I got my first record collection when I was 3 1/2. We had just moved into a little bungalow in Northeast Minneapolis and the previous owners had left a stack of old, old 45s and 78s—Patti Page, Rosemary Clooney, Nelson Eddy, Rudy Vallee etc etc. which my mother, God bless her, let me keep for myself to play on my kiddie record player! This, mes amis, was my first true introduction to The Great American Songbook. But wasn’t until I started working at ASCAP (at 18) where I had to learn the names of the melody and lyric writers the name “Billy Rose” came popping up (year is date of recording):
- Without a Song / Noah Stewart Vincent Youmans, Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose (2012)
- I’d Rather Be Blue Over You / Barbra Streisand (jukebox version) Fred Fisher, Billy Rose (1968)
- It’s Only a Paper Moon / The Nat King Cole Trio Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Billy Rose (1951)
- Great Day / Sarah Vaughan (1961) / Vincent Youmans, Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose (1961)
- Cheerful Little Earful / Ella Fitzgerald Harry Warren, Ira Gershwin, Billy Rose (1962)
Above: Would You Like to Take a Walk? by Harry Warren, Mort Dixon, and Billy Rose, sung by Rudy Vallee.
