Jay Livingston (bornJacob Harold Levison; March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a composing-songwriting duo withRay Evans, with whom he specialized in composing film scores and original soundtrack songs. Livingston composed the music while Evans wrote the lyrics.
Jay Livingston | |
|---|---|
 Livingston | |
| Born | Jacob Harold Levison March 28, 1915 McDonald, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | October 17, 2001(2001-10-17) (aged 86) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Years active | 1937–2001 |
| Spouse(s) | Lynne Gordon (1947–1991; her death) Shirley Mitchell (1992–2001; his death) |
| Children | 2 children includingTammy Livingston |
Biography
editEarly life and family
editJay Livingston was bornJacob Harold Levison inMcDonald, Pennsylvania toJewish parents.[1][2] He had an older sister, Vera, and a younger brother,Alan W. Livingston, who became an executive withCapitol Records and later withNBC television.
Career
editLivingston studiedpiano with Harry Archer inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended theUniversity of Pennsylvania, where he organized a dance band and met Evans, a fellow student in the band. Though they began writing together in 1937, Livingston and Evans did not hit the top until 1946, when they set the music publishing business on fire with "To Each His Own," which reached number one on theBillboard charts for three different artists,[3] and occupied the top five positions on the "Most Played On the Air" chart for four different weeks (August 24, 1946, and again on September 7, September 14 and October 5, five versions appeared simultaneously in the Top Ten).[4][5][6][7]
"Buttons and Bows" (1947) was their next multi-million seller, with four artists reaching the top ten in 1948, and won the Academy Award for Best Song. They finished off the decade with 1949's "Mona Lisa", which was a chart hit for seven popular and two country artists in 1950, sold a million forNat King Cole, and won the pair another Best Song Oscar.[8][9] Their third Oscar came in 1956 for the song "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)", featured in the movieThe Man Who Knew Too Much. They also wrote "Tammy" for the movieTammy and the Bachelor in 1957.
Livingston and Evans wrote also popular TV themes for shows includingBonanza andMister Ed, which Livingston sang.[10] They also wrote theChristmas song "Silver Bells" in 1951, for the filmThe Lemon Drop Kid, initially calling it "Tinkle Bells" but changed it to "Silver" because of a common connotation of "tinkle", as well as "Never Let Me Go" for the 1956 filmThe Scarlet Hour.Johnny Mathis sang Livingston's song "All The Time", among others.
Livingston appeared as himself with Evans in the New Year's Eve party scene of the 1950 filmSunset Boulevard, which featured his future sister-in-law,Nancy Olson.
Death
editLivingston died on October 17, 2001, inLos Angeles, aged 86, and was interred there inWestwood Memorial Park Cemetery; on his tombstone is written "Que Será, Será".[11]
Honors
editLivingston is an inductee in theSongwriters Hall of Fame.[12] In 2004, thePennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission installed ahistorical marker inMcDonald, Pennsylvania, commemorating his achievements.[13]
Works on Broadway
edit- Oh, Captain! (1958) –musical – co-composer and co-lyricist withRay Evans –Tony nomination forBest Musical
- Let It Ride (1961) – musical – co-composer and co-lyricist with Ray Evans
- Sugar Babies (1979) –revue – featuredsongwriter with Ray Evans for "The Sugar Baby Bounce"
References
edit- ^Bloom, Nate (2006-12-19)."The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs". InterfaithFamily. Retrieved2006-12-19.
- ^Bloom, Nate (December 22, 2014). [wrote//jewishworldredied .com/1214/jewz_xmas.php3 "All those Holiday/Christmas Songs: So Many Jewish Songwriters!"].Jewish World Review.
{{cite web}}:Check|url=value (help) - ^"Ten tunes in forthcoming films".Long Beach Press Telegram Newspaper Archives. April 24, 1948. p. 22. RetrievedJan 13, 2023.
- ^"Records Most Played on the Air".Billboard. October 5, 1946. p. 24. RetrievedMay 14, 2016.
- ^"Records Most Played on the Air".Billboard. September 14, 1946. p. 26. RetrievedMarch 27, 2017.
- ^"Records Most Played on the Air".Billboard. September 7, 1946. p. 28 and 116. RetrievedMarch 27, 2017.
- ^"Records Most Played on the Air".Billboard. August 24, 1946. p. 27 and 112. RetrievedMarch 27, 2017.
- ^Whitburn, Joel (1986).Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 551.ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ^"The Ray & Wyn Ritchie Evans Foundation | The official website of Ray Evans, American songwriter, Livingston and Evans, Music, Archives, Films".www.rayevans.org. Retrieved2023-01-13.
- ^"Livingston Obituary".All Things Considered. NPR. October 18, 2001.
- ^Sam Staggs,Born to be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life (2009), p. 216.
- ^"Songwriters Hall of Fame - Barry Gibb Exhibit Home". songwritershalloffame.org. Archived fromthe original on December 20, 2008. RetrievedMarch 23, 2018.
- ^"Jay Livingston (1915-2001) - PHMC Historical Markers".Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived fromthe original on December 7, 2013. RetrievedDecember 10, 2013.
External links
edit- Jay Livingston obituary fromThe New York Times
- Jay Livingston biographyArchived 2005-05-08 at theWayback Machine
- Jay Livingston - Lifetime Sammy Film Music Award
- Jay Livingston at theInternet Broadway Database
- Video onYouTube (begins at 41:32) appearance with Chuck Schaden and members of the Gildersleeve cast: Willard Waterman, Mary Lee Robb and Shirley Mitchell. Songwriter Jay Livingston (Shirley's husband) entertains with a mini- concert featuring his many hit songs. Recorded at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, Chicago. (113 minutes).
- Jay Livingston Interview NAMM Oral History Library (1995)
- Livingston and Evans Official Site