"Just a Girl That Men Forget" | |
---|---|
Single | |
Published | 1923 |
Genre | Ballad, Waltz |
Songwriter(s) | Al Dubin, Fred Rath and Joe Garren |
Just a Girl That Men Forget is an American waltz ballad song, written by Al Dubin, Fred Rath and Joe Garren with sheet music published in 1923 by Jack Mills, Inc..[1] It was an in-demand Tin Pan Alley hit song in 1923 and 1924, popularized by singers Herbert Payne and Lewis James.[2][3][4] It was also a well purchased piece of sheet music,[5] and during the Tin Pan Alley era, the sheet music sales determined if a song was a "hit" rather than charts.
The lyrics are about a modern and promiscuous flapper girl who would be passed over for marriage, because men like "old fashion" girls.[3][6][7][8] The song begins with the lyrics "Dear little girl, they call you a vamp, a flapper with up to date ways."[1] Flappers did not appreciate the song's lyrics, and hundreds of letters of "resentment" were written to Jack Mills, Inc..[9]
It has been recorded by several musicians including Herbert Payne (1923),[3] Lewis James (1923),[3][10] the Courtney Sisters (1923),[2] Henry Burr (1923),[11] The Troubadours (1923),[12] Vernon Dalhart (1923),[13] Jimmie Davis (1937),[14] Ozie Waters (1951),[15] Carmen Prentice (1923),[16] Irving Kaufman (1923),[10] Jim Doherty, Ben Selvin and His Orchestra (Vocalion Records), Charles Hart, and the DeMarco Sisters.
The Library of Congress archive has a 1923 recording of the song performed by Henry Burr with Celeste and orchestra.[17] In 1986, a Dear Abby advice column was published, with memories of this song as a subject.[18] Sheet music for the song are extant.[1]