Lillian Rosedale

Lillian Rosedale Goodman (May 30, 1887 – January 23, 1972), born Lillian Rosenthal, was an American singer, pianist, vocal teacher, composer, and songwriter who appeared on Broadway between 1919 and 1922. Her father, Elias Rosenthal, was a Russian-born attorney practicing in New York, and she was raised alongside her mother, Emma. She pursued formal musical training at the Damrosch School of Musical Art.

Rosedale's Broadway career encompassed four productions. She made her Broadway debut in the musical Hello, Alexander in 1919, followed by the revue The Midnight Rounders of 1921 and The Century Revue. Her final Broadway appearance came in 1922 in Red Peppers. A contralto or mezzo-soprano by voice type, she also worked extensively in vaudeville during the 1910s, where she and singer Vivian Holt presented what was described as a refined act of musical worth. In 1919, Rosedale recorded more than a dozen duets with Holt for the Victor label, and additionally served as Holt's pianist on two further recordings. The two performers later reunited to sing together on radio in the 1930s.

As a composer and songwriter, Rosedale produced a substantial body of work that included "Chérie, I Love You," "If I Could Look Into Your Eyes," "Whisper to Me," "Just a Bit of Dreaming," "The Sun Goes Down," "You Have My Heart," "My Shepherd is the Lord," "Let There Be Peace," "I Found You," "Ecstasy," and "Our Prayer." Her most widely recognized composition, "Chérie, I Love You," was recorded by numerous popular artists including Nat King Cole, Pat Boone, Annette Hanshaw, Grace Moore, and Frankie Laine. Phrases from the song also appeared in Warner Brothers cartoons, performed by Mel Blanc as the character Pepé Le Pew.

Later in her career, Rosedale turned to voice instruction, coaching well-known performers including José Ferrer and Betty Hutton. She released a record of vocal exercises titled I Say You Can Sing in 1962. She was a member of both the California Music Teachers Association and ASCAP.

In her personal life, Rosedale had a relationship with author Theodore Dreiser that lasted approximately ten years in her younger years. She married attorney Mark O. Goodman in 1921, and the couple had a son, Morton Goodman, with whom she occasionally performed and collaborated on songwriting. Rosedale died on January 23, 1972, in Los Angeles, at the age of 84.