About the Book:This first biography of Jimmy McHugh captures a lively and significant contributor to American songwriting. Creator of favorite tunes such as “I’m in the Mood for Love” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” McHugh was a one-man history of twentieth-century popular music: in his prolific composing career, he wrote songs for Duke Ellington, Shirley Temple, Bobby Breen, Carmen Miranda, Deanna Durbin, Frank Sinatra, Ethel Waters, Adelaide Hall, and scores of other entertainers, and his last works were turned into smash hits by Pat Boone and Fats Domino. Following McHugh from humble Irish-American beginnings in Boston to eventual success in New York, Europe, and Los Angeles, Alyn Shipton deftly evokes the lively milieus of Tin Pan Alley, the Cotton Club, Broadway, and Hollywood. McHugh crossed the color line frequently, writing revues for both black and white entertainers, and he and his songwriting partner Dorothy Fields were also among the first to create Hollywood musical films. In the 1940s, he waged heroic fundraising efforts for the war effort and the crusade against polio. He continued to write songs for shows, movies, and revues and managed up-and-coming singers late in his life.Table of Contents: Introduction; Acknowledgements; List of illustrations 1 “Home Before Dark” A Boston Childhood 2 “When My Sugar Walks Down The Street” Arriving in New York 3 “Everything Is Hotsy Totsy Now” A sequence of hit songs 4 “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love (Baby)” Meeting Dorothy Fields 5: “Livin’ In A Great Big Way” Fields and McHugh on Broadway and in Hollywood 6: “Goodbye Blues” The Split from Dorothy Fields 7 “Dimples” A sequence of child stars 8 “My Kind of Country” Movies, Romance and World War Two 9 “A Lovely Way to Spend An Evening” The great years in Beverly Hills 10 “Reach For Tomorrow” Final years in Los Angeles, and a growing legacy Notes and abbreviations; Bibliography; Index