American songwriter and arranger from New York
George David Weiss
|
---|
Weiss in 1947
|
|
Also known as
| B. Y. Forster
|
---|
Born
| (
1921-04-09
)
April 9, 1921
New York City, U.S.
|
---|
Origin
| New York City, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| August 23, 2010
(2010-08-23)
(aged 89)
Oldwick, New Jersey
, U.S.
|
---|
Genres
| Pop music, Jazz
|
---|
Occupation(s)
| Songwriter
,
arranger
|
---|
Musical artist
George David Weiss
(April 9, 1921 ? August 23, 2010)
[1]
was an American
songwriter
and
arranger
, who was a president of the
Songwriters Guild of America
.
[1]
He is an inductee in the
Songwriters Hall of Fame
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Weiss was born in a Jewish family and originally planned a career as a lawyer or accountant; however, out of a love for music, he was led to attend the
Juilliard School of Music
,
[1]
developing his skills in writing and
arranging
. After leaving school, he became an arranger for such
big bands
as those of
Stan Kenton
,
Vincent Lopez
, and
Johnny Richards
.
[1]
He was a prolific songwriter during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, with many of his songs attaining high rankings on the
charts
.
[1]
Although he worked with many collaborators, the largest proportion of his well-known songs were written with
Bennie Benjamin
.
[1]
Weiss contributed to a number of
film scores
:
Murder, Inc.
(1960),
Gidget Goes to Rome
(1963),
Mediterranean Holiday
(1964), and
Mademoiselle
(1966).
Collaborations on three
Broadway
musicals
were among his compositions.
Mr. Wonderful
was written in 1956 with
Jerry Bock
and
Larry Holofcener
. The Broadway production starred
Sammy Davis Jr.
First Impressions
was based on
Jane Austen
's
Pride and Prejudice
.
It was written in 1959, with
Bo Goldman
and Glenn Paxton.
Maggie Flynn
was written in 1968, with
Hugo Peretti
and
Luigi Creatore
. It was set in New York during the
American Civil War
, and the Broadway production starred
Shirley Jones
and
Jack Cassidy
. In addition, Weiss and Will Severin composed the family musical,
A Tale of Cinderella,
which was first presented in December 1994 at the Theater Institute in
Troy, New York
, and filmed for presentation on
PBS
.
Weiss wrote the lyrics for the jazz standard "
Lullaby of Birdland
", which became a hit for
Ella Fitzgerald
. In 1984, Weiss was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame
.
In 2006, a court settlement was reached regarding
royalties
for the worldwide
rights
of the song "
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
," best known as a
No.
1 hit for
The Tokens
, which was based on a 1939 song, "Mbube", by the South African musician
Solomon Linda
. The settlement, which operates worldwide and in settlement of all claims, encompasses the following:
- Linda's heirs will receive payment for past uses of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and an entitlement to future royalties.
- "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is acknowledged as derived from "Mbube".
- Solomon Linda is acknowledged as a co-composer of the song and will be designated as such.
- A trust will be formed to administer the heirs' copyright and to receive on their behalf the payments due.
Death
[
edit
]
Weiss died at age 89 on August 23, 2010, of natural causes at his home in
Oldwick, New Jersey
.
[2]
Notable songs
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Artists
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|