Bert Lown
Bert Lown (born Albert Charles Lown; June 6, 1903 – November 20, 1962) was an American violinist, orchestra leader, and songwriter.
Bert Lown

Unknown photographer (only the two last letters of the studio's name can be seen in the lower left corner). · Sheet music cover for By My Side (co-composed by Lown), issued 1931. · Public domain
- Name
- Bert Lown
- Birth Name
- Albert Charles Lown
- Born
- 6 June 1903
- Birthplace
- White Plains, New York, United States
- Died
- 20 November 1962
- Place of death
- Portland, Oregon, United States
- Occupation
- Bandleader
- Nationality
- United States
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Documentary summary
Bert Lown (born Albert Charles Lown; June 6, 1903 – November 20, 1962) was an American violinist, orchestra leader, and songwriter.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Bert Lown (1903–1962) was an American bandleader, composer and jazz musician, among other activities. Born in White Plains, the bandleader died in Portland.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q827409 · wikipedia · Bert Lown
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Bert Lown • Birth Name — Albert Charles Lown • Alias — Bert Lee • Born — 6 June 1903 • Birthplace — White Plains, New York, United States • Died — 20 November 1962 • Place of death — Portland, Oregon, United States • Genre — * Swing • jazz • Occupation — Bandleader • Instrument — Violin • Years Active — 1920s–1930s • Label — Diva, Harmony, Velvet Tone, Columbia, Victor, Bluebird
Career
Career
Lown was born in White Plains, New York. He began as a sideman playing the violin in Fred Hamm's band, and in the 1920s and 1930s he led a series of jazz-oriented dance bands (the most famous being the Biltmore Hotel Orchestra), making a large number of recordings in that period for Victor Records. In 1925 (or 1930), (with Hamm, Dave Bennett, and Chauncey Gray) he composed the well-known standard "Bye Bye Blues." He also wrote some other songs, including "You're The One I Care For" and "Tired." By the mid-1930s he quit leading the orchestras, becoming a booking agent and manager; eventually he left the music industry and moved on to executive positions in the television industry. He died of a heart attack in 1962 in Portland, Oregon.
Collaborators
Collaborators
The song writing, Lown's collaborators included Moe Jaffe, Jack O'Brien (pianist with Ted Weems in the 1930s), and Fred Hamm.
Recording history
Recording history
• 1929 he recorded for Columbia's dime store labels (Diva, Harmony, and Velvet Tone) • 1930 he recorded for the Plaza/ARC dime store labels (including Banner, Cameo, Pathe, Perfect, Jewel, Regal Records, Conqueror) • 1930 he also recorded two sessions for Hit of the Week • 1930 he also recorded two sessions for Columbia • 1930-1932 he recorded prolifically for Victor • 1933 while still signed to Victor, his records were assigned to the new Bluebird dime store label (these sides were also released on Electradisk, the super rare Sunrise label, as well as the special Fox Movietone label).
Pseudonym
Pseudonym
Bert Lown sometimes used the pseudonym "Bert Lee."
Identity
Identity
Bert Lown is recorded as bandleader, violinist, composer and jazz musician.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1962
Bert Lown died in 1962 at Portland.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
White Plains.
Birth place
Portland.
Death place
Selected compositions
• "Bye Bye Blues" • "You're the One I Care For" • "By My Side" • "Tired" • "I'm Disappointed in You" • "My Heart and I" • "Today and Tomorrow" • "Let Me Fill Your Day With Music" • "Thumbs Up," theme song in 1941 of the British War Relief Society • "I Wish I Had Wings"
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Bert Lown”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q827409: Bert Lown
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1."New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820–1945" (database) FamilySearch (12 March 2018), "Albert Charles Lown" (passenger), 1940; citing Ship Delmundo, affiliate film #175, NARA microfilm publications M259 and T905 (Washington D.C.); FHL microfilm (fka GS No.) 2311525
- 2.Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Vol. 22, Part 5, No. 2, Section I "Music – Current and Renewal Registrations: July – December 1968," Library of Congress, Copyright Office, p. 2380 "Thumbs Up" (song) © EP97171 16 August 1941 © Renewal R442580 18 August 1968
- 3.[https://books.google.com/books?id=0uUvAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1211&dq=%22British+War+Relief+Society%22+%22thumbs+up The American Dance Band Discography 1917-1942 (Vol. 2 of 2; "Arthur Lange to Bob Zurke"), by Brian Rust, Arlington House Publishers (1975), p. 1211;
- 4.Parten, James. Tunes From The Merrie Melodies 1932-33 Season. Cartoon Research. 2019-10-29.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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