Johnny Burke

John Francis Burke, born October 3, 1908, in Antioch, California, was an American lyricist, composer, and book writer whose work spanned Broadway, Hollywood, and the popular music world from the 1920s through the 1950s. His output is considered part of the Great American Songbook. Burke died in New York City on February 25, 1964, from a heart attack at the age of 55.

Burke's father, William Earl Burke, was a structural engineer who later founded a construction business after relocating the family to Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Mary Agnes Burke, née Mungovan, worked as a schoolteacher. In Chicago, Burke studied both piano and drama as a youth. He went on to attend Crane College before enrolling at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he played piano in the orchestra and graduated in 1927. Despite the 1927 graduation date, Burke had already joined the Chicago office of the Irving Berlin Publishing Company in 1926, working as a pianist and song salesman. He also performed piano in dance bands and vaudeville during this period.

Irving Berlin Publishing eventually transferred Burke to its New York City office, where he began writing lyrics alongside composer Harold Spina. Their collaboration produced "Shadows on the Swanee" in 1932 and "Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore" in 1933, the latter becoming a notable hit for the Guy Lombardo Orchestra. In 1934, the pair wrote "You're Not the Only Oyster in the Stew" and "My Very Good Friend, the Milkman," both novelty hits recorded by Fats Waller. Songs by Burke and Spina were performed by bands led by Ben Pollack, Paul Whiteman, and Ozzie Nelson, among others. The partnership concluded in 1936 when Burke departed for Hollywood.

In Hollywood, Burke first collaborated with Arthur Johnston before moving on to work with Jimmy Monaco. His most significant and enduring partnership, however, was with composer Jimmy Van Heusen, which produced some of the defining popular songs of the 1940s. Burke signed a contract with Paramount Pictures in 1939 and remained with the studio throughout his Hollywood career. Of the 41 films on which he worked, 25 starred Bing Crosby, and seventeen songs from those projects became substantial hits. Among them were "Pennies from Heaven," "I've Got a Pocketful of Dreams," "Only Forever," "Moonlight Becomes You," and "Sunday, Monday, or Always." The Burke–Van Heusen song "Swinging on a Star," written for Crosby's film Going My Way, won the Academy Award for Best Song in 1944, one of seven Oscars the film received that year. For Frank Capra's 1950 Paramount film Riding High, Burke and Van Heusen contributed several songs that Crosby performed, including "Sunshine Cake," "A Sure Thing," "Someplace on Anywhere Road," and "The Horse Told Me." "Sunshine Cake" was also recorded by Peggy Lee, Jo Stafford, Dick Haymes, and later Tiny Tim.

Beyond his film work, Burke wrote lyrics for "Scatterbrain" in 1939, with music by Frankie Masters, and collaborated with Bob Haggart on "What's New?" that same year. In 1955, he added lyrics to jazz pianist Erroll Garner's standard "Misty," and he wrote both the words and music to the Nat King Cole song "If Love Ain't There." The 1956 film The Vagabond King marked the end of his Hollywood career.

Burke's Broadway credits include Swingin' The Dream, Nellie Bly, Carnival in Flanders, Donnybrook!, and Swinging on a Star. For Carnival in Flanders, he and Van Heusen contributed songs including "Here's That Rainy Day" and "It's an Old Spanish Custom." His most substantial Broadway undertaking was Donnybrook!, for which Burke wrote both the music and lyrics. Based on the 1952 film The Quiet Man, the show opened on May 18, 1961, ran for 68 performances plus two previews, and closed on July 15, 1961. In 1995, a Broadway musical revue titled Swinging on a Star depicted Burke's life and career.

Burke was married four times. His marriage to Bess Patterson lasted from 1939 to 1955 and produced three children. He was also married to Mary Mason, who performed the role of Liesl in the Broadway production of The Sound of Music. Burke was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.