Gerald Marks (1900-1997) composed more than 400 published songs. He taught himself to play the piano, and first saw one of his compositions performed publicly at the age of 11, by the local orchestra. He later dropped out of school and made his way to New York to become a professional songwriter. In 1931, he teamed up with lyricist Seymour Simons to write "All of Me"; both Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman had hits with. In addition to writing songs for movies and musicals, Marks wrote music for campaigns related to children's safety and government war bonds, led his own orchestra for a time, and served on the board of the Songwriters' Hall of Fame. Later in life, he frequently lectured on his experiences in Tin Pan Alley, retiring in 1991. On this lovely 1927 record he performed one of his own songs, with William Fletcher on vocal. It should be noted this disc was in poor shape; despite painstaking care and restoration, some big cracks and needle skips were inevitable.