Benjamin Weisman (November 16, 1921 – May 20, 2007) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. He wrote 57 songs recorded by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, more than any other

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

Biography

Weisman was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and grew up in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He studied classical piano as a child, and then at the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts 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 the Juilliard School, named afte ...

. After being drafted, he became Special Services Music Director for the U.S. Army Air Force, before returning to New York and a career in

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

. Initially, he found success writing with Fred Wise and Kay Twomey, often using the collective pseudonym "Al Hill". Their early successes included "

Let Me Go, Lover! "Let Me Go, Lover!", a popular song, was written by Jenny Lou Carson and Al Hill, a pen name used by Fred Wise, Kathleen Twomey, and Ben Weisman. It is based on an earlier song called " Let Me Go, Devil", about alcoholism. Background "Let ...

", written with Jenny Lou Carson and recorded by Joan Weber,

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

Kathy Kirby Kathy Kirby (born Catherine Ethel O'Rourke; 20 October 1938 – 20 May 2011) was an English singer. She is best known for her cover version of Doris Day's " Secret Love" and for representing the United Kingdom in the 1965 Eurovision Song C ...

, and many others. Songs written by Ben Weisman, ''MusicVf''
Retrieved 12 October 2022 He signed an exclusive contract with the

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectu ...

s Hill & Range, and began writing for Presley at the request of company co-owner

Jean Aberbach Joachim "Jean" Aberbach (12 August 1910 – 24 May 1992) was an Austrian-born United States, American Music publisher (popular music), music publisher. He was responsible, with his elder brother Julian Aberbach, Julian, for establishing the Hill a ...

. Ben Weisman obituary, ''Variety'', May 23, 2007
Retrieved October 12, 2022
Retrieved 12 October 2022 Weisman wrote for Presley from 1956 (" First in Line") to 1971 ("

Change of Habit ''Change of Habit'' is a 1969 American crime drama musical film directed by William A. Graham, and starring Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore. Written by James Lee, S.S. Schweitzer, and Eric Bercovici, based on a story by John Joseph and Rich ...

"). Their early association (1957–1962) produced many of the most powerful rockers and poignant ballads in Presley's repertoire, including " Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do", "

Follow That Dream ''Follow That Dream'' is a 1962 American musical comedy film made by Mirisch Productions and starring Elvis Presley. The film was based on the 1959 novel '' Pioneer, Go Home!'' by Richard P. Powell. Producer Walter Mirisch liked the film's son ...

", "

Rock-A-Hula Baby "Rock-A-Hula Baby ("Twist" Special)" is a 1961 song recorded by Elvis Presley and performed in the 1961 film ''Blue Hawaii''. The song was also released as a single. Background The song was recorded on March 23, 1961 at Radio Recorders in Hollywoo ...

", "

Crawfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

", " As Long as I Have You", " Pocketful of Rainbows" and " Fame and Fortune". Weisman later said:

"I approached writing for Elvis differently than I did for any other artist. The songs had to have a combination of blues, country, rock and pop - what came to be called 'rockabilly'. It was like walking in his musical shoes. With each new Elvis movie, more of my songs were being recorded. It became more and more exciting, for I was becoming the only songwriter to have so many songs recorded by him. After completing each song, I would make a demonstration record, using a singer that could copy Elvis' sound. I used the same type of rhythm section that he used, with the same type of vocal backgrounds. The end result was a tailor-made production, just for him.... My friendship with Elvis developed during the studio sessions in Hollywood, to which I was always invited to attend. Since they copied my demos note-for-note, Elvis liked to have me around in case there were any problems. He had a great sense of humor, and used to call me the 'Mad Professor.'"

Weisman also co-wrote hit songs for other artists, including " The Night Has a Thousand Eyes", written with Dorothy Wayne and Marilyn Garrett, and recorded by

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty- ...

. Ben Weisman died in 2007 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, surrounded by friends and family.

References

External links

Interview with Ben Weisman
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weisman, Ben Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island American male composers Songwriters from Rhode Island 1921 births 2007 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in California 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters