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 |
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 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.
Livingston 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.
Livingston 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]
Livingston 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]
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