The Story Behind The Song
In 1937 I began a collaboration with Peter Tinturin, an Austrian emigre who had a great melodic flair and a heavy accent. Because of my close friendship with Jack and Dave Kapp of Decca Records, we were able to by-pass publishers and get our songs recorded directly on Decca's R & B label (Rhythm & Blues — mostly black artists like Chick Webb and Ella Fitzgerald, the Mills Brothers, Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy, etc). It was thrilling to watch our songs start in the R & B category and cross over into the mainstream of big bands and singers. All this gave Peter and me the advantage of being able to make better deals with publishers who vied for our songs. In return for such an advantage we were glad to pay Dave Kapp a percentage of our earnings — in essence, an agent's fee.
One day Peter came to me with a title that intrigued me; an unusual occurrence since Peter's English was hardly good enough to suggest titles or lyrics. Instead of questioning him I accepted his phrase: "What Will I Tell My Heart?" as an inspiration and went to work on a lyric. We rushed over to Dave with the finished song, he immediately assigned it to Andy Kirk And His Clouds Of Joy whose arranger, Mary Lou Williams made a great chart. I was in the studio at the recording session when Andy's vocalist, Pha Terrell sang the final, sweet, high falsetto notes and we were all positive we had a blockbuster. We did!
When the song was at the height of its popularity, Peter and I were summoned before the ASCAP board to answer charges from a writer who was a stranger to me; Irving Gordon claimed that he had given Peter that title although they had never developed it. At first Peter denied this allegation but after questioning he finally admitted that it had been Gordon's title and the ASCAP board ruled that Gordon should be listed as a co-writer and receive one-third of royalties and performances. I should have argued my position as an innocent victim instead of allowing myself to be penalized. But I was young, new to the music business and intimidated by that ASCAP group who, I felt, controlled my future.
Of course, Irving Gordon's main claim to fame is now "Unforgettable" — a truly wonderful song. But I never understood how he could be comfortable taking money and credit as the writer of a song to which he had only contributed a title. The lyric is still all mine.
