Gerald Marks (1900-1997) composed more than 400 published songs. He taught himself to play the piano, and first saw one of his compositions performed publicly at the age of 11, by the local orchestra. He later dropped out of school and made his way to New York to become a professional songwriter. In 1931, he teamed up with lyricist Seymour Simons to write "All of Me"; both Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman had hits with. In addition to writing songs for movies and musicals, Marks wrote music for campaigns related to children's safety and government war bonds, led his own orchestra for a time, and served on the board of the Songwriters' Hall of Fame. Later in life, he frequently lectured on his experiences in Tin Pan Alley, retiring in 1991. On this excellent 1928 record he performed one of his own songs, with a vocal trio consisting of William Fletcher, Nelson Bitterman and Earl Bell.
