Robert Saul Musel (13 August 1909 – 8 September 1999), sometimes credited as Bob Musel, was an American journalist and lyricist, who was based in London for much of his life. As well as covering European stories for the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

news agency for several decades, becoming "celebrated in his profession for the quality of his writing and the breadth of his experience," he wrote the lyrics to several successful popular songs.

Biography

Born 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 ...

, he joined

at the age of 15, and worked for the company for 58 years. In his early years he covered stories on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, and in 1927, when based in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, he covered the kidnapping and death of

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

's son. Musel claimed to have been the inspiration for a character in the play ''Hold the Front Page'' by

Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...

. Musel also worked for a while as a scriptwriter in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. Obituary by Greg Jensen
Retrieved 18 March 2013 During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was assigned to the US Ninth Air Force, and stayed in London after the end of the war as the office's senior editor. In 1947, " Tell Me Marianne", Musel's adaptation of the 1924 tango "A media luz", topped the UK sheet music charts. He reported on the

coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

, writing: "Golden trumpets stilled the tumult of modern London today, and the world's largest city rolled back the centuries to hear

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

proclaimed Queen." In 1953, he became a consultant to

Broadcast Music, Inc. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 22.4 milli ...

(BMI) in London. Having started writing song lyrics while in his teens, he wrote the words for a number of popular songs, including " Poppa Piccolino", originally an Italian song which became a no.2 pop hit in the UK for

Diana Decker Isabella Charlotte Diana Decker (9 January 1925 – 4 January 2019) was an American-born British actress, singer, and television personality, who was popular from the 1940s to the early 1960s. Early life Decker was born to an American father and ...

in 1953, and " Band of Gold", an international chart hit for Don Cherry in 1956. Nigel Hunter, "Publishing Vet Musel Dies", ''Billboard'', 25 September 1999, p.76
Retrieved 18 March 2013 Reportedly, he coined the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

"Elvis the Pelvis" for

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 ...

. In 1993, BMI established an annual award in his name for the year's most-performed song, and he remained a consultant to the organisation until his death. He died in London of cancer at the age of 90, after having suffered a stroke several years previously.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musel, Robert 1909 births 1999 deaths American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American lyricists 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers