Ruth Lowe
Ruth Lowe (August 12, 1914 – January 4, 1981) was a Canadian pianist and songwriter. She composed the first Billboard top 80 song "I'll Never Smile Again".
Ruth Lowe
- Name
- Ruth Lowe
- Born
- 12 August 1914
- Birthplace
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Died
- 4 January 1981
- Occupation
- Pianist, songwriter
- Nationality
- Canada
- Fields
- music
- Known for
- I'll Never Smile Again · Put Your Dreams Away (for Another Day)
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
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wikidata · Q7383090 · wikipedia · Ruth Lowe
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ruth Lowe • Born — 12 August 1914 • Birthplace — Toronto, Ontario, Canada • Died — 4 January 1981 • Occupation — Pianist, songwriter • Instrument — Piano
Early life
Early life
Born in Toronto but raised in Glendale, California, Lowe returned to her birth country of Canada as a young woman and began working as a pianist. In 1936, Lowe was working in the 'Song Shop' in Toronto when Ina Ray Hutton brought her all-female band (the Melodears) to town. Her piano player had taken ill, and Hutton was frantically trying to locate a good-looking blonde lady replacement. Lowe auditioned, and became the regular pianist in Ina Ray's band. At age 23 in 1938, Lowe married Harold Cohen, a Chicago music publicist. It was a happy marriage that only lasted one year until Cohen's death of kidney failure during an operation in 1939. In her deep grief, Lowe returned to live in Toronto. In her apartment, she composed "I'll Never Smile Again".
Personal life and legacy
Personal life and legacy
In 1945, Lowe married Nathan Sandler and the union produced two sons, Tommy and Stephen. Lowe died of cancer in 1981. "I'll Never Smile Again" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982. In 2020, Until I Smile at You: How One Girl’s Heartbreak Electrified Frank Sinatra’s Fame!, a biography written by Peter Jennings with Tom Sandler, Lowe’s son, was published by Castle Carrington Publishing. In 2021, Ruth's Wonderful Song, a children's book biography by Jennings, was published by Tellwell Talent. in 2022, Canadian writer and filmmaker Jamila Pomeroy optioned and began development of a screen adaptation of Until I Smile at You.
Songwriter
The song "I'll Never Smile Again" was first heard on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) radio program Music By Faith, in an arrangement by Canadian musician Percy Faith, who would soon go on to fame in the US and the world. Approximately a year later, Lowe passed a copy of the tune to a guitarist in the Tommy Dorsey band, Carmen Mastren, hoping to have Dorsey hear the tune. Dorsey initially passed on the song, giving it to Glenn Miller, but then had it arranged for his young singer, Frank Sinatra, and the Pied Pipers. It was an early, major hit song for Sinatra. Lowe wrote the lyrics for another Frank Sinatra hit, "Put Your Dreams Away (For Another Day)". She and her son Tom Sandler wrote the song "Take Your Sins to the River" for The Travellers.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Ruth Lowe, revision 1371666285 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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.A new book tells the story of Ruth Lowe, the pioneering Canadian songwriter behind two of Sinatra's earliest hits.
- 2.Média, Bell. Canada's Ruth Lowe Wrote 1st Song To Top 'Billboard' Chart 80 Years Ago. www.iheartradio.ca.
- 3.Sullivan, Steve. Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings. Scarecrow Press. 2013-10-04. 978-0-8108-8296-6.
- 4.Tyler, Don. Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era. McFarland. 2007-04-02. 978-0-7864-2946-2.
- 5.Ruth Lowe The Canadian Encyclopedia. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
- 6.Meet Ruth Lowe, The Canadian Songwriting Pioneer Who Penned Two of Frank Sinatra's Biggest Hits. www.everythingzoomer.com.
- 7.Schweitzer, Ruth. How a Jewish songwriter launched Frank Sinatra's career. The Canadian Jewish News. 2015-12-11.
- 8.Sinatra 'Anthem' Composer Dies. The Vancouver Sun. 25. 1981-01-05.
- 9.GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. GRAMMY.com. 2010-10-18.
- 10.Midland author Peter Jennings launches children's book. Simcoe.com.
- 11.Midland-based author's latest book, 'Until I Smile At You,' being developed into movie. Simcoe.com. June 24, 2022.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
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 31 August 2026.
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