Gorney was born Abraham Jacob Gornetzsky on December 12, 1896, in Białystok, Russia, the son of Frieda and Jacob Gornetzsky. His family was Jewish. In 1906, he witnessed the Bialystock pogrom, which forced his family into hiding for nearly two weeks, after which they fled to the United States arriving on 14 September 1906. His family settled in Detroit, Michigan where his father became an engineer at the newly formed Ford Motor Company. His mother bought a piano for her children. After two years of lessons, at age 14, Gorney was offered a job as a pianist at a local Nickelodeon. He worked his way through the University of Michigan, and the University of Michigan Law School, as a pianist. His studies were interrupted by World War I, during which he enlisted in the Navy. After graduating, he practiced law only briefly, then turned instead to his love of music, relocating with his wife to New York City, where he began his song writing career on Tin Pan Alley. He contributed numerous songs to musicals by the Shubert brothers. Later, Ira Gershwin introduced him to lyricist Yip Harburg, who became a frequent collaborator. The pair's most famous song was "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?," based on a lullaby that Gorney learned as a child in Russia. It first appeared in the 1932 Shubert production of New Americana and became the anthem of the Great Depression. The Gorney-Harburg partnership ended when Harburg hooked up with Gorney's wife, whom he subsequently married. Gorney is credited with bringing Shirley Temple to 20th Century-Fox. It was while walking out the viewing of her last Frolics of Youth picture that Gorney saw her dancing in the movie theater lobby. Recognizing her from the screen, he arranged for her to have a tryout for the movie Stand Up and Cheer!, which he was working on as a songwriter. The role, which featured Temple singing Baby Take a Bow with James Dunn, turned out to be a breakthrough role for Temple. The song would become the title for Baby Take a Bow, the first film by Fox to feature Temple in a starring role. Gorney's second marriage was to public relations consultant Sondra Karyl. Their daughter, Karen Lynn Gorney, is an actress and dancer who was in the original cast of All My Children, and starred opposite John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Gorney has two sons, Dr. Roderic Gorney and Dan Gorney. Gorney's 2005 biography, Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? The Life of Composer Jay Gorney, was written by his widow Sondra.
