Herman Hupfeld - Biography

Biography

Hupfeld studied violin in Germany at 9. He was in the military during World War I, and he entertained camps and hospitals during World War II. He never wrote a whole Broadway score, but he became known as a composer who could write a song to fit a specific scene within a Broadway show.

His best known songs include "Sing Something Simple", "Let's Put Out The Lights (And Go To Sleep)", "When Yuba Plays The Rhumba On The Tuba", "I've Got To Get Up And Go To Work", "Are You Making Any Money?", "Savage Serenade", "Down the Old Back Road", "A Hut in Hoboken", "Night Owl", "Honey Ma Love", "Baby's Blue", "Untitled" and "The Calinda". "As Time Goes By" is most famous from the film Casablanca, though it was originally written in 1931 for the Broadway show Everybody's Welcome, which ran for 139 performances.

While not known as a public performer, Hupfeld was featured on a Victor Young & His Orchestra 78 recorded on January 22, 1932. He sang and played piano on two of his compositions, "Goopy Geer (He Plays Piano and He Plays by Ear)" and "Down the Old Back Road".

Hupfeld never married and, with rare exceptions, he stayed in his home town of Montclair, New Jersey for his entire life. He was buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Montclair.