Ervin Drake

Ervin Maurice Druckman (April 3, 1919 – January 15, 2015), better known as Ervin Drake, was an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as "I Believe" and "It Was a Very Good Year". He wrote in a variety of styles and his work has been recorded by musicians around the world. In 1983, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Born in New York City, New York, Ervin Drake had his first song published at age 12, in 1931. The son of Max Druckman and Pearl Cohen, he attended Townsend Harris High School in the borough of The Bronx, New York, graduating in 1935, and went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in social science from the City College of New York in 1940. His elder brother, Milton, also became a songwriter, with work including "The Java Jive" and "Nina Never Knew"; and his younger brother Arnold Drake, become a writer for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and others, as well as an author and playwright.

Drake provided lyrics for "Perdido", composed by trombonist Juan Tizol, a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra, and first recorded (by Ellington) in 1944. Besides composing music and lyrics for dozens of pieces he was also a television producer and worked with performers including Jackie Gleason and Milton Berle. Among his best known songs is "I Believe", the first hit song ever introduced on television, which was commissioned and introduced by Jane Froman on her television show in 1953, and became a number-one hit for Frankie Laine, holding the record for number of non-consecutive weeks spent at number one. It has also been recorded by many other artists including Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley.

He wrote the words and music for "It Was a Very Good Year" in 1961, when a publisher friend told him that Bob Shane of the folk music group the Kingston Trio would be in the publisher's office the next morning, and the publisher asked Drake to write a song for Shane to sing solo. Shane recorded it for the album Goin' Places and other folk performers covered it. In a 2009 interview, Drake said that in 1965, Frank Sinatra had heard the song on his car radio, and recorded it for the melancholy and introspective album September of My Years. The Sinatra recording hit the top ten on the charts for 1966. The piece has been recorded in over 10 languages and more than 50 artists. As lyricist, Drake, with composer Irene Higginbotham, wrote the jazz standard "Good Morning Heartache". It has been recorded by over 100 artists, including Billie Holiday and later Diana Ross when she portrayed Holiday in the movie Lady Sings the Blues.

He was president of American Guild of Authors and Composers from 1973 to 1982.

On January 15, 2015, Drake died at his home in Great Neck, New York due to complications from bladder cancer aged 95.

Awards and honors

Drake received several honorary doctorates and achievement awards, as well as being inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1983.

On June 30, 2013, Five Towns College named the Ervin Drake Popular Music Center after Drake.

Works include

• "Tico-Tico"
• "Perdido"
• "Now I Have Everything"
• "A Room without Windows"
• "Bachelor Girl"
• "I Believe"
• "Good Morning Heartache"
• "It Was a Very Good Year"
• "The Rickety Rickshaw Man"
• "I Wuv A Rabbit"
• "AL DI LA"
• "Quando Quando"
• "Who Are These Strangers"
• "I am A Card Carrying Bleeding Heart Liberal"
• "One God"
• "Tic-Toc"
• "Hey Mr. Taliban"
• "Lying Beneath A Scrubby Palmetto"
• "I've Never Had The Pleasure"

• Heads or Tails (1947) - play - co-playwright
• What Makes Sammy Run? (1964) - musical - composer and lyricist
• Her First Roman (1968) - composer, lyricist, and bookwriter
• Sophisticated Ladies (1981) - revue - featured songwriter for "Perdido"