Robert Sour (1905 – 1985)
''The New York Times'', March 8, 1985. was a

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

and

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 ...

, and the president of

Broadcast Music Incorporated Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organisation, 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 BM ...

(BMI). He was also one of the jurors in the murder trial of Eddie Lee Mays, who became the last man executed in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. In 1940 Sour worked for Broadcast Music as its lyrics editor, and by 1966 had risen through company ranks to become BMI's president. Two years later he had become the company's vice chairman and was instrumental in establishing BMI's musical theater workshop He retired in 1970. Working with lyricists

Edward Heyman Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul", " When I Fall in Love", and " For Sentimental Reasons". He also contributed to a number of songs for films. Bi ...

and Frank Eyton and composer

Johnny Green John Waldo Green (October 10, 1908 – May 15, 1989) was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, conductor and pianist. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger. His most famous song was one of his ear ...

, Sour wrote the lyrics to the ballad " Body and Soul" from the 1930 revue, ''

Three's A Crowd ''Three's a Crowd'' (also known as ''Three's Company, Too'' in the ''Three's Company'' syndication package) is an American sitcom television series produced as a spin-off sequel and continuation of '' Three's Company'' that aired on ABC from ...

.'' In partnership with

Una Mae Carlisle Una Mae Carlisle (December 26, 1915 – November 7, 1956) was an American jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter. Early life Carlisle was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the daughter of Mellie and Edward Carlisle. She was of African and Native America ...

(1915–1956), he also composed lyrics for the song "Walkin' by the River", which became a radio hit as sung by Syliva Froos (1927–2004) in 1941.

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

recorded "Walkin' by the River" for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, with Leroy Kirkland directing the orchestra.

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

also recorded "Walkin", with Carlisle on vocals. Sour and Carlisle also partnered to write and compose, ''Coffee and Cakes'', recorded twice in 1941 on

Bluebird Records Bluebird Records is an American record label best known for its low-cost releases, primarily of children's music, blues, jazz and swing in the 1930s and 1940s. Bluebird was founded in 1932 as a lower-priced subsidiary label of RCA Victor. Bluebi ...

. Carlisle was the vocalist for the first recording. Frances Wayne was the vocalist with Sam Donahue and His Orchestra performing on the second recording. Sour composed music and lyrics for both film and theater; along with Henry Katzman, he wrote the soundtrack sections "Twitterpated" and "Thumper's Song" for the

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

animated feature ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

'' (1942).

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External links

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''New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sour, Robert American male composers American lyricists 1905 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians