Vee Lawnhurst (1905-1992) - pianist, songwriter, library benefactor

Vee Lawnhurst (source: American Magazine March 1937)

On September 18, 1998, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted and Mayor Brown signed Resolution 734-98. This Resolution authorized the:

City Librarian to accept and expend a gift of royalties (approximately $1,000 per year), for San Francisco Public Library from the estate of Vee Lawnhurst and to enter into a membership agreement and to execute a Digital Home Recording ("DART") Royalties authorization with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ("ASCAP").

It's time to past pay tribute to the late Vee Lawnhurst, the Library's benefactor. Come to the see the display of Vee Lawnhurst sheet music in the Steve Silver Beach Blanket Babylon Music Center on the 4th Floor of the Main Library.

Born Laura Loewenherz on November 24, 1905, Vee Lawnhurst was a successful woman Tin Pan Alley era songwriter – a rare achievement. An accomplished pianist, she began her musical career as a teenager recording piano rolls. 

A pioneer of early radio, by 1923, she became a regular performer on WEAF in New York City. She was later part of a popular piano duo with Muriel Pollock. Sometimes call the "Lady bugs" who also performed on the Broadway vaudeville stage. She later formed a duet with vocalist John Seagle. Sponsored by a cosmetics company, "Wildroot Vee and Johnny" were broadcast nationwide on NBC's Red Network.

As a teenager she was already writing songs. She achieved her greatest songwriting success in the 1930s while collaborating with lyricist Tot Seymour. The pair was under contract to Famous Music Corporation from 1935 to 1937. Here is a list of Lawnhurst's greatest song hits as recorded in Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories.

“And Then Some” recorded by Ozzie Nelson & His Orchestra was a #1 song (1935)

“Accent on Youth” went to #6 for Duke Ellington and #15 for Paul Pendarvis and his Orchestra (1935)

“No Other One” went to #5 for Benny Goodman and #7 for Little Jack Little (1935)

“When The Leaves Bid The Trees Goodbye” went to #19 for Enric Madriguera & His Orchestra (1935)

“Please Keep Me In Your Dreams” went to #6 for Fats Waller and #13 for Billie Holiday (1937)

“Cross Patch” went to #7 for Fats Waller (1936) - an article in Variety magazine noted that this song was broadcast 22,963 times in 1936.

“What’s The Name of That Song” went to #7 for Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra (1936)

“Alibi Baby” went to #4 for Tommy Dorsey (1937).

“Johnny Zero” went to #4 for the Song Spinners (1943).

Tot Seymour (lyrics), Vee Lawnhurst (music) [from the collection of Peter Mintun]

Famous Music Corporation was the music publishing arm for Paramount Pictures. In 1936, Lawnhurst and Seymour contributed the title song to the Hopalong Cassidy western Call of the Prairie. A year later the pair wrote the title song for Give Us This Night featuring opera singers Jan Kiepura and Gladys Swarthout. More delightfully, the songwriting duo wrote songs for a number of animated shorts. They contributed to a number of Max Fleischer short films for Paramount including the Betty Boop cartoons Be Up To Date and Happy You and Merry Me. Several silly ditties by Seymour and Lawnhurst can also be found in the Popeye Song Folio.

Betty Boop (Mae Questel) singing "Happy You and Merry Me (1936)

Vee Lawnhurst nearly disappeared from public life from the 1940s onward and became known as a recluse. By 1992, the year she died, she had faded so far into obscurity that there were no obituaries written at her passing.

A chorus of cats singing "Hold It" (1938)

Bibliography

The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Feature Films, 1931-1940 (R.R. Bowker Co., 1993).

ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, Fourth edition, compiled for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers by Jaques Cattell Press (New York : R.R. Bowker, 1980).

"Broadway Lights," What's on the Air October 1930.

"Cosmetic Renewal," Variety February 7, 1923.

Edwards, Bill, "Laura 'Vee' Loewenherz 'Lawnhurst" Morris," Ragpiano.com.

"Hummer," American Magazine March 1937

Joel Whitburn's Pop memories, 1890-1954: The history of American popular music, compiled from America's popular music charts 1890-1954 (Record Research, 1986).

Kinkle, Roger D., The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz, 1900-1950 (Arlington House, 1974).

Mintun, Peter, "Lawnhurst Story Revised" (unpublished manuscript, 2022).

"NBC New and Renewal Accounts," Heinl Radio Business Letter February 6, 1933.

“Played Over 10,000 Times in 1936,” Variety January 26, 1938.

Pointer, Ray, The Art and Inventions of Max Fleischer: American Animation Pioneer (McFarland & Company, Inc., 2017).

Popeye Song Folio (Famous Music Corp., 1936).

Vaché, Warren W., The Unsung Songwriters: America's Masters of Melodies (Scarecrow Press, 2000).

Celebrating (Nearly) Two Years of Drawing From Film

I first heard of Drawing From Film as a program offered by the Royal Drawing School in London. I never got to attend but always thought it sounded fun. A few years later, when I’d settled in the Bay Area, I wanted to attend a local drawing class for free – and I discovered there weren’t many (the only one I could find in San Francisco, and it's since disappeared). So the idea of running my own Drawing From Film program was born.

Why draw from film?

Drawing by Zahra Elhanbaly from High Life.

Drawing from a movie allows us to capture images we otherwise might not be exposed to. We’ve drawn ballroom/vogue dancers (Paris Is Burning), trains in 1960s Tokyo (High and Low), smokey bars in 50s Mexico (Victims of Sin), and remote views of outer space (High Life) – among others.

