Irving Gordon

Lyricist and composer Irving Gordon wrote many popular tunes recorded by Perry Como, Patti Page, Eddy Arnold, Bing Crosby, and Billie Holiday, but is perhaps best-known as the author of "Unforgettable," originally recorded in 1931 by Nat "King" Cole. Born in Brooklyn in 1915, Gordon studied violin as a child and started songwriting several years later while working at a Catskills resort. By the early '30s, Gordon was writing lyrics for talent agency run by Irving Mills, with whom he co-wrote the lyrics to two 1930s Duke Ellington compositions: "Please Forgive Me" and "Prelude to a Kiss." Other songs by Gordon include "Delaware" "Rollin' Stone," "There's No Boat Like a Rowboat," "Mama From the Train" "What Will I Tell My Heart?," and "Me, Myself and I." In the mid-'40s, Gordon moved to L.A., where he spent the rest of his life. Irving Gordon got to see a Grammy winning revival of his song "Unforgettable" by Nat "King" Cole's daughter Natalie just a few years before his death in December 1996.