Buddy Kaye
Jules Leonard "Buddy" Kaye (January 3, 1918 New York City - November 21, 2002 Rancho Mirage, California) was an American songwriter, musician, producer, author and music publisher. His songs were recorded by top performers, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, McGuire Sisters, Glen Miller, Sammy Kaye, Perry Como, Elvis Presley, Charles Aznavour, Tony Bennett, Cliff Richard, Pat Boone, Harry Belafonte, Little Richard, Barry Manilow, Karen Carpenter, Diana Krall, and Dusty Springfield. He scored number 1 hits on the Billboard charts in 1945 with "Till The End Of Time", recorded by Perry Como, and in 1949 with "'A' You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song)", recorded by Como and the Fontaine Sisters.[1] Among his most recognizable tunes in pop culture is the co-written theme song to the television series I Dream of Jeannie. In 1976, he won a Grammy Award for best children's album for his production of The Little Prince, narrated by Richard Burton.[2]
As an author he had four published books, including: The Wisdom of Baltasar Gracian (Pocket Books, Simon & Shuster), Method Songwriting (St. Martin's Press), The Gift of Acabar - co-authored with Og Mandino (Lippincott, Bantam Books, Penguin, Random House) and "'A' You're Adorable" (Candlewick Press).
Kaye completed the book and lyrics to When Garbo Talks!, his final work, in 2002. The stage musical had its world premiere at International City Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, October 15, 2010. In 2015, seventy years after first being recorded by Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan released a cover version of “Full Moon and Empty Arms” on his Shadows in the Night album of Sinatra standards and then praised Buddy Kaye in his MusiCares Person of the Year speech as one of the great songwriters who may not be well known in these times but deserves recognition.[3]
In celebration of the centennial birthdate of Buddy Kaye, January 3, 2018, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized the achievements and success of Buddy Kaye referring to him in a published article as “A lyricist for the ages".[4] On April 29, 2018, in Brooklyn, NY, Buddy Kaye was added to the wall of distinguished alumni on the James Madison High School Wall of Distinction.[5]
Partial list of songs
- "'A' You're Adorable" (with Sid Lippman and Fred Wise)
- "After Loving You" (with Charles Aznavour)
- "All Cried Out" (with Philip Springer)
- "All Those Pretty Girls" (with Charles Aznavour)
- "Almost" (with Ben Weisman) (Elvis Presley film soundtrack)
- "Change of Habit" (with Ben Weisman) (Main title Elvis Presley film)
- "Christmas Alphabet" (with Jules Loman)
- "Full Moon and Empty Arms" (with Ted Mossman)
- "Hurry Sundown" (with Hugo Montenegro) (Main title film)
- "I Dream of Jeannie" (with Hugo Montenegro) (TV Series theme song)
- "I'll Close My Eyes" (with Billy Reid)
- "In the Middle of Nowhere" (with Bea Verdi)
- "Let Us Pray" (with Ben Weisman) (Elvis Presley film soundtrack)
- "Little Boat” (English lyrics and translations for Roberto Menescal and Ronald Boscoli's 1962 “O Barquinho")
- "Little by Little" (with Bea Verdi)
- "Never Ending" (with Philip Springer) (Elvis Presley film soundtrack)
- "Not as a Stranger" (with Jimmy Van Heusen) (Main title film)
- "Quiet Nights" (English lyrics and translations for Antonio Carlos Jobim’s "Corcovado")
- "Speedy Gonzales" (with David Hess and Ethel Lee)
- "The Next Time" (with Philip Springer)<ref>45Cat.com database of seven inch singles: 45 rpm
- "The Old Songs" (with David Pomerantz)
- "Till the End of Time" (with Ted Mossman) (9 weeks at No.1 on BILLBOARD Charts, 1945)
- "The Treasure of Sierra Madre" (with Dick Manning) (Main title film)
- "The Uninvited Guest" (with Jeff Tweel)
- "This is No Laughing Matter" (with Al Frisch)
- "Twist Around the Clock" (with Philip Springer and Clay Cole) (Main title film)
- "Walking With My Honey" (with Dick Manning)
References
- Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Record Research.
- Buddy Kaye, 84, Songwriter Of Hits for Como and Sinatra, November 23, 2002, New York Times.
- Read Bob Dylan’s Complete, Riveting MusiCares Speech, February 9, 2015, Rolling Stone
- https://www.ascap.com/news-events/articles/2018/01/buddy-kaye-centennial?fbclid=IwAR1k1jgMevnZp9i2KC4bKzlZW4TWcV2tXWokqqwzqic449SvtBofcwNOhMk
- https://www.jamesmadisonalumni.org/the-wall
External links
- Buddy Kaye on IMDb