There is also a pleasing camaraderie in drawing the same image as others. You share the struggle of the drawing (because no matter how “good” you are, drawing often involves some sense of struggle!). At the end of the program, when everyone (optionally) shares their drawings, there’s an opportunity to admire and learn from the ways that other people tackled the problem of drawing certain visual problems. I always learn a lot from seeing the style and manner that other artists – experienced or new – use to approach their subjects.

Drawing by Olaniyan Adams from Daughters of the Dust.

 The other hidden value of the program is that drawing an image – really focusing deeply to capture it – is a form of meditation or mindfulness. My brain never feels clearer than after I’ve been focused very hard on a drawing, and I consider it the most pleasurable kind of meditation. When you draw something – I mean become deeply absorbed by it – something inside switches off. You stop projecting your idea of what the world is onto the world and simply see. Robert Irwin described this process when he wrote that “seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees.”

And so, even if you don’t draw, I’d encourage you to try Drawing From Film. Basic drawing materials (pencils, paper, erasers, etc.), are provided, so everyone can participate.

Drawings from top to bottom: Phil Lollar, Kevin Webster, Olaniyan Adams, and Luke H. from Victims of Sin.

The two hours generally go like this: First, I give a short spiel about the film and its director and offer some brief suggestions about how one might go about drawing a still frame of a movie. Then we watch the first 10-15 minutes of the movie to get a sense of its tone, setting, and characters, which can help late when we skip forward to draw pre-selected stills.

Usually we do about three five-minute warm-up drawings to get everyone in the drawing mode, three 10-minute drawings, and two 15-minute to 20-minute drawings (usually the most challenging frames).

At the end drawing supplies are returned and there is the option to place drawings out on the table so that others can look at them. This isn’t a critique, just an opportunity to have a look at what other people made. As I mentioned before, I find this quite practically useful. It’s also fun to see how each person tackles an image.

You can also try this on your own at home. I’ve included a list of previous and upcoming films we’ve drawn from below. I encourage you to try this on your own – or, even better, come to the Main Library and try it out!

Questions about Drawing From Film? Email ArtMusicRec (at) sfpl.org.

Isley Brothers 3+3

image source: Vibe (October 1999) in the Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive

It's hard to believe that the first published biography of Isley Brother only appeared in 2024. This is a musical group started during the earliest days of rock music and remains active today. They have had an amazing 52 singles reach the Billboard Top 200 through six decades. Joel Whitburn ranked them  the 79th best-selling artists of all time.

This absence of a book devoted the Isely Brothers has been filled Darrell M. McNeill's 3+3 - the 184th volume of the Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 series, a series of miniature books each devoted to a different record album. 

The focal point of the book is the Isley Brother's 1973 album 3+3, a platinum album (more than a million copies sold) positioned at the center of their career. The record marked the group officially including the three original Isely's -- O'Kelly, Rudolph and Ronald with their two younger siblings Ernie and Marvin and in-law Chris Jasper.

3+3 included the gold record single "That Lady" plus two other successful singles "What It Comes Down To" and a cover of Seals and Crofts "Summer Breeze." McNeill discusses the albums songs in detail, providing biographical background and musical insights.

McNeill's book traces the entire arc of the Isley Brother's professional career -- their hit songs as well as the periods where they recorded for small labels in obscurity. His lively, informative writing makes the reader want to seek out tracks from throughout their discography.

The author is a fitting advocate for their music as the director of operations for the Black Rock Coalition. He devotes many pages explaining the Isely Brothers' importance and relevance within the larger history of rock music condemning the critical neglect they have suffered. 

Those wanting to learn more about the Isley Brothers should check out the articles in two of our databases: The Entertainment Industry Magazine Archives and Rock's Backpages.

Bibliography

Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums. 1955-2016 (Record Research Inc.), [2018]

Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles.1955-2015 (Record Research, 2016).

McNeill, Darrell M., 3+3 (Bloomsbury Academic, 2024).

Jobete Music, Motown Records and "The Sound of Young America" in the Dorothy Starr Collection

Come to the Fourth Floor Music Center at the Main Library to see a small display of sheet music covers from the Dorothy Starr Collection featuring songs published by Jobete Music.

Jobete Music was the publishing arm of Berry Gordy's Motown-Tamla record label. Gordy himself began his career as a songwriter and assembled a crew of in-house songwriters including William "Smokey" Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Norman Whitfield, Brian and Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, (Nicholas) Ashford and (Valerie) Simpson. Many artists have performed covers of songs from the Motown sound. This music has become a part of the Great American Songbook.

Gordy formed Jobete Music in 1959. He sold 50 percent of it for $132 million in 1997. The company's name is an abbreviation of the first two letters of his three eldest's children's names (Joy, Berry and Terry).

 
Sheet Music Featured In The Display

Uptight (Everything's alright) / words and music by Henry Cosby, Silvia Moy and Stevie Wonder (Jobete Music Co., Inc., 1966).

Until you come back to me (That's what I'm gonna do) / words and music by Stevie Wonder, Clarence Paul and Morris Broadnax (Jobete Music Co., Inc., 1973).

Three times a lady / words and music by Lionel Richie (Jobete Music Co., Inc., 1978).

My girl / words and music by William Robinson and Ronald White (Jobete Music Co. Inc., 1965).
Here I go again / words and music by William Robinson, Al Cleveland, Terry Johnson and Warren Moore (Jobete Music Company Inc., 1969).

My guy / words and music by William Robinson (Jobete Music Company, Inc., 1964).
I heard it through the grapevine / words and music by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong (Jobete Music Co., Inc., 1967).

You're a wonderful one / words and music by Eddie Holland, Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier (Jobete Music Company, Inc., 1964).

The happening / music by Frank De Vol (Jobete Music Co., 1967).

I love the way you love / words and music by Berry Gordy, Jr. and Mikaljohn (Jobete Music Co., 1960).