Wikipedia:
Ray Henderson (* December 1, 1896 in Buffalo (New York); † December 31, 1970 in Greenwich (Connecticut)) was an American songwriter, pianist, producer and composer of Tin Pan Alley, for Broadway and film.
Henderson studied at the Chicago Conservatory and was then a pianist in dance bands and an arranger in New York publishing houses for popular vaudeville music. From 1925 to 1930, he formed a songwriting team with Lew Brown and Buddy DeSylva. Henderson, Brown and DeSylva sold their music publishing company in 1929 when they went to Hollywood to join Fox. Their first film was The Singing Fool with Al Jolson (with the hits Sonny Boy, It All Depends on You) and followed in 1930 with Say It with Songs also with Al Jolson (with Little Pal, Sunny Side Up). The collaboration with DeSylva and Brown was filmed in 1956 in Fanfares of Joy (The Best Things in Life Are Free). In 1931, DeSylva left the team and Henderson continued to work with Brown until 1933. He later worked with Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young, Billy Rose, Mort Dixon, Jack Yellen and Irving Caesar.
On Broadway, his successes included George White's Scandals (first in 1925), Good News, Hold Everything !, Follow Thru (also filmed as Just Imagine in 1930), Three Cheers, Flying High, Say When (1934, composed with Ted Koehler), and the 1943 Ziegfeld Follies.
His songs include That Old Gang of Mine, Alabamy Bound, Annabelle, Bye Bye Blackbird (1925), I'm Sitting on Top of the World (1925), The Best Things in Life Are Free, The Birth of the Blues (1926), Button Up Your Overcoat, You Are My Lucky Star, The Varsity Drag (1927), Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue, I'm a Dreamer, Aren't We All, (Keep Your) Sunny Side Up (1929), The Thrill is Gone, Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries (1931).
In 1942 he became one of the ASCAP directors, which he remained until 1951.
A revue of his music (It's the Cherries) was performed in New York City in 2000 (American Composer Series).
Henderson was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Note: Translated from a German version of Wikipedia into English.
