Joan Whitney Kramer was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer and songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

.

She was born as Zoe Parenteau in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

. She attended Finch College

Finch College

Finch College was a baccalaureate women's college located in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It began as a finishing school for wealthy young women and later evolved into a liberal arts college...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. In 1934, while playing a showgirl in The Great Waltz

The Great Waltz

The Great Waltz is a musical conceived by Hassard Short with a book by Moss Hart and lyrics by Desmond Carter, using themes by Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II. It is based on a pasticcio by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Julius Bittner called Walzer aus Wien, first performed in Vienna in 1930...

on Broadway, she took the stage name

Stage name

A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...

 Joan Whitney. She studied voice under Alex Kramer

Alex Kramer (songwriter)

Alex J. Kramer was a Canadian songwriter....

, who later collaborated with her on a number of songs including "Candy

Candy (1944 song)

"Candy" is a popular song. The music was written by Alex Kramer, the lyrics by Mack David and Joan Whitney. It was published in 1944.The recording by Johnny Mercer and Jo Stafford was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 183. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on...

" and "Far Away Places

Far Away Places

"Far Away Places" is an American popular song. It was written by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer and published in 1948.The recording by Bing Crosby was released by Decca Records as catalog number 24532. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on December 31, 1948 and lasted 18 weeks...

". Kramer and Whitney married and had a son.

Death

Joan Whitney died on July 12, 1990 in Westport, Connecticut, aged 76, from Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

.

with Alex Kramer

• "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" (1946)
• "Behave Yourself"
• "Deep as the River" (recorded by Harry Belafonte
  Harry Belafonte
  Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
  
   in 1949)
• "Far Away Places
  Far Away Places
  "Far Away Places" is an American popular song. It was written by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer and published in 1948.The recording by Bing Crosby was released by Decca Records as catalog number 24532. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on December 31, 1948 and lasted 18 weeks...
  
  " (1948)
• "High on a Windy Hill" (1940)
• "Love Somebody
  Love Somebody
  "Love Somebody" is a pop standard recorded by Doris Day. The song was written by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer and published in 1947.Doris Day and Buddy Clark recorded the song on November 21, 1947. It was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 38174, with the flip side "Confess"...
  
  " (1947)
• "Money Is the Root of All Evil" (1945)
• "No Man Is an Island"

with Mack David and Alex Kramer

• "Candy
  Candy (1944 song)
  "Candy" is a popular song. The music was written by Alex Kramer, the lyrics by Mack David and Joan Whitney. It was published in 1944.The recording by Johnny Mercer and Jo Stafford was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 183. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on...
  
  " (1944)
• "It's Love, Love, Love" (1943)

External links

• Obituary in New York Times