Biography.guide
Home › People › Composer › Benny Davis
Portrait of Benny Davis

Benny Davis

1895 – 1979

American vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Benny Davis

Lived 1895 – 1979 (aged 84). Benny Davis was an American composer, songwriter, singer, jazz musician and estrada artist.

Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs.

Biography Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. In 1917, he wrote "So Long Sammy" with Jack Yellen and "Good-Bye Broadway. Hello France" with C. Francis Reisner.

His first success was 1920's "Margie", with music by Con Conrad and J. Russel Robinson. His most popular song was "Baby Face", written in 1926 with Harry Akst. For Broadway, Davis wrote the score for the 1927 edition of Artists and Models and for the 1929 show Sons o' Guns. His career lasted until the mid-1930s.

Davis's liberal use of false rhymes in his songs was scorned by some pure practitioners of the craft, and prompted Howard Dietz to compose a couplet: "Heaven Save Us|From Benny Davis." Nevertheless, Davis was voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.

Davis died in December 1979, aged 84, in Miami, Florida.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

People in Benny Davis's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Benny Davis's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Benny Davis?

American vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs (1895–1979)

When was Benny Davis born?

Benny Davis was born on 21 August 1895 in New York City.

When did Benny Davis die?

Benny Davis died on 20 December 1979 in Miami.

What was Benny Davis's occupation?

Benny Davis was a composer, songwriter, singer, jazz musician and estrada artist.

What nationality was Benny Davis?

Benny Davis was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Benny Davis

· Wikidata: Q1261089

· DBpedia: Benny Davis

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Benny Davis. https://biography.guide/benny-davis/

MLA: "Benny Davis." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/benny-davis/.

Chicago: "Benny Davis." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/benny-davis/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:33 UTC