Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Tea For Two Cha Cha


Warren Covington, fronting the Tommy Dorsey band, had a big hit of this in its cha cha form in 1958. Coincidentally, the lyricist, Irving Caesar qualifies for a "Whose Almost Who....distinction.
Irving Caesar (born either July 4th or 10th, 1895 in the Henry Street Settlement, died December 18, 1996 in New York), was a prominent American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for "Swanee," "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Crazy Rhythm," and "Tea for Two," one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written.
Caesar was born Isidor Keiser (10 July 1895,) and died in New York City, the son of Morris Keiser and Sofia Selinger Caesar. His father ran a neighborhood second-hand bookstore. His older brother Arthur Caesar was a successful Hollywood screenwriter. The Caesar brothers spent their later childhood and teen years in Yorkville, the same Manhattan neighborhood where the Marx Brothers were raised. Caesar knew the Marx Brothers during his boyhood in NYC.

Irving attended PS 20 on Rivington Street as did Edward G. Robinson, Harry Golden, the Gershwins, Jacob Javits and KV fathers Bellel, Sosinsky and Bueller.

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