Claibe Richardson (November 10, 1929 - January 5, 2003) 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 Defi ...

. Born Claiborne Foster Richardson in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1929, he studied at Louisiana State University. His songwriting career began in the early 1950s with material he contributed to revues staged in New York City by Ben Bagley and Julius Monk. In 1964, he composed ''The Brightest Show on Earth'' for the World's Fair held in what is now Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Richardson's first and most notable Broadway theatre score was for the 1971 adaptation of Truman Capote's '' The Grass Harp''. Although the production closed a week after opening night, it has developed a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

among

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

aficionados. Other Broadway credits include incidental music for the 1978 revival of '' The Royal Family'' with Rosemary Harris and Eva Le Gallienne, the 1980 revival of '' The Philadelphia Story'' with

Blythe Danner Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzy Huffstodt on '' Huff'' (2004–2006), and a ...

, and the original play ''The Curse of an Aching Heart'' with Faye Dunaway in 1982. Several of Richardson's other scores, including ''Lola'' (with a book and lyrics by Kenward Elmslie, his collaborator on ''The Grass Harp''), ''Bodoni County'' and ''Congo Square'' (with books and lyrics by Frank Gagliano), and ''The Night of the Hunter'' and ''Grossinger's'' (with books and lyrics by Stephen Cole) have been recorded and received

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

and regional theatre productions. Richardson also composed

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

s for

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

as well as scores for industrial shows and

sponsored films Sponsored film, or ephemeral film, as defined by film archivist Rick Prelinger, is a film made by a particular sponsor for a specific purpose other than as a work of art: the films were designed to serve a specific pragmatic purpose for a limited ...

. Three months before his death in New York City, his final composition, a

suite Suite may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition ** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach ** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó ** ''Suite' ...

based on ''The Grass Harp'', was performed by

Skitch Henderson Lyle Russel "Skitch" Henderson (January 27, 1918 – November 1, 2005) was a pianist, conductor, and composer. His nickname "Skitch" came from his ability to "re-sketch" a song in a different key. Bing Crosby suggested that he should use the ...

and the New York Pops Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Claibe American male composers Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana Louisiana State University alumni 1929 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians