Songwriters Hall of Fame

Composer and Violinist Matt (“Matty”) Malneck was born on December 10, 1904 in Newark, NJ.

As a boy he studied the violin with Wilberforce Whiteman and by the age of 16 was playing in some of the most popular dance bands of the 1920’s and 30’s, most notably the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. Malneck eventually formed his own orchestra recording with Frank Signorelli, Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke and Mildred Bailey.

In the 1930’s Malneck began focusing on composing and collaborating with lyricists on Tin Pan Alley, most notably Johnny Mercer, he had a string of hits on the charts including “Pardon My Southern Accent”, “Goody-Goody”, “Eeny Meeny Miny Mo”, “I’ll Never Be the Same”, “I’m Through With Love”, “Hey, Good Lookin’”, “Stairway to the Stars”, “Shangri-La” and If You Were Mine.”

Matt Malneck died on February 25, 1981.