Louis Alter

Composer Louis Alter was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts on June 18, 1902. At the age of 13, he began playing the piano in local movie houses for silent pictures and shortly after enrolled at the New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Stuart Mason.

From 1924 through 1928, Alter was the accompanist and touring partner to entertainer Nora Bayes. In 1928, he began composing and had his first hit with “Manhattan Serenade,” originally an instrumental that would later become the theme song for Easy Aces Radio Show in the 1930s. The song would have another incarnation in 1942 when Harold Adamson would add a lyric.

About Louis Alter

Alter moved to Hollywood in 1929 and continued accompanying various singers including Irene Bordoni, Helen Morgan and Beatrice Lillie. He also wrote music for a few Broadway musicals and for several film scores. For Broadway, Alter contributed songs to such hits as Ballyhoo, Earl Carroll’s Vanities of 1925 and 1928, Americana, Sweet and Low, Crazy Quilt and Hold Your Horses.

His filmography includes Hollywood Revue, Rainbow on the River, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, Sing, Baby, Sing, Make a Wish, Las Vegas Nights and New Orleans.

In 1941, Alter entered World War II in the US Air Force, entertaining troops throughout the air bases. He also played as a piano soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing at the Hollywood Bowl.

Throughout his career, Alter collaborated with several lyricists including Joe Goodwin, Jo Trent, Sidney Mitchell, Edward Heyman, Frank Loesser, Paul Francis Webster, Eddie Delange, Harold Adamson, Ray Klages, Bob Russell, Milton Drake, Oscar Hammerstein II, Lew Brown and Stanley Adams.

Highlights from Alter’s popular catalog include “The Sky Fell Down,” “Blue Shadows,” “My Kinda Love,” “Overnight,” “I’m One of God’s Children,” “I Was Taken by Storm,” “I’ve Got Sand in My Shoes,” “Rainbow on the River,” “Twilight on the Trail,” “A Melody from the Sky,” “You Turned the Tables on Me,”, “Dolores,” “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans,” “Circus,” “Nina Never Knew,” and “My Ecstasy.”

Alter also wrote several instrumentals and full orchestral works including “Manhattan Moonlight,” “Manhattan Masquerade,” “Metropolitan Nocturne,”, “Side Street in Gotham,” “American Serenade,” and “Jewels from Cartier.”

Louis Alter died in New York City in 1980.

Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. (Accessed 5 November 2012)

Collection 1

This collection consists of one manuscript box containing 22 folders. Materials include papers, manuscripts, published music, photographs, and recordings.

In 1979, the majority of this collection was informally donated to the Spaulding Library at NEC. Geraldine Ostrove, then Director of Libraries, accepted the gift. The music manuscript parts for “Dolores” were later added to the collection on July 20, 1981, as evidenced by a note from Eleanor Morrisey to Ostrove.

Access to the Louis Alter Papers is arranged by making an appointment with the NEC Archivist. There are no restrictions pertaining to this collection.

Please contact the NEC Archivist for permissions to publish any material from the collection. Citation should read: NECA 18.1a. Louis Alter Papers, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston, MA.

The Louis Alter Papers (1) which date from 1924-1975 are organized into the following six series:

The correspondence series consists of one folder containing only 2 letters: one from Bing Crosby and one from conductor Andre Kostelanetz. The Biographical materials series consists primarily of newspaper articles, flyers, and advertisements about Alter. The Photographs are organized into seven subseries. The first subseries, autographed photos, is the largest and includes autographed photos of Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman, Irving Berlin, and Perry Como. The other photograph subseries are: Award Photos, Event Photos, Film Photos, Music-related Photos, Travel Photos and Miscellaneous photos. For a detailed list of photographs, click here. Also included with the photos is a poster that says on the front National Music Theater presents a champagne Autograph Gala which apparently was given in honor of Alter. On the back of the poster are descriptions of several of the posters in the collection, in chronological order.

The Music manuscripts folders contain the orchestral parts for Alter’s song ‘Dolores’

There are seven folders containing published music by Louis Alter. Each piece is autographed by Alter and they are organized alphabetically by title. For a complete list of published music in this collection, see the pdf file at the end of the Container list.

The last series consists of three recordings. The first is a 45 rpm record entitled Manhattan Serenade which includes the songs: “Manhattan Masquerade,” “New York Nocturne,” “Manhattan Moonlight,” and “Penthouse Serenade.” The next recording is a 33 1/3 rpm album entitled Album of Manhattan: Metropolitan Impressions by Louis Alter. This recording includes “Manhattan Serenade,” “Manhattan Moonlight,” “Metropolitan Nocturne,” “Manhattan Masquerade,” and “Side Street in Gotham.” The last recording is a 78rpm entitled Jewels from Cartier: Gem Portraits by Louis Alter. Selections include “Emerald Eyes,” “The Ruby and the Rose,” “Pearl of the Orient,” “Topaz Tango, ”Black Pearl of Tahiti,” “Diamond Earrings,” “Star Sapphire,” “Turquoise Blue,” “Cat’s Eye in the Night,” and “Lady of Jade.”

