Joan Whitney Kramer

Joan Whitney Kramer (June 26, 1914 – July 12, 1990) was an American singer and songwriter.

Early years

Kramer was born Zoe Parenteau in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[1] Her early music training came while singing in the choir in her church.^[2] She attended Finch College in New York City.

Career

In 1934, while playing a showgirl in The Great Waltz on Broadway, she took the stage name Joan Whitney.^[1] She studied voice under Alex Kramer, who later collaborated with her on a number of songs including "Candy" and "Far Away Places". Kramer and Whitney married and had a son, Doren, while living in Forest Hills, New York.

Death

Joan Whitney died on July 12, 1990 in Westport, Connecticut, aged 76, from Alzheimer's disease.

Songs written

with Alex Kramer

• "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" (1946)
• "Behave Yourself"
• "Deep as the River" (recorded by Harry Belafonte in 1949)
• "Far Away Places" (1948)
• "High on a Windy Hill" (1940)
• "Love Somebody" (1947)
• "Money Is the Root of All Evil" (1945)
• "No Man Is an Island"

with Mack David and Alex Kramer

• "Candy" (1944)
• "It's Love, Love, Love" (1943)

with Hy Zaret and Alex Kramer

• "My Sister and I" (1941)

References

1. Clay, Leslie (2013). Sisters In Song; Women Hymn Writers. Compass Flower Press. ISBN 9781936688760. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
2. "Can You Tell a Comer? Listen for These!". The Mason City Globe-Gazette. Iowa, Mason City. The Mason City Globe-Gazette. July 6, 1940. p. 11. Retrieved July 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Obituary in New York Times