Robert Lissauer (May 1, 1917 – October 14, 2004) was an American composer, author, and

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

. Born in New York City Lissauer attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

and then worked with

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

on his musical ''

This Is the Army ''This Is the Army'' is a 1943 American wartime musical film, musical comedy film produced by Jack L. Warner and Hal B. Wallis and directed by Michael Curtiz, adapted from This Is the Army (musical), the wartime stage musical of the same name, d ...

''. From this production "Yanks A Poppin" was developed as a show that could be performed for troops in the field. As a soldier in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Lissauer managed a production unit that traveled across the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. Working as head of his own music publishing companies in the 1960s, Lissauer signed singer-songwriters Marsha Malamet and Judy Wieder. After the war Lissauer taught at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, owned a sheet music business, and managed various composers, singers, and their estates. He also managed various composers, singers, and their estates. His extensive experience in the music industry culminated in the publication of Lissauer's Encyclopedia of Popular Music in America: 1888 to the Present. The first edition, published in 1991, listed more than 19,000 songs, and an expanded three-volume edition was issued in 1996. The encyclopedia covers a range of popular genres from the rise of Tin Pan Alley to the end of the 20th century. Lissauer's work on the encyclopedia was driven by his understanding of the significance of songs in the American collective memory. He wrote, "No matter in which part of the country we have been raised, songs have been a part of our lives... Songs have seen us off to war, helped us elect presidents, made us laugh and made us cry, pervaded our sleep, and perhaps most importantly, have given us memories."

Death

Lissauer died at Calvary Hospital in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

and lived in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. He was known for his efforts to bridge the gap between past musical treasures and a generation raised on contemporary music, as evidenced by a humorous exchange with the songwriter Gerald Marks, where a young student wished Marks "good luck" with his classic song "All of Me," unaware of its established fame.

Family

Lissauer's first four marriages ended in divorce. He is survived by his fifth wife, Melinda Dopper; his sister, Marion Weil of Manhattan; his children, Geoffrey of Kinderhook, New York, John of Katonah, New York, and Lianne Cisneros of Sanbornville,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

; and four grandchildren. His son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

is a composer and arranger of music, and has done the scores for several popular movies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lissauer, Robert 1917 births 2004 deaths Songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American musicologists American male songwriters Juilliard School alumni United States Army personnel of World War II New York University faculty 20th-century American songwriters