Turner Layton born John Turner Layton, Jr., was an American songwriter, singer and pianist. Born in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, in 1894, he was the son of John Turner Layton, "a bass singer, music educator and hymn composer." After receiving a musical education from his father, he attended the Howard University Dental School, later coming to 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 the early 1900s, where he met future songwriting partner, lyricist Henry Creamer

Henry Creamer

Henry Creamer was an American popular song lyricist. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, often collaborating with Turner Layton, with whom he also appeared in vaudeville.Creamer was a co-founder with James Reese...

. He is best known for his many compositions with Creamer, the best known of which is the jazz standard "After You've Gone

After You've Gone (song)

"After You've Gone" is a 1918 popular song composed by Turner Layton, with lyrics written by Henry Creamer. It was recorded by Marion Harris on July 22, 1918 and released on Victor 18509. It is the basis for many other jazz songs, as it can easily be improvised over...

", which was written in 1918 and first popularized by Sophie Tucker

Sophie Tucker

Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...

. The two contributed music and lyrics to many Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 shows, including the Ziegfeld Follies of 1917, 1921 and 1922, Three Showers (1920), Some Party (1922) and Creamer's own Strut Miss Lizzie (1922). Beginning in 1924, Layton found major popular success in England with Clarence "Tandy" Johnstone as member of the group Layton & Johnstone, quickly earning a reputation as a cabaret act, with the pair allegedly selling over "10 million records." He split with Johnstone in 1935, with Johnstone returning to New York and continuing to perform with significantly less success and Turner continuing to perform in England. An elegant song stylist, Turner had held a regular, successful spot over the years at the Café de Paris, a London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 club, until his retirement in 1946. He died in London in February 1978. Two compilation albums of recordings by Layton have been released on CD. His daughter A'Lelia Shirley inherited his musical estate and left the copyright and royalties to her father's music to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London (UK) in her will on her death in January 2001.

Notable compositions

• After You've Gone
  After You've Gone (song)
  "After You've Gone" is a 1918 popular song composed by Turner Layton, with lyrics written by Henry Creamer. It was recorded by Marion Harris on July 22, 1918 and released on Victor 18509. It is the basis for many other jazz songs, as it can easily be improvised over...
  
  
• Dear Old Southland
• It Must Be Love
• If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)
• Strut, Miss Lizzie
• Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
  Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
  "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans" is a popular song with music by John Turner Layton, Jr. and lyrics by Henry Creamer. First published in 1922, Creamer and Layton advertised it as "A Southern Song, without A Mammy, A Mule, Or A Moon", a dig at some of the Tin Pan Alley clichés of the era.It was...
  
  

External links

• Biography at Jass.com