Don Blanding - All about the Vagabond Poet

DON BLANDING
Music written by and for him

    Don Blanding could play the piano with some skill, and began writing music for his own Hawaiian musicals and pageants in the twenties. He worked with such Hawaiian composers as R. Alex Anderson and Edwin Sawtelle to produce such hits as Hula Moon, Won't You Come Back to Honolulu Town, and My Golden Shower Girl.
     During World War II, Blanding contributed to the war effort by penning some inspirational poems turned into songs with Norman Soreng Wright. Among these were Soldier, What did You See, and Be With Us Lord in Times of Peace. These songs were played over the radio airwaves to help with soldier moral.
     In the 1950s Blanding teamed up with friend Irma Glen and wrote such songs as In Focus, Redwood Forest and Somehow, all reflecting the maturity that Blanding had obtained in his later years.

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Several examples of Don Blanding sheet music from the twenties

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An example of Don's later musical output, from 1940.

Song Index:

R. ALEX ANDERSON
GOODBYE HONOLULU AND YOU, 1928 Possible co-write by Blanding (from the musical Hula Moon, 1927)
HAOLE HULA, 1928 Possible co-write by Blanding (from the musical Hula Moon, 1927)
HULA MOON, 1928 Possible co-write by Blanding (from the musical Hula Moon, 1927)
LEI, LEI, BUY LEI, 1928 Lyrics by Don Blanding (from the musical Hula Moon, 1927)
MY GOLDEN SHOWER GIRL, 1925 Lyrics by Don Blanding (origin unknown)

BLANCHE DOUGLAS BYLES
WEST OF THE SUNSET, Wesley Webster Pub., 1938 Words by Don Blanding (from Leaves froma Grass-House, 1923)

MRS. CHARLES DENKER
MELODY, 1937 Words by Don Blanding (from Songs of the Seven Senses, 1931)

IRMA GLEN
IN FOCUS, Hollywood Music Papers, 1950 Words by Don Blanding (from A Grand Time Living, 1950)
REDWOOD FOREST, Accurate Photocopy & Blueprint Co., 1950 Words by Don Blanding (from A Grand Time Living, 1950)
SO IS HE, Cameo Music Reproduction, ca. 1950 Words by Don Blanding (from A Grand Time Living, 1950)
SOMEHOW, ca. 1950 Words by Don Blanding (origin unknown)
TRANQUILITY (varient setting of "So Is He") ca. 1950 Words by Don Blanding (from A Grand Time Living, 1950)

ADA VIRGINIA HULL
FOUR ROADS, Wesley Webster Pub., 1939 Words by Don Blanding (from Let Us Dream, 1933)
REDWOOD FOREST, Accurate Photocopy & Blueprint Co., ca. 1948 Words by Don Blanding (from Mostly California, 1948)
VAGABOND'S HEART, Wesley Webster Pub., 1939 Words by Don Blanding (from Paradise Loot, 1925)
YLANG-YLANG FLOWERS, Wesley Webster Pub., 1939 Words by Don Blanding (from Flowers of the Rainbow, 1926)

ROBERT MacGIMSEY
I AM A VAGABOND, Oliver Ditson Co., Philadelphia, 1943, Words by Don Blanding

ALBERT HAY MALOTTE
DREAMER, G. Schirmer, Inc., 1936 Words by Don Blanding (from Vagabond's House, 1928)

PAULA ROBERTS POYNER
THREE CHINESE SHAWLS, 1937 Words by Don Blanding (from Leaves from a Grass-House, 1923)

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EDWIN SAWTELLE
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, 1940
CAIRO LOVE, details unknown
CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON, Lani McIntire, Ed Sawtelle, & Don Blanding
OLD FASHIONED GARDEN, details unknown
THERE'S A GIRL FOR EVERY MAN, details unkown
THERE'S ROMANCE IN THE MOONLIGHT OF HAWAII, ca. 1940 Words by Don Blanding
WILL YOU REMEMBER, 1951, Crossroads Music Publishers
WON'T YOU COME BACK TO HONOLULU TOWN, 1925 Words by Don Blanding

MILDRED TURNER
BRIGHT ECSTASY, for voice and piano, Broadcast Music, Inc, 1941 Lyrics by Don Blanding (from Memory Room, 1935)
GEISHA, for voice and piano, Broadcast Music, Inc, 1941 Lyrics by Don Blanding (from Let Us Dream, 1933)
GOSSAMER, for voice and piano, Broadcast Music, Inc, 1941 Words by Don Blanding (origin unknown)

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NORMAN SORENG WRIGHT
BE WITH US, LORD, IN TIMES OF PEACE, 1945 Words by Don Blanding (reprinted in Today is Here, 1946)
QUEST, details unknown
SOLDIER, WHAT DID YOU SEE?, 1944 Words by Don Blanding (from Pilot Bails Out, 1943)

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