Frank S. Perkins (April 21, 1908 in

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– March 15, 1988 in

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) was an American song composer best known for the song " Stars Fell on Alabama" (with lyrics by

Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 190 ...

) and his band classic, Fandango.

Career

Perkins earned his Ph.B from Brown University in Providence, RI in economics in 1929. Although he was an accomplished pianist, by graduation he could play organ, trombone, saxophone and all the percussion instruments. He studied with noted composer and educator Tibor Serly, who was a student of

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music edu ...

and also worked with Béla Bartók. Upon graduation, Perkins toured Europe and returned to form his own dance band and become a songwriter. In 1934 he joined

Fred Waring Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...

and His Pennsylvanians and remained with them as arranger until 1938 when he joined

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

as a composer and conductor, where he remained for many years.From Premiere A Collection of Original Orchestral Novelties by Frank Perkins (extended play 45) liner notes Decca Records called upon Perkins to record some of his own light compositions on LPs in the 1950s. Some of those he recorded were "Kentucky Trotter," "The Deserted Patio," "Barbara," "Pop-Gun Patrol," "Fandango," "Feliciana," "Escapade," and "The Frustrated Floorwalker". These were all from his first album which was released. Perkins also worked in film music. He was the composer of the score for '' The Incredible Mr. Limpet'' (1964) and conducted orchestras for films, including the

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

adaptation of ''Gypsy'' and the 1963 spring break film ''

Palm Springs Weekend ''Palm Springs Weekend'' is a 1963 Warner Bros. bedroom comedy film directed by Norman Taurog. It has elements of the beach party genre ( AIP's '' Beach Party'' became a smash hit in July, while Warner Bros. was still putting this film together ...

''. In the TV genre, he did music scoring and arrangements for ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

'' (WB-TV).

References

External links

* 1908 births 1988 deaths American film score composers American television composers 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American composers {{US-composer-20thC-stub