Donald MacRae Wilhoite, Jr. was an American vaudevillian and songwriter, who partnered with Gene de Paul to write songs for Alice in Wonderland and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" segment of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
Born in Washington, D.C; Raye started his career as a dancer, going on to win the "Virginia State Dancing Championship." He started work in vaudeville as a song and dance man often writing his own songs for his act. In 1935, switched to songwriting full-time and soon found success with writing songs for The Andrews Sisters with songs, like "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", "The House of Blue Lights", "Just for a Thrill" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" with Hughie Prince. With other songs, like "Scrub Me Mama, with a Boogie Beat" and "Bounce Me Brother, with a Solid Four", Raye and Prince were signed by Universal Pictures to score musical comedies and later with Gene de Paul after serving in World War II, like Broadway Rhythm, Buck Privates, Hi'Ya Chum, Behind the Eight Ball, Ride 'Em Cowboy, Hellzapoppin, In the Navy, Moonlight in Hawaii, Keep 'Em Flyin, A Song is Born, You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith, and He's My Guy.
His other songwriting contributions included "This Is My Country", "You Don't Know What Love Is", "(That Place) Down the Road a Piece", "I'll Remember April", "Struttin' with Some Barbecue", "Down the Road a Piece", "For Dancers Only", "Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet", "He's A Demon, He's A Devil, He's A Doll", "Cow Cow Boogie", "Solid Potato Salad", "This World We Live In", "The Music Makers", "The Ballad of Thunder Road" for Thunder Road, "I'm In Love With You", "Hit the Road", "Star Eyes", and "Too Little Time".
In 1985, Raye passed away before being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside de Paul.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Bambi | Music Department - uncredited |
| 1948 | So Dear to My Heart | Songwriter: "It's Whatcha Do With Whatcha Got" - uncredited |
| 1949 | The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | Songwriter: "Ichabod Crane" "Katrina" "Headless Horseman" |
| 1951 | Alice in Wonderland | Songwriter: "'Twas Brillig" |
