Irving Kahal
Irving Kahal (March 5, 1903, Houtzdale, Pennsylvania – February 7, 1942, New York City) was a popular American song lyricist active in the 1920s and 1930s. He is best remembered for his collaborations with composer Sammy Fain which started in 1926 when Kahal was working in vaudeville sketches written by Gus Edwards. Their collaboration lasted 16 years, until Kahal's death in 1942. Among many fine songs, the stand-out was "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" on which Pierre Norman lent a hand, which was sung by Maurice Chevalier in the film The Big Pond (1930) effectively becoming his signature tune, and featured by Frank Sinatra on his magisterial album Songs For Swingin' Lovers. The Fain/Kahal catalogue also includes "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella" (1928) with Francis Wheeler, "Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine" (1929) with Willie Raskin, "By a Waterfall" (1930), "When I Take My Sugar to Tea" (1931) with Pierre Norman, "I Can Dream, Can't I?" (1938) and "I'll Be Seeing You", which was written in 1938, but became a hit in 1943 especially among the families of servicemen sent overseas. In 1970, Irving Kahal was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Houtzdale, Died February 7, 1942 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1925 - 1955
Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist, songwriter, composer, vocalist, translator
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 276-284 of 284 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edison | 19284 | 10-in. | 7/9/1929 | Don't hang your dreams on a rainbow | Waldo Mayo | Violin solo, with instrumental ensemble and mixed vocal ensemble | lyricist | |
| Edison | 19328 | 10-in. | 7/29/1929 | Sweetheart's holiday | The New Yorkers | Male vocal quintet, with orchestra | lyricist | |
| Edison | N-715 | 10-in. | 1/22/1929 | Wedding bells (are breaking up that old gang of mine) | Billy Murray ; Walter Scanlan | Male vocal duet, with orchestra | lyricist | |
| Edison | N-817 | 10-in. | 3/26/1929 | If I give up the saxophone (Will you come back to me?) | 7 Blue Babies ; Jack Dalton | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
| Edison | N-936 | 10-in. | 6/3/1929 | A high silk hat and a walking cane | Frankie Marvin | Male vocal solo, with guitar | lyricist | |
| Edison | N-1009 | 10-in. | 7/9/1929 | Don't hang your dreams on a rainbow | Waldo Mayo | Violin solo, with instrumental ensemble and mixed vocal ensemble | lyricist | |
| Edison | N-1052 | 12-in. | 7/29/1929 | Sweetheart's holiday | The New Yorkers [Edison vocal group] | Male vocal quintet, with orchestra | lyricist | |
| Roost | 1388 | 10-in. | approximately 1951 | I'll be seeing you | (Little) Jimmy Scott | lyricist | ||
| ARC | 21264 | 10-in. | 6/17/1937 | Don't you know or don't you care | Tempo King ; Kings of Tempo ; Queenie Ada Rubin | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Kahal, Irving," accessed December 11, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116675.
Kahal, Irving. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 11, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116675.
"Kahal, Irving." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 11 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Irving Kahal
Discogs: Irving Kahal
Allmusic: Irving Kahal
IMDb: Irving Kahal
Britannica: Irving Kahal
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Kahal, Irving, 1903-1942 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr96011493
Wikidata: Irving Kahal - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6074648
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/22404417
MusicBrainz: Irving Kahal - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/52505c68-e341-4983-8c79-0df53d1ad111
Fast: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/371989 - http://id.worldcat.org/fast/371989
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