Gaiety Theatre office building which was considered the black Tin Pan Alley[2]

Some of Razaf's early poems were published in 1917-18 in the Hubert Harrison-edited Voice, the first newspaper of the "New Negro Movement". Razaf collaborated with composers Eubie Blake, Don Redman, James P. Johnson, Harry Brooks, and Fats Waller. Among the best-known Razaf-Waller collaborations are Ain't Misbehavin', Honeysuckle Rose, The Joint Is Jumpin', Willow Tree, Keepin' Out of Mischief Now and (What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue. His music was played by other Tin Pan Alley musicians, as well as Benny Goodman, Eubie Blake, Cab Calloway and many others. He was a contributor and editor of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League's Negro World newspaper.[citation needed]

In 1972, Razaf was recognized by his Tin Pan Alley peers in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[3]

Death [link]

Razaf died in North Hollywood, California from cancer, aged 77.

Songs [link]

The Songwriters Hall of Fame entry on Andy Razaf lists 215 compositions, giving co-writers and publishers [1]. He had many unpublished songs; Singer's biography lists more than 800, published and unpublished (but without giving lyrics). Some notable lyrics include:

Recordings [link]

Although Razaf's songs are found on hundreds of recordings, there are only two albums devoted exclusively to his compositions:

  • Maxine Sullivan, A Tribute to Andy Razaf, 1956, produced by Leonard Feather, re-issued in 2006 as My Memories of You with two additional non-Razaf tracks.
  • Bobby Short, Guess Who's in Town, 1987, re-released in 2001 in tandem with Bobby Short Loves Cole Porter

Poems [link]

  • Wired, Hired, Fired, an expression of grief and sorrow that color bars one fitted to position.[clarification needed - What does "fitted to position" mean?]
  • Jack Johnson, touching on defeat with honor

References [link]

  1. ^ Zinsser (2006), p. 71-2
  2. ^ Broadway: An Encyclopedia by Ken Bloom. Routledge; 2 edition (November 11, 2003); ISBN 0-415-93704-3
  3. ^ Songwriters Hall of Fame website

Bibliography [link]

  • Black and Blue: The Life and Lyrics of Andy Razaf by Barry Singer, Foreword by Bobby Short, ISBN 0-02-872395-3
  • Easy to Remember: The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs'; by William Zinsser, David R. Godine Publisher, 2006, ISBN 1-56792-325-9
  • The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of America's Great Lyricists by Philip Furia, ISBN 0-19-507473-4
  • Who's Who of the Colored Race, Memento Edition Half-Century Anniversary of Negro Freedom in U.S., reprinted by Gale Research Company, Book Tower Detroit, 1976.

External links [link]


https://wn.com/Andy_Razaf

Funny Face

Funny Face is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical Funny Face by the Gershwin brothers, and featuring the same male star (Fred Astaire), the plot is totally different and only four of the songs from the stage musical are included. Alongside Astaire, the film stars Audrey Hepburn and Kay Thompson.

Plot

Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson) is a fashion magazine publisher and editor, for Quality magazine, who is looking for the next big fashion trend. She wants a new look for the magazine. Maggie wants the look to be both "beautiful" and "intellectual". She and famous fashion photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) want models who can "think as well as they look." The two brainstorm and come up with the idea to find a "sinister-looking" book store in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. They subsequently find a bookstore named "Embryo Concepts".

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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Funny_Face

The Sandy Duncan Show

Funny Face and The Sandy Duncan Show are two American sitcoms aired by CBS starring Sandy Duncan as part of its 1971 and 1972 fall lineups, respectively. Both series were created and produced by Carl Kleinschmitt.

In the spring of 1971, after having appeared in numerous television commercials and having a great success on Broadway in the 1970 revival of The Boy Friend (which won her a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress In a Musical), Sandy Duncan's show business career was quickly ascending. She had just completed her first major motion picture - The Million Dollar Duck for Walt Disney and was about to start on her second film - the screen adaptation of the Neil Simon play Star Spangled Girl which was to be produced and released by Paramount Pictures. Duncan was also signed by Paramount to film a television pilot loosely based on the 1957 film musical Funny Face which they hoped would be picked up by CBS to be part of their 1971–1972 fall television schedule. A pilot was filmed in the spring of 1971 and CBS executives were very enthusiastic. As a result, Duncan was already being touted by the network as the brightest new star of the 1971 fall season.

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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/The_Sandy_Duncan_Show

Funny Face (disambiguation)

Funny Face is a 1957 musical film.

Funny Face or Funny Faces may also refer to:

  • A gurn
  • Funny Face (TV series), a 1971 U.S. TV sitcom starring Sandy Duncan
  • Funny Face (musical), a 1927 musical by George and Ira Gershwin
  • "Funny Face" (1927 song), a song by George and Ira Gershwin
  • "Funny Face", a song by U2 from the The Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack
  • "Funny Face" (Donna Fargo song), a 1972 country and pop hit for Donna Fargo
  • "Funny Face", B-side of "Snow (Hey Oh)," a single by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • "Funny Face", B-side of "Susannah's Still Alive", a single by Dave Davies
  • "Funny Faces", an episode of the television series Zoboomafoo
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    This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Funny_Face_(disambiguation)

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    Born: 1895-12-16

    Died: 1973-02-03

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    Funny Face

    by: Backstreet Boys

    Nick:
    Baby Wipe your eyes
    Cause I don't want to see you cry
    I don't want you thinking I'm a bad guy
    Sometimes I say some things
    That I don't really mean
    The last thing that I want is you mad at me
    I know I know what I got to do
    To get a get a smile out of you
    Make my lips touch my nose
    Cross my eyes until I go blind
    Before I go blind
    Backstreet Boys:
    Every time I think your sad I just make a funny face
    (Make a funny face yeah)
    Even when I make you mad I put on my funny face
    (On my funny face)
    I like it when you smile (I like when you smile)
    I love it when you laugh (I love it when you laugh)
    I love it when you do it to so let me see your funny face (yeah)
    Nick:
    It tickles me to see your trying not to laugh at me
    'Cause we both know your not as tough as you seem
    I know you want to laugh (come on)
    I know you want to laugh (come on)
    I know you want to laugh come on
    Laugh with me come on
    Backstreet Boys:
    Every time I think your sad I just make a funny face
    (Make a funny face yeah)
    Even when I make you mad I put on my funny face
    (On my funny face)
    I like it when you smile (I like when you smile)
    I love it when you laugh (I love it when you laugh)
    I love it when you do it to so let me see your funny face (yeah)
    Nick:
    You stick your tongue out
    I stick mine out too
    You roll your eyes
    And I laugh at you
    You say I hate you
    I say I love you (yeah, yeah, yeah)
    No matter what you do I can't stay mad at you
    And you can't stay mad at me
    So what we going to do
    Make a funny face
    Backstreet Boys:
    Every time I think your sad I just make a funny face
    (Make a funny face yeah)
    Even when I make you mad I put on my funny face
    (On my funny face)
    I like it when you smile (I like when you smile)
    I love it when you laugh (I love it when you laugh)




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