Wikipedia:
Vincent Youmans (b. September 27, 1898 in New York; † April 5, 1946 in Denver) was an American composer and Broadway producer. Youmans wrote the musical ''No, No Nanette'' and numerous titles that were favored by jazz musicians such as Billie Holiday interpreted and became jazz standards, such as the titles ''Tea For Two'', ''I Want to Be Happy'', ''I Know That You Know'', ''Time on My Hands'', ''Without a Song and More Than You Know''.
Vincent Youman's father was the owner of a hat factory in New York. Thus, the boy grew up in wealthy circumstances. Even at a young age he showed a great interest in music. He could already play the piano at the age of four. After his school education, which he completed in private schools, he initially planned to become an engineer, but then did not take up his studies, instead joining a broker's office in Wall Street as an employee. He was only able to work there for a short time, however, as he was drafted into the army in 1917. He served at a naval base that had a military band conducted by John Philip Sousa. Youmans joined the orchestra, for which he also composed his first songs.
After World War I ended, it was clear to Youmans that he would not return to work for his former employer on Wall Street. During his military service, it had become clear to him that only a profession in which music played the main role would be suitable for him. From 1918 to 1919, he assisted his compatriot, the operetta composer Victor Herbert, as a rehearsal pianist in the rehearsal of his stage works.
On May 3, 1921, he made his first public appearance as the composer of a musical: ''Two Little Girls in Blue'' premiered at the Cohan Theatre. It was a respectable success for him. His breakthrough came two years later. His musical ''Wildflower'' went on stage for the first time on February 7, 1923, and reached the impressive number of 477 performances; the musical song ''Bambalina'' established itself via Paul Whiteman's version.
The year 1924 played a special role in Youmans' biography. In April of that year, his musical ''No, No Nanette'' was released in Detroit. It was already clear at the premiere that this work would be a worldwide success. Three theaters toured the USA with the play. 17 theaters played it in South America, Asia and Europe. In London alone, it was performed 665 times. In 1925, the musical finally reached Broadway. In a revised version, the baptism of fire took place there on September 16 at the Globe Theatre. From then on, it was to be performed only in this version.
But Vincent Youmans did not always have good fortune. After the worldwide success of ''No, No Nanette'', he felt called to higher things. Although he was able to win the respected Oscar Hammerstein as librettist for his next work, he experienced a disaster with ''Rainbow'' in 1928. His next work, the musical ''Smiles'', also flopped. However, the song ''Time on My Hands'' (with lyrics by Adamson and Mack Gordon) from that musical became a widely played jazz standard; Billie Holiday made the song world famous. His last work was for the Fred Astaire film ''Flying Down to Rio'' (1933). The dance song ''Carioca'' from this film was nominated for an Oscar.
Vincent Youmans had been in poor health since his youth. In 1934, he contracted tuberculosis. He struggled with this disease for twelve years. In between, it seemed every now and then as if he had conquered it, but finally the disease defeated him. Death came to him on April 5, 1946, in Denver, while he was staying in a hotel. The composer has no heirs. All royalties went to the Vincent Youmans Foundation, which he established to help people suffering from tuberculosis.
Note: Translated from the German version of Wikipedia into English.
