Jack Little (songwriter)

thumb|Little Jack Little c. 1943 '''Jack Little''' (born '''John Leonard'''; May 30, 1899 – April 9, 1956), (another source gives his birth date as May 28, 1902)<ref name=rs>DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-2834-2}}. p. 167</ref> sometimes credited as '''Little Jack Little''', was a British-born American composer, singer, pianist, actor, and songwriter whose songs were featured in several movies. He is not to be confused with the burlesque comedian also known as "Little" Jack Little, who stood {{convert|4|ft|5|in|cm}} tall.

==Early years== Little was born in the Silvertown section of London,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Little Jack Little Finds Radio Listeners Love Him Still|journal=Radio Digest|date=July 1931|pages=9–10|url=https://archive.org/stream/radiodigest193112728radi#page/n230/mode/1up|accessdate=17 July 2016}}</ref> but moved to the United States when he was nine years old, growing up in Waterloo, Iowa.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gurman|first1=Joseph|last2=Slager|first2=Myron|title=Radio Round-Ups|date=1932|publisher=Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co.|page=40|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Bookshelf-IDX/IDX/PQR/Radio-Round-Up-OCR-Page-0038.pdf|accessdate=17 July 2016}}{{dead link|date=May 2026|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> He was educated in pre-med classes at the University of Iowa,<ref name="spt">{{cite news|title=Little Jack Little, Here Today at Florida, Found His Fame in Musical World|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19410224&id=PopaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Q00DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5654,91041&hl=en|accessdate=17 July 2016|work=St. Petersburg Times|date=February 24, 1941|page=10}}</ref> where he played in and organized the university band.

==Career== Early in his career, Little worked at radio stations, including WSAI<ref>{{cite news|title=Jack Little Is Coming To Palace|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5912364/hamilton_evening_journal/|work=Hamilton Evening Journal|date=February 2, 1926|location=Ohio, Hamilton|page=4|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 16, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> and WLW,<ref name=rs/> both in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had a 15-minute daily program (originating from WLW) on NBC radio in the early 1930s.<ref name=sh/>

Little toured the country with an orchestra, appearing in hotels, night clubs, and on the radio. In one such touring appearance on radio, at WOC in Davenport, Iowa, Little "made a new endurance record for himself ... when he remained on the air three hours and sixteen minutes ... [and] sang fifty-one songs in answer to thousands of requests."<ref>{{cite news|title=Wave Lengths|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5912527/the_indianapolis_news/|work=The Indianapolis News|date=April 14, 1926|location=Indiana, Indianapolis|page=4|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 16, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> He collaborated musically with Tommie Malie, Dick Finch, John Siras, and Joe Young.

In 1928 he joined ASCAP. From 1933 to 1937, he recorded prolifically, starting on Bluebird, Columbia, and finally ARC, playing in a light society dance band style. He often worked with musical director Mitchell Ayres. His compositions include "Jealous, I Promise You", "A Shanty in Old Shanty Town" and "You're a Heavenly Thing". Details of his chart success per Joel Whitburn are given below.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Whitburn|first1=Joel|title=Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954|date=1986|publisher=Record Research Inc|location=Wisconsin, USA|isbn=0-89820-083-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/275 275]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/275}}</ref>

==Chart successes== {| class="wikitable" !Year !Song ! Peak <br> chart <br> position |- |rowspan="4"|1934 |"You Oughta Be in Pictures" |{{center|2}} |- |"Old Roses" |{{center|12}} |- |"Stay As Sweet As You Are" |{{center|16}} |- |"June in January" |{{center|7}} |- |rowspan="8"|1935 |"Little Boy Blue" |{{center|13}} |- |"Lullaby of Broadway" |{{center|5}} |- |"I'm Goin' Shopping with You" |{{center|16}} |- |"I'm in the Mood for Love" |{{center|1}} |- |"I Wished on the Moon" |{{center|13}} |- |"On Treasure Island" |{{center|4}} |- |"No Other One" |{{center|7}} |- |"Where Am I? (Am I in Heaven?)" |{{center|7}} |- |rowspan="1"|1936 |"I'm Shooting High" |{{center|15}} |- |rowspan="1"|1937 |"It's Swell of You" |{{center|17}} |- |}

==Recognition== Little has a star at 6618 Hollywood Boulevard in the radio section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was dedicated on February 8, 1960.<ref>{{cite web|title=Little Jack Little|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/little-jack-little|website=Hollywood Walk of Fame|accessdate=17 July 2016}}</ref>

==Personal life== He was married to Thea Hellman, who died in 1940; they had two children.

==Death== Little died in his sleep on April 9, 1956, at his home in Hollywood, Florida, after suffering from hepatitis for some time.<ref name="sh">{{cite news|title=Voice of Little Jack Little, Nutmeg Favorite, Silenced|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2229&dat=19560415&id=Lf4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vgAGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3837,2894403&hl=en|work=Sunday Herald|date=April 15, 1956|page=60}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|Jack Little (songwriter)}} *{{IMDb name|id=0514584|name=Jack Little}} *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8-aKvspen0 Little Jack Little on YouTube] * [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108414 Jack Little recordings] at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Little Jack}} Category:1899 births Category:1956 deaths Category:1956 suicides Category:People from Silvertown Category:20th-century American male composers Category:Songwriters from Iowa Category:British emigrants to the United States Category:Writers from Waterloo, Iowa Category:Suicides in Florida Category:University of Iowa alumni Category:20th-century American singers Category:20th-century American composers Category:20th-century American male singers Category:American male songwriters Category:Radio personalities from Iowa Category:Actors from the London Borough of Newham Category:20th-century American songwriters