Charles Frederick Wolcott (September 29, 1906 in

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

– January 26, 1987 in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

) was a music composer who served as a member of the

Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice ( fa, بیت‌العدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate ...

, the supreme governing body of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

, between 1963 and 1987.

Early life

Wolcott was born in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of ...

, USA. Michigan and attended the University of Michigan where he formed his own band “Charley Wolcott and His Wolverines” in 1924–27. Following his graduation, he joined Jean Goldkette's band as a jazz pianist and scored music for such members of that group as Bix Beiderbecke, Joe Venuti, Tommy and

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...

as well as becoming an arranger for

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conc ...

and the Dorsey Brothers. He later joined Johnny Green's band as well and the two became good friends. Wolcott then went to radio, arranging for Al Jolson, George Burns and Gracie Allen and Rudy Vallee.

Hollywood career

He moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

sometime between 1935 and 1937 and soon began working at Walt Disney Studios writing music for cartoon shorts, then orchestrating feature films such as ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...

'', and ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...

''. By 1944, he had become General Musical Director at Disney Studios on films such as ''

Saludos Amigos ''Saludos Amigos'' ( Spanish for "Greetings, Friends") is a 1942 American live-action/animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the sixth Disney animated feature film and the first of the six pack ...

'', '' The Three Caballeros'', ''

Make Mine Music ''Make Mine Music'' is a 1946 American animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the eighth Disney feature animated film, released on April 20, 1946. During World War II, much of Walt Disn ...

'', ''

Song of the South ''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American live-action/animated musical drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson; produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is based on the Uncle Remus stories as adapted b ...

'' and ''

Fun and Fancy Free ''Fun and Fancy Free'' is a 1947 American animated musical fantasy package film produced by Walt Disney and released on September 27, 1947 by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the ninth Disney animated feature film and the fourth of the package films th ...

''. Wolcott had a US hit single in 1944, with "Tico-Tico" In 1950, he transferred to MGM Studios as Associate General Musical Director, and in 1958 became General Musical Director. In 1950, he transferred to MGM Studios as Associate General Musical Director before succeeding Johnny Green as general music director in 1958. While there, he was credited with introducing rock-and-roll to the motion picture screen, prevailing on the producer of ''

Blackboard Jungle ''Blackboard Jungle'' is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel ''The Blackboard Jungle'' by Evan Hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brooks. I ...

'' to incorporate Bill Haley's recording of “Rock Around the Clock” into the 1955 film that Wolcott also scored. He also wrote the love theme from 1958 adaptation of ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...

'' In 1960, Wolcott hit the US,

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

with the song, "Ruby Duby Du", which peaked at #41.

Spiritual life

Wolcott, who Green called “a man of great spiritual proportions,” left Hollywood altogether in 1960 to devote full time to the U.S. Baha’i Assembly, which had elected him national secretary. In 1961, he was elected to the faith's International Council and moved to Haifa where he remained until his death in 1987. He was buried in Haifa soon after his death in keeping with Baha’i beliefs.

Notes

External links

Sheila Banani poetry, U.S.A.
from ''Arts Dialogue'', March 1995, pages 24 – 26 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolcott, Charles 1906 births 1987 deaths People from Flint, Michigan American Bahá'ís Members of the Universal House of Justice American religious leaders American composers Animation composers Walt Disney Animation Studios people 20th-century American composers 20th-century Bahá'ís