Irving Gordon (b. February 14, 1915 in Brooklyn; † December 1, 1996 in Los Angeles) was an American songwriter and composer.
Irving Gordon learned the violin as a child and worked as a song lyricist at a resort in the Catskill Mountains, writing parodies and eventually song lyrics for the publishing company of Irving Mills, who was Duke Ellington's manager. In 1939, he became a member of ASCAP. Gordon contributed lyrics (with Mills as co-writer on the copyright) for Ellington titles, Pyramid, All Too Soon, and Prelude to a Kiss (1938). He also collaborated with Allan Roberts, Al Kaufman, and Jack Lawrence. As a composer and song lyricist, Gordon wrote several songs, including What Will I Tell My Heart, a 1937 hit for Bing Crosby and 1941 Unforgettable, popularized by Nat King Cole, furthermore the songs Be Anything (But Be Mine) (1952) and Sinner or Saint (1952), both recorded by Sarah Vaughan. Frank Sinatra recorded Christmas Dreaming (1947), which Gordon had written with Lee Lester. With Jerry Livingston he wrote Unbelievable (1954), which again Nat Cole recorded. In 1992, he lived to see Natalie Cole's re-recording of Unforgettable become Single of the Year at the 1992 Grammy Awards.
Other famous songs were
- Mister And Mississippi (recorded by Patti Page and others),
- How (How Do I Go About It?) (recordings by Nat Cole),
- The Kentuckian Song (recordings by Eddy Arnold),
- Tonight I Shall Sleep With a Smile On My Face (recording by Stan Getz/João Gilberto),
- Mason-Dixon Line (recordings by the Ames Brothers),
- Be Anything (recordings by Dakota Staton),
- Two Brothers (recordings by Tom Jones),
- Blue Lou (recordings by Benny Goodman),
- Me, Myself And I (Are All In Love With You) (recording by Billie Holiday),
- Allentown Jail (recordings by The Seekers, Dusty Springfield),
- Delaware (recordings by Perry Como).
