Roy Turk

Roy Turk
Born	Roy Kenneth Turk (1892-09-20)September 20, 1892 New York City, New York, United States
Died	November 30, 1934(1934-11-30) (aged 42) Hollywood, California, United States
Occupation(s)	Songwriter and lyricist
Years active	1920s–1930s
Style	Traditional pop, cast recordings, show tunes, vaudeville, vocal music

Roy Kenneth Turk (September 20, 1892 – November 30, 1934) was an American songwriter and lyricist, who frequently collaborated with composer Fred E. Ahlert, with whom he wrote their popular 1929 song "Mean to Me", which became a jazz standard. In 1926 he collaborated with Lou Handman on his best known song, the 1927 hit Are You Lonesome Tonight?, whose best version was the Elvis Presley one, released in 1960. He worked with many other composers, including for film lyrics. Turk was elected posthumously to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Overview

Among his compositions (with music by Fred Ahlert unless otherwise noted):

• 1923 - "My Sweetie Went Away" (music by Lou Handman)
• 1927 - "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (music by Lou Handman), popularized in 1960 by Elvis Presley
• 1928 - "I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)"
• 1928 - "Mean to Me"
• 1931 - "I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)"
• 1931 - "Walkin' My Baby Back Home"
• 1931 - "Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)" for Bing Crosby
• 1932 - "Love, You Funny Thing!"

He also worked with composers such as Harry Akst, George W. Meyer, Charles Tobias, Arthur Johnston, Maceo Pinkard, and J. Russell Robinson.

References

• The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, Third edition, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, New York (1966)
• ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, Fourth edition, compiled for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, by Jaques Cattell Press, R.R. Bowker, New York (1980)
• The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz, 1900–1950, Three volumes, by Roger D. Kinkle, Arlington House Publishers, New Rochelle, New York (1974)
• Songwriters. A biographical dictionary with discographies, by Nigel Harrison, McFarland & Co., Jefferson, North Carolina (1998)
• Sweet and Lowdown. America's popular songwriters, by Warren Craig, Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, New Jersey (1978), Biographies appear in the 'After Tin Pan Alley' section, beginning on page 91
• American Popular Songs. From the Revolutionary War to the present, edited by David Ewen, Random House, New York (1966)

External links

• Biography of Roy Turk at the Songwriters Hall of Fame
• Roy Turk recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.