Editing Frank Loesser (section)

== Early career as lyricist ==
Loesser's first song credit was "In Love with the Memory of You," with music by [[William Schuman]], published in 1931.<ref name="Maiers 2009 1–3"/> Other early lyrical credits included two hit songs of 1934, "Junk Man" and "I Wish I Were Twins", both with music by [[Joseph Meyer (songwriter)|Joe Meyer]] and the latter with co-lyric credit to [[Eddie DeLange]]. "Junk Man" was first recorded that year by [[Benny Goodman]] with singer [[Mildred Bailey]] on vocals.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Junk Man 1934|isbn=978-0300110517|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/297548294|oclc=297548294|last1=Riis|first1=Thomas Laurence|date=January 2008|publisher=Yale University Press }}</ref>

In the mid-1930s, he performed at The Back Drop, a night spot on east [[52nd Street (Manhattan)|52nd Street]], along with composer Irving Actman, while by day working on the staff of [[Leo Feist|Leo Feist Inc.]] writing lyrics to Joseph Brandfon's music at $100 per week. After a year, Feist had not published any of them. Loesser fared only slightly better collaborating with the future classical composer Schuman, selling their 1931 song to Feist that would flop. Loesser described his early days of learning the craft as having "a rendezvous with failure." While he dabbled in other trades, he inevitably returned to the music business.<ref name="Garraty 1988 385" /><ref>Loesser 1993, p. 13-15</ref>

Loesser's work at the Back Drop led to his first Broadway musical, ''The Illustrator's Show'', a 1936 revue written with Back Drop collaborator Irving Actman, which lasted only four nights. The year before while performing at the Back Drop, Loesser met an aspiring singer, Lynn Garland (born Mary Alice Blankenbaker). He proposed in a September 1936 letter that included funds for a railroad ticket to Los Angeles where Loesser's contract to [[Universal Pictures]] had just ended. The couple married in a judge's office.<ref>Loesser 1993, p. 24-25</ref> Loesser was offered a contract by [[Paramount Pictures]]. His first song credit there was "[[Manakoora|Moon of Manakoora]]", written with [[Alfred Newman (composer)|Alfred Newman]] for [[Dorothy Lamour]] in the film ''[[The Hurricane (1937 film)|The Hurricane]]''.<ref name="Garraty 1988 385" /> He wrote the lyrics for many popular songs during this period, including "[[Two Sleepy People]]" and "[[Heart and Soul (1938 song)|Heart and Soul]]" with [[Hoagy Carmichael]] and "[[I Hear Music]]" with [[Burton Lane]]. He also collaborated with composers [[Arthur Schwartz]] and [[Joseph J. Lilley]].

One of his notable efforts was "[[See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have]]", with music by [[Friedrich Hollaender]] and sung by [[Marlene Dietrich]] in ''[[Destry Rides Again]].'' In 1941, Loesser wrote "[[I Don't Want to Walk Without You]]" with [[Jule Styne]], included in the 1942 film ''[[Sweater Girl (film)|Sweater Girl]]'' and sung by [[Betty Jane Rhodes]].<ref name="Garraty 1988 385"/> [[Irving Berlin]] was a huge fan of the song and once played it repeatedly, telling Loesser why he believed it was the greatest song he wished he'd written.<ref name=independent>{{cite news|first=Tom|last=Vallance|title=Betty Jane Rhodes: Actress and singer who charmed the US as a wartime sweetheart |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/betty-jane-rhodes-actress-and-singer-who-charmed-the-us-as-a-wartime-sweetheart-6296408.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=January 30, 2012 |access-date=January 30, 2012}}</ref>

Members of the [[Western Writers of America]] chose the 1942 song "[[Jingle Jangle Jingle]]", for which Loesser wrote the lyrics, as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.<ref name="Top100">{{Cite web|title=The Top 100 Western Songs |author=Western Writers of America |year=2010 |author-link=Western Writers of America |publisher=American Cowboy |url=http://www.americancowboy.com/culture/top-100-western-songs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019002745/http://americancowboy.com/culture/top-100-western-songs |archive-date=October 19, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

He stayed in Hollywood until World War II, when he joined the Army Air Force.<ref name=pbs/>