Series 1: Correspondence

Folder 1 – Correspondence

Series 2: Biographical materials

Folder 2 – Biographical materials

Series 3: Photographs

Folder 3 – Photographs, Autographed
Folder 4 – Photographs, Awards
Folder 5 – Photograph, Events
Folder 6 – Photographs, Films
Folder 7 – Photographs, Music-related
Folder 8 – Photographs, Travel
Folder 9 – Photographs, Miscellaneous

Series 4: Music Manuscripts

Folder 10 – “Dolores,” 1st and 2nd violins
Folder 11 – “Dolores,” Viola, Cello, and Contrabass
Folder 12 – “Dolores,” Brass
Folder 13 – “Dolores,” Woodwinds
Folder 14 – “Dolores,” Percussion, Harp, and Celesta

Series 5: Published music

Folder 15 – Published music, B-C
Folder 16 – Published music, D-G
Folder 17 – Published music, I-L
Folder 18 – Published music, M
Folder 19 – Published music, N-R
Folder 20 – Published music, S
Folder 21 – Published music, T-Y

Series 6: Recordings

Folder 22 – Recordings

List of Photographs

List of Published Music

Collection 2

This collection of Louis Alter Papers consists of approximately 3.2 lin ft.; includes 3 record cartons and one flat box.

In 2019, the Louis Alter Papers were donated by Alter’s great-nephew, Joseph Douglas, to the NEC. Processed by Mariella Metz-Yeverino, November 2019.

Access to the Louis Alter Papers (2) can be arranged by appointment with the NEC archivist. There are no restrictions pertaining to this collection.

Please contact the NEC Archivist for permission to publish any material from the collection. Citation should read: NECA 18.1b, Louis Alter Papers, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston, MA.

These Louis Alter papers dating from 1925-1980 is arranged into 10 series:

Series 1: Biography
Series 2: Correspondence
Series 3: Lyrics
Series 4: Manuscripts
Series 5: Music Related Materials
Series 6: Musical Organizations
Series 7: News Clippings
Series 8: Photographs
Series 9: Sheet Music
Series 10: Books

The Biography series consists of various papers describing Alter’s life, used in programs and other publicity contexts. The Correspondence series consists of personal and other correspondence exchanged by Alter. Of note: there is a piece of correspondence with Bing Crosby, correspondence with various New York mayors, and Marion McPartland. The Lyrics series contains lyrics to many different songs for which Alter composed music, additionally there is an entire folder for the song titled “If I were a Goldfish.” There is also a song notebook with handwritten lyrics.

The Manuscript series is made up of manuscripts of songs by Alter. The Music Related Materials series contains papers on Alter’s advertisements and includes: photographs and papers pertaining to appraisal, donation and music rights. This series also includes: the script to Manhattan Serenade, A Musical Revue; event programs from the Hollywood Bowl; and papers about the songs “Star Crazy” and “Stranger in the City.” ” It also includes three recordings of “Stranger in the City.” The Musical Organizations series is made up of correspondence and papers about the musical organizations Alter was a part of including: American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors Association (AMICA), Songwriters’ Hall of Fame (SHOF), and White Barn Theater (a part of SHOF).

The News Clippings series contains many news clippings documenting Alter’s entire career as well as different social events, 1925-1979, n.d. The Sheet Music series contains sheet music written by Alter as well as sheet music personally owned by Alter, including a bound volume of sheet music in Box 3.

Series 1: Biography

Folder 1 – Art Related
Folder 2 – Associated Artists
Folder 3 – Biographical Materials
Folder 4 – New England Conservatory of Music
Folder 5 – Professional Engagements

Series 2: Correspondence

Folder 6 – Correspondence

Series 3: Lyrics

Folder 7: Lyrics
Folder 8: Lyrics, “I Wish I Were a Goldfish”
Folder 9: Song Notebook

Series 4: Manuscripts

Folder 10: Manuscripts

Series 5: Music Related Materials

Folder 11: Advertisements
Folder 12: Appraisal/Donations
Folder 13: Music Rights/Publishing
Folder 14: Manhattan Serenade, A Musical Revue
Folder 15: Programs
Folder 16: “Star Crazy”
Folder 17: “Stranger in the City”
Folder 18: Published Music–Lists
Folder 19: Recordings

Series 6: Musical Organizations

Folder 20: American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP)
Folder 21: Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors Association (AMICA)
Folder 22: National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters’ Hall of Fame (SHOF)
Folder 23: White Barn Theater (part of SHOF)

Series 7: News Clippings

Folder 24: News Clippings 1925-1979, n.d.

