Grant Clarke

Grant Clarke (May 14, 1891, Akron, Ohio – May 16, 1931, California) was an American songwriter.

Clarke moved to New York City early in his career, where he worked as an actor and a staff writer for comedians. He began working on Tin Pan Alley, where he contributed music to films such as The Jazz Singer (1927), Weary River (1928), On with the Show (1929) and Is Everybody Happy? (1929).

He wrote the lyrics to the show Dixie to Broadway, and also contributed to the 1921 Ziegfeld Follies and Bombo. Later in his career he became a charter member of ASCAP and was successful in the music publishing business.

Clarke was the author of the lyrics to many popular songs of the 1910s and 1920s, among them "Second Hand Rose" and "Am I Blue?", working with composers such as George W. Meyer, Harry Akst, James V. Monaco, Al Piantadosi, Fred Fisher, Harry Warren, Arthur Johnston, James Hanley, Lewis F. Muir and Milton Ager.

Birth and Death Data: Born Akron (city and the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, United States), Died May 16, 1931 (California (state of the United States of America) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1911 - 1949

Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist, songwriter, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 226-250 of 310 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
OKeh W81158 10-in. 7/9/1927 I want to be there Frank McCravy ; James McCravy Male vocal duet, with fiddle (violin) and piano lyricist  
OKeh W82000 10-in. 12/2/1927 Ballin' the jack Chicago Footwarmers Jazz/dance quartet composer  
OKeh W401480 10-in. 12/22/1928 Avalon town Charles W. Hamp Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band lyricist  
OKeh W401585 10-in. 1/2/1929 Weary river Smith Ballew ; New Yorkers ; Joe Venuti Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
OKeh W402228 10-in. 1/10/1929 Avalon Town Cocoanut Grove Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
OKeh W402465 10-in. 6/19/1929 Am I blue? Dorsey Brothers Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
OKeh W402880 10-in. 8/23/1929 Am I blue? Smith Ballew ; Roy Smeck’s Trio Instrumental trio, with male vocal solo lyricist  
OKeh W403048 10-in. 10/10/1929 Wouldn't it be wonderful? Ed Kirkeby Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with vocal trio lyricist  
OKeh W403967 10-in. 4/22/1930 Nobody cares if I'm blue Ed Kirkeby Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with vocal lyricist  
OKeh W404975 10-in. 9/10/1931 Now that I need you you're gone Joe Venuti’s Rhythm Boys Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
OKeh [OK cat 1187-b] 10-in. approximately 1919 Anything is nice if it comes from Dixieland Bert Harvey Male vocal solo lyricist  
OKeh [OK cat 40144-b] 10-in. 1924 You'll never get to heaven with those eyes Earl Rickard Male vocal solo lyricist  
Brunswick 4055 10-in. approximately August 1920 My little bimbo Ernest Hare Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Brunswick 7517 10-in. approximately March 1922 Maybe you think you're fooling baby Margaret Young Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Brunswick 7714 10-in. approximately March 1922 Oogie oogie wa-wa Margaret Young Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Brunswick 8323-8325 10-in. approximately June 1922 Oh! Is she dumb Margaret Young Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Brunswick 8481-8483 10-in. approximately July 1922 Blue Marion Harris ; Isham Jones Orchestra Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band lyricist  
Brunswick 8913-8914 10-in. approximately October 1922 He loves it Margaret Young Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Brunswick 10721-10723 10-in. 5/23/1923 Now that I need you, you’re gone Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra Jazz/dance band songwriter  
Brunswick 10833-10835 10-in. 6/13/1923 Dirty hands, dirty face Marion Harris Female vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Brunswick 12007-12009 10-in. 11/30/1923 So this is Venice! Benny Krueger’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Brunswick E29024 10-in. 1/3/1929 Avalon town Colonial Club Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take G) lyricist  
Brunswick E29182 10-in. 2/20/1929 Weary river Randolph’s Royal Hawaiians Vocal and instrumental ensemble lyricist  
Brunswick E29467 10-in. 3/31/1929 Always in my heart The Eight Radio Stars ; Scrappy Lambert Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and whistling; without vocal (take G) lyricist  
Brunswick E30296 10-in. 7/10/1929 Am I blue? Libby Holman Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band lyricist  
(Results 226-250 of 310 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Clarke, Grant," accessed January 6, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103128.

Clarke, Grant. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103128.

"Clarke, Grant." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 6 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103128

External Sources

Wikipedia: Grant Clarke

Discogs: Grant Clarke

Allmusic: Grant Clarke

IMSLP: Grant Clarke

IMDb: Grant Clarke

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Clarke, Grant - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81046661

Wikidata: Grant Clarke - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5596141

VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/5116122

MusicBrainz: Grant Clarke - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b5b8ed30-8bd6-4264-96d3-f7e9c246b3cf

Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1448269 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1448269

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