E. Ray Goetz

A Tin Pan Alley songwriter, he published more than 500 songs during his career, many of them originally written for the New York stage.

His songs were recorded by several artists, including Judy Garland, Al Jolson, and Blossom Seeley.

He was active as both a lyricist and composer for Broadway musicals from 1906 through to 1930, collaborating with artists like George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Sigmund Romberg, and A. Baldwin Sloane to create material for the theatre.

He produced and served as production supervisor of Herbert Fields and Porter's 1929 musical Fifty Million Frenchmen which was adapted by Warner Brothers into a 1930 film of the same name.

[2] He began writing songs for Ted Shapiro's Tin Pan Alley music publishing company.

North wrote many of the tunes to which Goetz set words, in addition to serving as President of the circus.

[11] Goetz and Ringling North's songs were featured in The Greatest Show On Earth (1952) and in live performances during the 1950s.

In 1916 he and Edgar Leslie co-authored the lyrics to the popular song "For Me and My Gal" with George W. Meyer serving as composer.

[4] A hit with the public, it later inspired the 1942 film For Me and My Gal in which the song was sung by Judy Garland and Gene Kelly.

[17] His other popular-song compositions included "Argentina," "Let's Be Lonesome Together," "So This Is Love," Don't Go In the Lion's Cage Tonight, "If You Could Care," The Life of a Rose," "Meet Me in the Shadows," "The Land of Going to Be" and "Boom."