Gus Kahn Papers

! [a man dressed in a jacket, sweater, shirt and tie]

Identity elements

Reference code

US US.INSON Mss 001

Name and location of repository

Level of description

Folder

Title

Gus Kahn Papers

Date(s)

  • 1909 - 2007 (Creation)

Extent

3 cubic feet; 1 Paige box, 1 flip top document box, 1 flat document box, 1 black monogrammed box and 5 framed items.

Name of creator

(1886-11-06 - 1941-10-08)

Biographical history

Born in Koblenz, Germany on November 6, 1886, Gustav Gerson Kahn emigrated to America with his family when he was four; the family settled in Chicago in 1892. Gus completed grammar school where he demonstrated an ability to create rhymes and won an essay writing contest. He worked at various jobs including a stint as a pottery wrapper in a china factory while continuing to write lyrics. In 1909, Kahn collaborated with Grace LeBoy, a song composer for music publisher Joseph H. Remick whom he met on New Year’s Eve, 1908. Their collaboration of his lyrics and her melody resulted in Kahn’s first hit “Gee, I Wish I Had a Girl,” and the marriage of Kahn and LeBoy after an 8-year professional relationship. The marriage produced two children, Donald and Irene.

In 1932, Kahn moved his family from Chicago to Hollywood where he worked as a lyricist for MGM and RKO. With Vincent Youmans, Kahn wrote the score for Flying Down to Rio, the cinematic debut of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Before his untimely death in 1941, Kahn worked on numerous films including The Merry Widow, Naughty Marietta, and Girl of the Golden West. His last hit, “You Stepped Out of a Dream,” appeared in the 1941 movie Ziegfeld Girl.

Kahn worked with and befriended many of the top composers of the period including Walter Donaldson, Richard Whiting, and Harry Warren; his circle of friends also included actors and singers like Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson and bandleaders Guy Lombardo and Isham Jones. An avid golfer, Kahn was known to write lyrics while playing a course with Walter Donaldson. Al Jolson served as godfather to son Donald. Kahn served on the ASCAP Board of Directors from 1927 to 1930 and was admitted to the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 1970. His 32-year songwriting career produced approximately 800 published songs, many of which remain standards today.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

The collection consists of scrapbooks, photos, sheet music, manuscripts, and other material documenting the personal and professional life of popular music lyricist Gus Kahn who collaborated on many of the most enduring hits of the 20th-century including “Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby,” “Carolina in the Morning,” and “It Had to Be You.”

System of arrangement

The collection is divided topically into five series: papers, original compositions, sheet music, photos, and framed documents.
Separated materials: Materials related to the career of Donald Kahn, son of Gus Kahn, were separated from Mss 001 and are listed under Mss 044.

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

All material is open to the public without restriction. Copyright laws of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) govern the making of photocopies or other reproductions.

Physical access

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the Great American Songbook Foundation. Music written prior to 1923 is in the public domain. For more information, please consult the staff of the Library and Archives.

Languages of the material

Scripts of the material

Language and script notes

Finding aids

Uploaded finding aid

Acquisition and appraisal elements

Custodial history

The collection passed to family members upon Kahn's death. Son Donald Kahn maintained the collection until his death. His widow Margaret Kahn donated the materials to the Songbook Foundation on November 18, 2008.

Immediate source of acquisition

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Accruals

Related materials elements

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related archival materials

Gus Kahn Musical Compositions and Papers (Collection PASC-M 614), UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles. https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c81n85mj/

Related descriptions

Notes element

Specialized notes

  • Processing information: Processed by Lisa Lobdell. Completed 5/22/2012.
  • Citation: Gus Kahn Papers (Mss 001), The Great American Songbook Foundation.

Alternative identifier(s)

Description control element

Rules or conventions

Sources used

Archivist's note

Finding aid created by Lisa Lobdell, May 2012.
AtoM description created by Ashlee James, November 2017.

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Digital object metadata

Digital object (Master) rights area

Digital object (Reference) rights area

Digital object (Thumbnail) rights area

Accession area