Larry Vincent

American composer, comedian, pianist and singer (b. San Jose, CA. January 13, 1901 – d. January 5, 1977 Forest Hills, KY).

Born Vincent Narcisso Allaria to an Italian father and an American mother in San Jose, California and college educated, Vincent began his career in Vaudeville, performing in most major cities of the United States. His first recording came in 1928, when he accompanied singer Raymond Sperling on "She Was A Great, Great Girl", released on Gennett 6431 and Champion 15481. By the 1930s, Vincent was performing on the radio. In 1937, he moved from the Columbia network in New York to WCAU radio in Philadelphia. In 1941, he began a five-year engagement at the Lookout House supper club in Covington, KY, just south of Cincinnati. Later, he played at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, KY.

In 1946, Vincent and composer Moe Jaffe formed the Pearl (3) label, which specialized in risqué novelty songs. Most of the material issued by that label was performed by Vincent himself, accompanied by various studio musicians credited as Pearl Boys, Pearl Trio, Pearl Four, Pearl Five, Pearl Orchestra, The Three Dukes, Larry Vincent And His Look Out Boys, Larry And Boys, and Maple Hill Boys.

As a composer, Vincent wrote at least 50 songs, including "How's My Baby Tonight" (with Haven Gillespie). He applied for admission to ASCAP just as it began a campaign against "smutty" songs in 1940. Only in 1947 was he finally admitted when his song “If I Had My Life To Live Over” was recorded by 25 different artists and sold more than 1.5 million copies. Many of his songs, however, belong to the so-called party genre, including classics such as: “I Used To Work in Chicago,” “The Freckle Song,” and “The Fishing Song.”