# Harold Rome

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American composer, lyricist, and writer

Harold Rome Rome in 1950 Born Harold Jacob Rome (1908-05-27)May 27, 1908 Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. Died October 26, 1993(1993-10-26) (aged 85) New York City, New York, U.S. Occupations Composer, lyricist, writer

**Harold Jacob "Hecky"[1] Rome** (May 27, 1908 – October 26, 1993)[2] was an American composer, lyricist, and writer for [musical theater](/source/Musical_theater).

## Biography

Rome was born in [Hartford, Connecticut](/source/Hartford%2C_Connecticut)[3] and graduated from [Hartford Public High School](/source/Hartford_Public_High_School). Originally, he chose to go to [Trinity College](/source/Trinity_College_(Connecticut)), but transferred because he felt like a "townie."[4] Rome played piano in local dance bands such as [Eddie Wittstein](/source/Eddie_Wittstein)'s and was already writing music while studying architecture and law at [Yale University](/source/Yale_University).[3] While at Yale, he also pledged to [Tau Epsilon Phi](/source/Tau_Epsilon_Phi).[5] He graduated in 1929 with a [Bachelor of Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts), and continued into [Yale Law School](/source/Yale_Law_School).[5]

After graduation, he worked as an architect in New York City, but continued to pursue his musical interests, arranging music for local bands,[3] and writing material for revues at Green Mansions, a [Jewish](/source/Jewish) summer [resort](/source/Resort) in the [Adirondacks](/source/Adirondack_Mountains). Much of the music Rome was writing at this time was socially conscious and of little interest to [Tin Pan Alley](/source/Tin_Pan_Alley).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

In 1937, he made his [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) debut as co-writer, composer, and lyricist of the topical [revue](/source/Revue) *[Pins and Needles](/source/Pins_and_Needles)*, which was originally written for a small theatrical production directed by Samuel Roland. After a two-week professional run, it was adapted for performances by members of the then-striking [International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union](/source/International_Ladies'_Garment_Workers'_Union) (ILGWU) as entertainment for its members.[3]

As Roland was associated with left-wing causes, he was asked by ILGWU president [David Dubinsky](/source/David_Dubinsky) to withdraw.[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*] The show was a huge success, running for 1108 performances, and prompted [George S. Kaufman](/source/George_S._Kaufman) and [Moss Hart](/source/Moss_Hart) to invite Rome to collaborate on another topical revue, *Sing Out the News*, in 1938.[3]

In 1949, he wrote the English lyrics of the French song "[Mais qu’est-ce que j’ai?](/source/What_Can_I_Do%3F_(%C3%89dith_Piaf_song))". The title song became "What Can I Do?" and the song was recorded by Madelyn Russell with [Mitch Miller](/source/Mitch_Miller) and his Orchestra.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

During World War II, Rome wrote English lyrics to a tune composed by the Soviet [Dmitri Shostakovitch](/source/Dmitri_Shostakovich). The song was titled "[United Nations on the March](/source/United_Nations_on_the_March)" and served as the unofficial anthem of the Allied Powers in [World War II](/source/World_War_II).[6]

In the early 1940s, Rome wrote songs for several revues and shows, but it was not until after the end of [World War II](/source/World_War_II) that he had his next real success with *[Call Me Mister](/source/Call_Me_Mister)*. His first full-fledged musical was *[Wish You Were Here](/source/Wish_You_Were_Here_(musical))* in 1952.[3]

Additional Broadway credits include *[Fanny](/source/Fanny_(musical))* (1954), *[Destry Rides Again](/source/Destry_Rides_Again_(musical))* (1959), *[I Can Get It for You Wholesale](/source/I_Can_Get_It_for_You_Wholesale)* (1962), in which [Barbra Streisand](/source/Barbra_Streisand) made her Broadway debut, and *[The Zulu and the Zayda](/source/The_Zulu_and_the_Zayda)* (1965), which dealt with racial and religious intolerance.[3] He also wrote the lyrics for *La Grosse Valise* (composer [Gérard Calvi](/source/G%C3%A9rard_Calvi)), which enjoyed a short run at the [54th Street Theater](/source/Adelphi_Theatre_(New_York_City)) in 1965.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

In 1970, he wrote a musical adaptation of *[Gone with the Wind](/source/Gone_with_the_Wind_(novel))* entitled *[Scarlett](/source/Scarlett_(musical))* for a Tokyo production with a Japanese cast.[3] It later was staged in English with little success in London and Los Angeles.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Rome's music and/or lyrics can be heard in such films as *[Babes on Broadway](/source/Babes_on_Broadway)* (1941), *[Thousands Cheer](/source/Thousands_Cheer)* (1943), *[Anchors Aweigh](/source/Anchors_Aweigh_(film))* (1945), and *[Rear Window](/source/Rear_Window)* (1954).

