Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison; March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a composing-songwriting duo with
Ray Evans, with whom he specialized in composing film scores and original soundtrack songs. Livingston composed the music while Evans wrote the lyrics.
Biography
Early life and family
Jay Livingston was born Jacob Harold Levison in
McDonald, Pennsylvania to
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
parents.
He had an older sister, Vera, and a younger brother,
Alan W. Livingston, who became an executive with
Capitol Records and later with
NBC television.
Career
Livingston studied
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
with Harry Archer in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. He attended the
University of Pennsylvania, where he organized a dance band and met Evans, a fellow student in the band. Though they began writing together in 1937, Livingston and Evans did not hit the top until 1946, when they set the music publishing business on fire with "
To Each His Own," which reached number one on the ''Billboard'' charts for three different artists, and occupied the top five positions on the "Most Played On the Air" chart for four different weeks (August 24, 1946, and again on September 7, September 14 and October 5, five versions appeared simultaneously in the Top Ten).
"
Buttons and Bows" (1947) was their next multi-million seller, with four artists reaching the top ten in 1948, and won the Academy Award for Best Song. They finished off the decade with 1949's "
Mona Lisa
The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...
", which was a chart hit for seven popular and two country artists in 1950, sold a million for
Nat King Cole, and won the pair another Best Song Oscar.
Their third Oscar came in 1956 for the song "
Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)", featured in the movie ''
The Man Who Knew Too Much''. They also wrote "Tammy" for the movie ''
Tammy and the Bachelor'' in 1957.
Livingston and Evans wrote also popular TV themes for shows including ''
Bonanza'' and ''
Mister Ed'', which Livingston sang. They also wrote the
Christmas song "
Silver Bells" in 1951, for the film ''
The Lemon Drop Kid'', initially calling it "Tinkle Bells" but changed it to "Silver" because of a common connotation of "tinkle", as well as "Never Let Me Go" for the 1956 film ''
The Scarlet Hour''.
Johnny Mathis sang Livingston's song "
All The Time", among others.
Livingston appeared as himself with Evans in the New Year's Eve party scene of the 1950 film ''
Sunset Boulevard'', which featured his future sister-in-law,
Nancy Olson.
Death
Livingston died on October 17, 2001, 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, ...
, aged 86, and was interred there in
Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery; on his tombstone is written "Que Será, Será".
Honors
Livingston is an inductee in the
Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In 2004, the
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission installed a
historical marker in
McDonald, Pennsylvania, commemorating his achievements.
Works on Broadway
*''
Oh, Captain!'' (1958) –
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
– co-
composer and co-
lyricist with
Ray Evans –
Tony nomination for
Best Musical
*''
Let It Ride'' (1961) – musical – co-composer and co-lyricist with Ray Evans
*''
Sugar Babies'' (1979) –
revue – featured
songwriter with Ray Evans for "The Sugar Baby Bounce"
References
External links
Jay Livingston obituary from ''The New York Times''*
* (begins at 41:32) appearance with Chuck Schaden and members of the Gildersleeve cast: Willard Waterman, Mary Lee Robb and Shirley Mitchell. Songwriter Jay Livingston (Shirley's husband) entertains with a mini- concert featuring his many hit songs. Recorded at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, Chicago. (113 minutes).
Jay Livingston InterviewNAMM Oral History Library (1995)
Livingston and Evans Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Jay
1915 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male musicians
American film score composers
American male film score composers
American musical theatre composers
Broadway composers and lyricists
Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songwriters
Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Jewish American film score composers
Jewish American songwriters
American male musical theatre composers
People from McDonald, Pennsylvania
Songwriters from Pennsylvania
Wharton School alumni
20th-century American Jews
American male songwriters
20th-century American songwriters