He started off as a pianist with vaudeville greats such as Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, Belle Baker, and Frank Fay. In 1923 he worked for the Irving Berlin Music Company. While there, he worked numerous film scores. He later became the head of the music department of RKO Radio. He left the Music Company in 1947.[2]
Songs
He began to produce hits by collaborating with other artists. Some of these are:
"You Can't Be True, Dear" is sometimes listed under Dreyer's credits. However, the song was written by composer Hans Otten and lyricist Gerhard Ebeler, and the English words were written by Hal Cotten at Dreyer's request so that a vocal could be dubbed into the Ken Griffin recording.[5]