William Austin Dillon (November 6, 1877 – February 10, 1966) was an American songwriter and Vaudevillian. He is best known as the lyricist for the song "I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (1911), written in collaboration with Harry Von Tilzer.,[1][2] which can be heard in Show Business (1944) and The Jolson Story (1946).
William A. Dillon | |
|---|---|
 1927 publicity photo | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Austin Dillon |
| Born | November 6, 1877 Cortland, New York, U.S |
| Died | February 10, 1966 (aged 88) Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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Dillon was born in Cortland, New York and performed in vaudeville with his brothers John and Harry, as well as with own act, billed as the "man of a thousand songs".[3]
Dillon married in 1918 to Georgia Leola Head, daughter of George and Mary (Steen) Head.
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He quit the vaudeville stage around 1912 after injuries suffered in a car accident, but remained active in the entertainment world as a songwriter andtheater operator. Dillon eventually returned to performing for troops in World War II and made television appearances.
He died in Ithaca, New York on February 10, 1966.[4]
Selected songs
edit- "Every Little Bit Added to What You've Got Makes Just a Little Bit More" (1907, written with his brother Lawrence)
- "I'd Rather Have a Girlie Than an Automobile" (1908)
- "Keep Your Foot on the Soft Pedal" (1909)
- "I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (1911, with von Tilzer)
- "All Alone" (1911, with Tilzer)
- "That Girl of Mine" (1916, with Harry Tobias and Arthur Lange)
- "I'll Wed the Girl I Left Behind" (1916)
- "On the Old Back Seat of the Henry Ford" (1916, with Lawrence)
- "My Grandfather's Girl" (1916)
- "Take Me to My Alabam" (1916)
- "Keep Right on to the End of the Road" (1924, with Harry Lauder)
- "Me and My Uncle Sam" (1941)[5][6]
References
edit- ^ Clift, Gene (25 March 1962). He Got The Girl, Just As The Song Said, Daytona Beach Morning Journal
- ^ Dabes, Ruth. Man of a Thousand Songs, The Rotarian (May 1953), p. 39
- ^ (3 October 1908). London Letter, The Billboard
- ^ (11 February 1966). Will Dillon dies; Lyricist was 89; Wrote 'I Want a Girl' With Harry Von Tilzer in '11, The New York Times
- ^ Studwell, William Emmett. [They also wrote: evaluative essays on lesser-known popular American songwriters prior to the rock era] (2000)
- ^ Jones, John Bush The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music And the Home Front, 1939-1945, p. 70 (2006)
External links
edit- Sheet music for "Take me to my Alabam': Come back, they're calling you", New York: M. Witmark & Sons, 1916, from the Alabama Sheet Music Collection