Lew Douglas (August 25, 1912 – November 11, 1997) 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 ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Background

Born in

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, Douglas was in the Army during the Second World War and became an arranger and conductor for some of the U.S. Army swing bands. After completing his military service, he moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where he continued his musical education at the

Chicago Conservatory of Music The Music Conservatory was founded in 1867 as the Chicago Musical College, a conservatory. In 1954, the Chicago Musical College became part of Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States ...

. He started arranging for big bands such as

Ted Weems Wilfred Theodore Wemyes (September 26, 1901 – May 6, 1963), known professionally as Ted Weems, was an American bandleader and musician. Weems's work in music was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Biography Born in Pitcai ...

Eddy Howard Edward Evan Duncan Howard (September 12, 1914 – May 23, 1963) was an American vocalist and bandleader who was popular during the 1940s and 1950s. Early years Eddy Howard was born in Woodland, California, and after attending San Jose State Coll ...

and Dan Belloc. Douglas was taken on by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

to be one of the staff arrangers for many TV shows, including ''Dave Garroway at Large'' and ''

Your Show of Shows ''Your Show of Shows'' is a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United States on NBC from February 25, 1950, through June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Ho ...

''. Subsequently, Douglas moved on to be head arranger and producer for

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

in Chicago, and he was involved in many major hits, including "

Kisses Sweeter than Wine "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" is a popular song, with lyrics written and music adapted in 1950 by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays of the Weavers. It became a US hit in a version recorded by the Weavers in 1951, and an even bigger hit in 1957 when rec ...

" by

The Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs from ...

, " The Bible Tells Me So," performed by Nick Noble and the Lew Douglas Orchestra; " Two Hearts, Two Kisses," sung by

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

, "

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered "Bewitched (Bothered and Bewildered)" is a show tune and popular song from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical '' Pal Joey''. It is part of the Great American Songbook. The song was introduced by Vivienne Segal on December 25, 1940, in the Broa ...

" by

Bill Snyder William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is an American retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired fro ...

and

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 ...

's " Confess".

Songwriting

Famously, he is quoted as saying "My first love is arranging and producing, but when I get stuck for a song, I write one." He is most noted for three major compositions in the 1950s. In January 1953, Douglas had the number 1 song, "

Why Don't You Believe Me? "Why Don't You Believe Me?" is a popular song written by Lew Douglas, King Laney, and Roy Rodde and published in 1952. A recording by Joni James (MGM Records catalog number 11333) reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' charts for four weeks in No ...

" sung by

Joni James Giovanna Carmella Babbo (September 22, 1930 – February 20, 2022), known professionally as Joni James, was an American singer of traditional pop. Biography Giovanna Carmella Babbo was born to an Italian-American family in Chicago, Illinois, on ...

, The number 10 song, "

Have You Heard? "Have You Heard?" is a popular song written by Lew Douglas, Frank LaVere and LeRoy W. Rodde and published in 1952. The biggest hit version was recorded by Joni James in 1952, charting the next year. The recording by Joni James was released b ...

", again by Joni James, and the number 13 song, " Pretend", sung by

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Discography

As arranger

With

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five RIAA certification, gold records and three Grammy Awards ...

*'' Country Meets the Blues'' (Argo, 1962)

References

External links

Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Lew 1912 births 1997 deaths American male composers American music arrangers American male conductors (music) 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians United States Army personnel of World War II