Louis Hirsch

Louis Achille Hirsch, also known as Louis A. Hirsch and Lou Hirsch (November 28, 1887 – May 13, 1924), was a popular composer of songs and musicals in the early 20th century.

Hirsch was born in New York City. In his senior year at the City College of New York, Hirsch traveled to Europe to study piano at Berlin's Stern Conservatory, with pianist Rafael Joseffy. He returned to the U.S. in 1906 and began working as a staff pianist in the Tin Pan Alley publishing houses of Gus Edwards, and Shapiro-Bernstein. He also began to write some of his own music.

Hirsch's first assignment was writing music for the Lew Dockstader's Minstrels. Soon, some of his melodies were interpolated into Broadway shows, including The Gay White Way, Miss Innocence (starring Anna Held), and The Girl and the Wizard. In 1910, He Came From Milwaukee was Hirsch's first full score. His Revue of Revues (1911) introduced French star Gaby Deslys to America. He subsequently wrote the music to many songs that Deslys made popular, including "The Gaby Glide", "Come Dance With Me", and "When You Hear Love's Hello". One of his best jazz tunes is "It's Getting Very Dark on Old Broadway". His first major success was Vera Violetta (1911), which made Al Jolson a star. For the Schuberts in 1912 and 1913, he contributed music to The Whirl of Society and The Passing Show (both starring Jose Collins).

Hirsch was one of the nine founders of ASCAP in 1914 and an ASCAP director between 1917 and 1924. During World War I, he contributed songs to four editions of The Ziegfeld Follies, including "Sweet Kentucky Lady" and "Hello Frisco!". He wrote music for the 1918 musical Oh, My Dear! and collaborated with Otto Harbach as lyricist on the musical Going Up (1917), Mary (1920), including "Love Nest", his most successful song, which later became the Burns and Allen radio show theme. He also wrote music for The Rainbow Girl and See Saw, among others. Hirsch also conceived many of the storylines and concepts in his musicals. In 1921, he contributed to the Broadway show The O'Brien Girl and then the 1922 and 1923 editions of The Greenwich Village Follies.

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