American songwriter and lyricist
Musical artist
Billy Hill (July 14, 1899 – December 24, 1940) was an American songwriter, violinist, and pianist who found fame writing Western songs such as "They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree", "The Last Round-Up", "Wagon Wheels", and "Empty Saddles". Hill's most popular song was "The Glory of Love", recorded by Benny Goodman in 1936 and by Peggy Lee, Otis Redding, Paul McCartney, and others.
Early years
William Joseph Hill was born on July 14, 1899, in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He studied the violin at the New England Conservatory of Music under Karl Muck, and played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Hill left home at age 17 and headed west, where he worked as a cowboy in Montana and as a surveyor and prospector in Death Valley, California. He returned to music and played violin and piano in dance halls until forming his own jazz band in Salt Lake City, Utah.[1]
Songwriting career
In 1930, Hill moved to New York City seeking success as a songwriter while working another series of odd jobs. In 1933, he wrote "The Last Roundup", his first hit song, which was introduced by Joe Morrison at the Paramount Theater and eventually made the 1933 Hit Parade. The song's success made Billy Hill one of the more successful songwriters on Tin Pan Alley.[1]
Hill collaborated with many songwriters, including Peter DeRose, Dedette Hill (his wife), Victor Young, William Raskin, Edward Eliscu, and J. Keirn Brennan, producing standards such as "They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree", "Have You Ever Been Lonely?", "Wagon Wheels", "Empty Saddles", "In the Chapel in the Moonlight", "The Call of the Canyon", "On a Little Street in Singapore", "The Old Man of the Mountain", "The Old Spinning Wheel", "There's a Cabin in the Pines", "Put on an Old Pair of Shoes", "Lights Out", and "The Glory of Love".[1]
Under the name of George "Funky" Brown, he co-wrote the song "Have You Ever Been Lonely?" as well as "That's When Your Heartaches Begin", which was made popular by both The Ink Spots and Elvis Presley.
Billy Hill died of heart failure in a Boston hotel room on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1940. He was 41.[2]
