One of the most recorded songwriters of the 1920s and '30s, Harry Akst learned to play piano at the age of five and was already a fully-fledged professional while in his second year of high school. He started out his professional career with a 4-year stint as a pianist in vaudeville accompanying singers such as Nora Bayes, Frank Fay and Al Jolson before moving on to a long and productive career writing for Broadway revues and musicals and Hollywood.