THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

259-Bing Crosby- Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

1932-It has never charted in the UK, There was no UK chart until 1952.

Best Bit-At 3.01. In today’s money a dime is $1.88, which doesn’t seem to have the same ring to it.

‘Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?’ is also known as ‘Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?’ It was written in 1930, and became the ‘Anthem’ of the ‘Great Depression.’ The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930’s, having begun in the United States following the stock market crash of October 29th, 1929, which was to become known as ‘Black Tuesday.’ The song asks why the men who built the nation, fought in World War 1, built the skyscrapers, and did what the nation asked of them, should find themselves abandoned and on the breadline. The Great Depression in the United States had a severe impact on the country, as by 1932, 25 percent of American men were unemployed.

‘Brother, Can You Spare a Dime’ was written by Yip Harburg, (see also best songs 68) who wrote the lyrics, and Jay Gorney, who wrote the music. The song was first performed in 1932 as part of the musical revue ‘Americana.’ Yip Harburg, whose full working name was Edgar Yipsel Harburg, was born Isidore Hochberg on April 8th, 1896 in New York City, United States, he died on March 5th, 1981, at the age of 84. It was initially reported that he had been killed in a traffic accident, but it was later determined that he suffered a heart attack while stopped at a red light. Yip Harburg was known for the social commentary of his lyrics, as well as his leftist leanings. He championed racial, sexual and gender equality and union politics. He also was an ardent critic of high society, and religion. It is likely that he took his adopted name from ‘Yipsel’ from that of the ‘Young People’s Socialist League,’ which had been formed in 1907, which was the youth group of the Socialist Party of America, whose members were called ‘yipsels.’ It was while attending ‘Townsend Harris High School,’ in Queens, New York, that Yip Harburg first met Ira Gershwin, (1896-1983) (see also best songs 286 and 231) the two became life long friends after bonding over a shared fondness of the works of ‘Gilbert and Sullivan.’ In the early 1920’s Yip Harburg became a co-owner of the ‘Consolidated Electrical Appliance Company,’ but the company went bankrupt following the crash of 1929, leaving Harburg anywhere from $50,000 – $70,000 in debt, it was at this point that that Ira Gershwin convinced Harburg that he should should start writing song lyrics, he had already written for local newspapers.

It was Ira Gershwin who also first introduced Yip Harburg to this songs co-writer Jay Gorney, who collaborated with him on songs for an Earl Carroll (1893-1948) Broadway review called ‘Earl Carroll’s Sketchbook,’ the show was successful and Harburg was engaged as lyricist for a series of successful revues, including ‘Americana’ in 1932, for which he wrote the lyrics of ‘Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?’ to the tune of a lullaby Jay Gorney had learned as a child in Russia. Although Harburg was never a member of the Communist Party, he was a member of the Socialist Party, and his refusal to identify reputed communists, led to him being blocked from working in Hollywood films, television, and radio for 12 years, from 1950 to 1962. In 1940 he won an ‘Oscar,’ shared with Harold Arlen, (1905-1986) (see also best songs 934-634-281 and 68) for ‘Best Music, Original Song for ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ and in 1972 he was inducted into the ‘Songwriters Hall of Fame,’ Other songs that Yip Harburg wrote the lyrics for include ‘April in Paris,’ (1932) ‘It’s Only a Paper Moon, (1933) and ‘Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead,’ (1939) which became a surprise hit in the UK, reaching Number 2 on the singles chart in 2013, in the aftermath of the death of the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013.)

Jay Gorney was born Abraham Jacob Gornetzsky on December 12th, 1896, in Białystok, Russia which is now part of Poland, he died on June 14th, 1990, at the age of 93. His family was Jewish, and in 1906, he witnessed the ‘Bialystok pogrom,’ which was one of a series of violent outbreaks against Jews between 1903 and 1908, this forced his family into hiding for nearly two weeks, after which they soon fled to the United States, arriving on September 14th, 1906. At the age of 14, and after two years of lessons, Gorney was offered a job as a pianist at a local Nickelodeon. After World War I, during which he enlisted in the Navy, he practised law briefly before pursuing a career in music. Now married he relocated with his wife to New York City, where he began his song writing career on Tin Pan Alley (see also best songs 669-535-443 and 412.) The Jay Gorney-Yip Harburg writing partnership ended when Harburg had an affair with Gorney’s wife, whom he subsequently married. Jay Gorney’s daughter from his second marriage is the actress and dancer Karen Lynn Gorney, who starred opposite John Travolta in the 1977 film ‘Saturday Night Fever’ (see also best songs 35.)

‘Brother Can You Spare a Dime’ has been covered on numerous occasions over the years. It was first performed by the vaudeville singer Rex Weber as part of the musical ‘Americana’ which was unsuccessful, as it only ran from October to December 1932. The first recorded version was this version by Bing Crosby, (1903-1977) (see also best songs 934 and 457) which was quickly followed by a competing version from Rudy Vallee (1901-1986.) In the ‘Rock ‘N Roll’ era the song has continued to be covered, by artists including Judy Collins, (1975) Tom Waits, (1986) and George Michael (2000.)

‘Once I built a railroad, made it run, made it race against time. Once I built a tower to the sun, brick and rivet and lime. Brother can you spare a dime?’