James V. Monaco

James Vincent Monaco (January 13, 1885 – October 16, 1945) was an Italian-born American composer of popular music. Monaco was born in Formia, Italy; his family emigrated to Albany, New York when he was six. He worked as a ragtime player in Chicago before returning to New York. Monaco's first successful song "Oh, You Circus Day" was featured in the 1912 Broadway revue Hanky Panky. Further success came with "Row, Row, Row" (lyrics by William Jerome) in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1912. Perhaps his best remembered song is "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)" (lyrics by Joseph McCarthy), introduced by Al Jolson in 1913 and performed by Judy Garland with revised lyrics as "Dear Mr Gable" in 1937. Monaco worked with a number of lyricists before moving to Hollywood where he teamed with lyricist Johnny Burke to produce songs for several Bing Crosby films. He died in 1945 in Beverly Hills, California.