Composer
Harry Link is best-known for co-writing the standards "These Foolish Things" and "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling." Born
Harry Linkey in Philadelphia on January 25, 1896, he attended the University of Pennsylvania and studied business in its Wharton School. One of his earliest professional songs was co-written with
Irving Berlin -- 1914's "Along Came Ruth." In 1916, he acted in the film The Masked Rider, but didn't make it a full-time career; instead, he worked on his songwriting while managing the business end of several different music publishing companies over the years. His first big-time success came with 1929's "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling," which he co-wrote with
Billy Rose and the legendary pianist
Fats Waller; the song was a hit for
Waller and was later recorded by
Louis Armstrong, among many others.
Link wrote several other songs with
Waller, among them "Gone" (with
Andy Razaf) and "I Hate to Leave You Now" (with
Link's eventual wife,
Dorothy Dick; this tune was also recorded by
Armstrong).
Link and
Dick also collaborated frequently, often with outside writers, which produced songs like "By My Side" (1931), "Until We Meet Again Sweetheart," and "Peelin' the Peach" (which was recorded by
Paul Whiteman). In 1932,
Link contributed material to the film Blondie of the Follies, and four years later he landed the biggest hit of his career with "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)," which was co-written by
Jack Strachey and
Eric Maschwitz. That year alone brought five Top Ten versions of the song, including renditions by
Benny Goodman and
Teddy Wilson &
Billie Holiday; it was recorded by countless others, and was even a hit in France for
Jean Sablon (under the title "Ces Petites Choses"). After 1937,
Link spent much of the remainder of his career working in a business, rather than creative, capacity. He died in New York City on July 5, 1956.
–
Steve Huey, Rovi