Ben Oakland (September 24, 1907 – August 26, 1979) was an American composer, lyricist,[1] and pianist, most active from the 1920s through the 1940s.
Oakland often composed music only, collaborating with lyricists including Oscar Hammerstein II, Bob Russell, Milton Drake, L. Wolfe Gilbert, and Artie Shaw.
The latter, which was written for a 1938 picture called The Lady Objects won Hammerstein and Oakland an Oscar nomination.
Another popular version at that time was sung by Eydie Gorme on her LP Sincerely Yours, to an arrangement by Sid Feller.
He collaborated with Artie Shaw and Milton Drake on the love song "If It's You" introduced by Tony Martin in the 1941 Marx Brothers' picture The Big Store.