After attending public schools in
New York City, Gordon worked in the
Catskill Mountains at some of the resort
hotels in the area. While working there, he took to writing
parody lyrics to some of the popular songs of the day. In the 1930s, he took a job with the music publishing firm headed by talent agent
Irving Mills. Though he initially wrote only lyrics, he eventually began to write music as well. Gordon was introduced to
Duke Ellington in 1937. Ellington sometimes invited him to put lyrics to his compositions. However, working with Ellington was a difficult commission, since most of the Ellington songs were instrumental pieces whose singable potential only emerged after they had been played and recorded by the soloists in the Ellington orchestra. While working as Ellington's lyricist, Gordon wrote the lyrics to "
Prelude to a Kiss". He, like many composers, worked out of the
Brill Building in
Manhattan for many years. After writing "
Mister and Mississippi", Gordon decided he enjoyed puns on state names and later wrote "
Delaware", which was a hit for
Perry Como. His 1956 hit for
Patti Page, "
Mama from the Train", was written to describe the love of a mother who had been born in the old country. Although the lyrics identify her as "
Pennsylvania Dutch", the shifts into and out of a minor key mark the melody as Eastern European, and it was widely perceived as a tribute to a
Yiddish-speaking mother. Gordon is perhaps best known for his song "
Unforgettable". He also wrote "
Allentown Jail", which was played by numerous musicians and told the story of a man who stole a diamond for his girlfriend and ended up in the
Allentown jail, unable to make bail. This song was recorded by singers such as
Edith Piaf. Late in his life, Gordon won a
Grammy Award for Song of the Year when
Natalie Cole re-recorded her father
Nat King Cole's earlier hit of "Unforgettable." Gordon wrote both the lyrics and music for "Unforgettable." Gordon did not care for
rock music, which he said was composed not of "melodies but maladies." Gordon told the
Los Angeles Times that by 1960 the vogue for rhymed words and hummable melodies had passed, "So I became a tennis pro. I have many lives." Gordon's obituary claimed that he wrote the
Abbott and Costello baseball comedy routine, "
Who's on First?." This claim was never made by Gordon when he was alive, and others have also claimed authorship. Gordon is noted for his contribution to music and lyrics of the
Americana genre. For example, it was commonly thought that his song "Two Brothers" was about the
American Civil War. For several years before his death, he wrote a musical about
Sigmund Freud. ==Death==