Jacques Wolfe, Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJacques Wolfe
American songwriter
Date of Birth: 29-Apr-1896
Date of Death: 22-Jun-1973
Profession: songwriter
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Taurus 
About Jacques Wolfe
- Jacques Leon Wolfe (April 29, 1896 – June 22, 1973) was a Romanian-born American songwriter. Wolfe was born in Botosani, Romania.
- His family emigrated to New York when he was a very young child.
- He displayed musical talent as a youngster and, at 16, he entered the Institute of Musical Art, now known as Juilliard School.
- During World War I, he was stationed at Governor’s Island, where he played clarinet in a military band.
- Transferred south, Wolfe made his first direct contact with African-American music.
- He was fascinated with the genre and did extensive research on the history of black folk songs and spirituals.
- He became inspired to write his own music based on the style.
- His spirituals and “work songs” became very popular in sheet music form in the early 1930s.
- In 1934 Wolfe collaborated with poet Langston Hughes to write "Sad Song in de Air," published by Robbins Music Corp. Jacques Wolfe is credited with writing "Short'nin' Bread" in 1928.
- The song is a vaudeville "blackface" song written for stage during blackface shows.
- The music was published by Harold Flammer and distributed by G.
- Schirmer in New York City. Also set "Three Negro Poems" by Clement Wood to music for "medium or low voice and piano".
- Published in 1928 by G.
- Schirmer, the three songs are entitled: "Debil-Foot", "De Glory Road" and "Gwine to Hebb'n".
- "De Glory Road" appears dedicated to Paul Robeson. Wolfe wrote the music for the 1931 film The Prodigal and in 1938, composed the music for a Broadway musical based on Roark Bradford’s John Henry, starring Paul Robeson in the title role.
- The musical opened in January 1940 and, some reviewers thought because of a weak script, closed five days later.
Read more at Wikipedia