In 1991, Rome was presented with a special [Drama Desk Award](/source/Drama_Desk_Award) for his "distinctive contribution to musical theater". Later that same year, he was inducted into the [American Theater Hall of Fame](/source/American_Theater_Hall_of_Fame).[7]

Rome died of a stroke in New York City at the age of 85.[2]

## Works

### Shows

- 1937: *[Pins and Needles](/source/Pins_and_Needles)*

- 1940: *The Little Dog Laughed*

- 1946: *[Call Me Mister](/source/Call_Me_Mister)*

- 1948: *That's the Ticket* (Phila.)

- 1950: *Bless You All*

- 1952: *[Wish You Were Here](/source/Wish_You_Were_Here_(musical))*

- 1954: *[Fanny](/source/Fanny_(musical))*

- 1959: *[Destry Rides Again](/source/Destry_Rides_Again_(musical))*

- 1962: *[I Can Get It for You Wholesale](/source/I_Can_Get_It_for_You_Wholesale)*

- 1965: *[The Zulu and the Zayda](/source/The_Zulu_and_the_Zayda)*[3]

- 1973: *Gone With the Wind* (not NY)

### Songs

- 1939: "Gee, But I’d Like to Be a G-Man"[8]

- 1939: "Who's Gonna Investigate the Man Who Investigates Me?" (first sung by [Zero Mostel](/source/Zero_Mostel))[9]

- 1945: "(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings" (from the French song "Ma Mie" by Henri Laurent Herpin; English lyric by Harold Rome), sung by [Kathryn Grayson](/source/Kathryn_Grayson) in the 1945 film *[Anchors Aweigh](/source/Anchors_Aweigh_(film))*. Versions by [Johnnie Johnston](/source/Johnnie_Johnston) and by Martha Stewart were hits in 1945 reaching numbers 7 and 12 respectively in the Billboard chart.[10]

- 1962: "[Miss Marmelstein](/source/Miss_Marmelstein)" and "Who Knows?" from *[I Can Get It for You Wholesale](/source/I_Can_Get_It_for_You_Wholesale)*

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZimmers20136_1-0)** [Zimmers 2013](#CITEREFZimmers2013), p. 6.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-NYT_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-NYT_2-1) Collins, Glenn (October 27, 1993). ["Harold Rome, 85, Writer of Socially Pointed Songs"](https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/27/obituaries/harold-rome-85-writer-of-socially-pointed-songs.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-LarkinGE_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-LarkinGE_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-LarkinGE_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-LarkinGE_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-LarkinGE_3-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-LarkinGE_3-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-LarkinGE_3-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-LarkinGE_3-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-LarkinGE_3-8) [Colin Larkin](/source/Colin_Larkin_(writer)), ed. (1992). *[The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music](/source/Encyclopedia_of_Popular_Music)* (First ed.). [Guinness Publishing](/source/Guinness_Publishing). p. 2137. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-85112-939-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-85112-939-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZimmers20135–6_4-0)** [Zimmers 2013](#CITEREFZimmers2013), pp. 5–6.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZimmers20137_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZimmers20137_5-1) [Zimmers 2013](#CITEREFZimmers2013), p. 7.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Classical Archives"](https://www.classicalarchives.com/newca/#!/Work/443231). *www.classicalarchives.com*. Retrieved November 8, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Witchel, Alex (December 6, 1991). ["On Stage, and Off"](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/06/theater/on-stage-and-off.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Gee, But I'd Like to Be a G-Man"](http://www.laborarts.org/exhibits/playsam/exhibit.cfm?id=15). Labor Arts. 1939. Retrieved July 6, 2019.[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Who's Gonna Investigate the Man Who Investigates Me?"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210118012057/http://www.laborarts.org/exhibits/playsam/exhibit.cfm?id=16). Labor Arts. 1939. Archived from [the original](http://www.laborarts.org/exhibits/playsam/exhibit.cfm?id=16) on January 18, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Whitburn, Joel (1986). *Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954*. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 469. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-89820-083-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-89820-083-0).

**Sources**

- Zimmers, Tighe E. (2013). *Lyrical Satirical Harold Rome: A Biography of the Broadway Composer-Lyricist*. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780786470266](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780786470266).

## External links

Archives at Location Library of Congress Source Harold Rome collection, 1937-1969 How to use archival material

- [Harold Rome](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/6085) at the [Internet Broadway Database](/source/Internet_Broadway_Database)

- [The Harold Rome Papers, Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, Yale University](http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/music.mss.0049)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Spain Poland Israel Belgium Academics CiNii Artists MusicBrainz Discography of American Historical Recordings FID People Trove Deutsche Biographie DDB Other IdRef SNAC Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Harold Rome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Rome) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Rome?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.