Series 8: Photographs

Folder 25: Autographed
Folder 26: Awards
Folder 27: Events
Folder 28: Films
Folder 29: Louis and friends
Folder 30: Music Related
Folder 31: Personal
Folder 32: Publicity
Folder 33: Travel
Folder 34: Miscellaneous

Box 2

Series 10: Sheet Music

Sheet Music Written by Alter

Folder 1: Published Sheet Music, A-B
Folder 2: Published Sheet Music, B-C
Folder 3: Published Sheet Music, D
Folder 4: Published Sheet Music, D-F
Folder 5: Published Sheet Music, G-H
Folder 6: Published Sheet Music, H-I
Folder 7: Published Sheet Music, J
Folder 8: Published Sheet Music, L-M
Folder 9: Published Sheet Music, M
Folder 10: Published Sheet Music, M
Folder 11: Published Sheet Music, N-R
Folder 12: Published Sheet Music, S
Folder 13: Published Sheet Music, T
Folder 14: Published Sheet Music, T
Folder 15: Published Sheet Music, T
Folder 16: Published Sheet Music, W
Folder 17: Published Sheet Music, Y

Sheet Music Owned by Alter

Folder 18: Published Sheet Music, A
Folder 19: Published Sheet Music, A-B
Folder 20: Published Sheet Music, B
Folder 21: Published Sheet Music, B-D
Folder 22: Published Sheet Music, D
Folder 23: Published Sheet Music, E
Folder 24: Published Sheet Music, F-G
Folder 25: Published Sheet Music, H
Folder 26: Published Sheet Music, H
Folder 27: Published Sheet Music, H-I
Folder 28: Published Sheet Music, I
Folder 29: Published Sheet Music, G
Folder 30: Published Sheet Music, G-L
Folder 31: Published Sheet Music, L
Folder 32: Published Sheet Music, L
Folder 33: Published Sheet Music, L-N
Folder 34: Published Sheet Music, N-O
Folder 35: Published Sheet Music, O-P
Folder 36: Published Sheet Music, P-R
Folder 37: Published Sheet Music, R-S
Folder 38: Published Sheet Music, S
Folder 39: Published Sheet Music, S
Folder 40: Published Sheet Music, S
Folder 41: Published Sheet Music, S
Folder 42: Published Sheet Music, S-T
Folder 43: Published Sheet Music, T-W
Folder 44: Published Sheet Music, W-Y
Folder 45: Published Sheet Music, fragile
Folder 46:Published Sheet Music, fragile
Folder 47: Published Sheet Music, fragile
Folder 48: Proofs

Box 3: Bound Volume of Music

Box 4

Series 11: Books

Blue Book of Tin Pan Alley, Jack Burton
Chinese Classics (in miniature), Ralph M. Chait Galleries
Drawings of the Masters: French Impressionists
Fine Chinese Works of Art, Exhibition/Sales Catalog, 1978
Foreigners in Ancient Chinese Art, The China Institute in America
The Four Feathers, A.E. W. Mason
Georges Rouault, Jacques Maritain
Henri Matisse Jazz, R. Piper & Co Verlag Munchen
Hokusai, Russell Connor
Hubert E Jan Van Eyck, Leo Van Puyvelde
The International Museums of Erotic Art, Drs. Phyllis and Eberhard Kronhausen
John Sloan
Maillol, Perls Galleries
Masterpieces of Eilshemius, The Artists’ Gallery
Mexican Art, Tudor Publishing Co.
1. Mexican Art I- From the Beginning to the Olmecs
2. Mexican Art II- Teotihuacan Tajin Monte Alban
3. Mexican Art IV-Toltecs-Aztecs
Andre Minaux, David B. Findlay Galleries, 1962
Momoyama, Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur, exhibition at MET 1975
Moses Soyer, Bernard Smith
Movements in Modern Art Series, Crown Publishers Inc.
1. Abstract Art
2. Cubisms
3. Expressionism
4. Fauvism
Movements in World Art, Crown Publishers Inc.
1. Ancient American Painting
2. Cave Painting
3. Medieval Stained Glass
4. Medieval Stained Glass
Picasso’s Picassos, David Douglas Duncan
The Studio Annual of Fine Art in Color
Toshusai Sharaku, Kodansha Library of Japanese Art no. 2
Utamaro, Kiyoshi Shibui

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