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William Austin Dillon (November 6, 1877 – February 10, 1966) was an American
songwriter and
Vaudevillian . He is best known as the lyricist for the song "
I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad) " (1911), written in collaboration with
Harry Von Tilzer .
[1]
[2] It can be heard in
Show Business (1944) and
The Jolson Story (1946). He was born in
Cortland, New York and performed at some point in Vaudeville with his brothers
John and Harry . He billed his own act as the "man of a thousand songs".
[3]
Sheet music cover to 1907's Every Little Bit Added To What You've Got Makes Just a Little Bit More by William and brother Lawrence He quit vaudeville around 1912 after injuries suffered in a car accident. Dillon died in
Ithaca, New York on February 10, 1966. He married in 1918 to Georgia Leola Head, daughter of George and Mary (Steen) Head.
[4]
Selected songs
"Every Little Bit Added to What You've Got Makes Just a Little Bit More" (1907, written with his brother Lawrence)
"I'd Rather Have a Girlie Than an Automobile" (1908)
"Keep Your Foot on the Soft Pedal" (1909)
"
I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad) " (1911, with von Tilzer)
"All Alone" (1911, with Tilzer)
"That Girl of Mine" (1916, with
Harry Tobias and
Arthur Lange )
"I'll Wed the Girl I Left Behind" (1916)
"On the Old Back Seat of the Henry Ford" (1916, with Lawrence)
"My Grandfather's Girl" (1916)
"Take Me to My Alabam" (1916)
"Keep Right on to the End of the Road" (1924, with
Harry Lauder )
"Me and My Uncle Sam" (1941)
[5]
[6]
References
^ Clift, Gene (25 March 1962).
He Got The Girl, Just As The Song Said ,
Daytona Beach Morning Journal
^ Dabes, Ruth.
Man of a Thousand Songs ,
The Rotarian (May 1953), p. 39
^ (3 October 1908).
London Letter , The Billboard
^ (11 February 1966).
Will Dillon dies; Lyricist was 89; Wrote 'I Want a Girl' With Harry Von Tilzer in '11 ,
The New York Times
^ Studwell, William Emmett. [They also wrote: evaluative essays on lesser-known popular American songwriters prior to the rock era] (2000)
^ Jones, John Bush
The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music And the Home Front, 1939-1945 , p. 70 (2006)
External links
International National Artists Other