Bernard D. Hanighen (April 27, 1908 in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

– October 19, 1976 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York) was an American songwriter and record producer, best known for " When a Woman Loves a Man", and writing lyrics to the jazz composition " 'Round Midnight", composed by jazz musician

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

. Hanighen also worked with Clarence Williams and

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

Songwriting career

Hanighen composed lyrics for the 1946 Broadway musical '' Lute Song'', which starred

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific (musica ...

and

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner (), was a Russian-born actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical ''The King and I'' (19 ...

, and which featured music by Raymond Scott. Bernie Hanighen and

Cootie Williams Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter. Biography Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Yo ...

collaborated to transform Thelonious Monk's bop masterpiece "'Round Midnight", creating what became a standard in the vocal canon thanks to performances by Mel Tormé, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Chris Connor, and Julie London. Hanighen was one of the writers for the ''Sing It Again'' program on CBS Radio.

Producing Billie Holiday

From 1936 to 1939, Hanighen co-produced

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

's early Columbia recordings with John Hammond. He and Holiday remained close friends. She wrote in her 1956 autobiography, '' Lady Sings the Blues'':

Bernie almost lost his job at Columbia fighting for me. A lot of guys were big tippers uptown, but when it came to fighting for you downtown, they were nowhere. Not Bernie. He was the cause of me making my first records under my own name - not as anybody's damn vocalist, but Billie Holiday period, and then the list of musicians backing me. Bernie Hanighen is a great guy.

References

External links

* * 1908 births 1976 deaths Songwriters from Nebraska Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska Record producers from Nebraska Jazz record producers 20th-century American businesspeople Harvard College alumni Hackley School alumni 20th-century American songwriters {{songwriter-stub