Victor Young

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Victor Young

Not to be confused with the actor Victor Sen Yung
Victor Sen Yung

Victor Sen Yung was an United States character actor. He was given billing under a variety of names, including Sen Yung, Sen Young, Victor Sen Young, and Victor Young....
who was sometimes billed as Victor Young

Victor Young (August 8, 1900 – November 10, 1956) was an American composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
, arranger, violin

Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
ist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.

g began as a classical composer and concert violinist but moved into the popular music sphere when he joined Ted Fio Rito's orchestra.

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Encyclopedia

Victor Young (August 8, 1900 – November 10, 1956) was an American composer

Composer

Violin

Biography

Young began as a classical composer and concert violinist but moved into the popular music sphere when he joined Ted Fio Rito's orchestra. In the mid-1930s he moved to Hollywood where he concentrated on films, recordings of light music and providing backing for popular singers, including Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an United States popular singer and actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death.One of the first multimedia stars, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby held a nearly unrivaled command of record sales, radio ratings and motion picture grosses....
.

His composer credits include "When I Fall in Love

When I Fall in Love (song)

"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young and Edward Heyman . It was introduced in the film One Minute to Zero . The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it, though the original hit version was by Doris Day....
," "Blue Star

Blue Star (song)

"Blue Star" is a popular music song.The theme music of the television series, Medic , was written by Victor Young and copyright on February 17, 1955 under the title "The Medic Theme." A set of lyrics were written by Edward Heyman and with those lyrics and under the new title "Blue Star," a new copyright was issued on May 5, 1955....
(The 'Medic' Theme)," "Moonlight Serenade (Summer Love)" from the motion picture The Star (film)

The Star (film)

The Star is a 1952 film which tells the story of a washed up actress who tries anything to restart her career, even at the risk of alienating her husband and daughter....
, "Sweet Sue," "Can't We Talk It Over," "Street of Dreams

Street of Dreams

"Street of Dreams" is a song composed in 1932 by Victor Young, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis....
," "Love Letters

Love Letters (song)

"Love Letters" is a 1945 popular music song with music by Victor Young and lyrics by Edward Heyman. The song appeared, without lyrics, in Love Letters , and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song for 1945 in film....
," "Around the World

Around the World (1956 song)

"Around the World" was the theme tune from the 1956 in film Film Around the World in Eighty Days .It never actually featured with the lyrics in the Around the World in Eighty Days film , but it is the vocal version which has by far become the better known....
," "My Foolish Heart

My Foolish Heart (song)

"My Foolish Heart" is an Academy Award-nominated popular music song that was published in 1949 in music.The music was written by Victor Young and the lyrics by Ned Washington....
," "Golden Earrings," "Stella By Starlight

Stella By Starlight

"Stella by Starlight" is a jazz standard written by Victor Young and featured in The Uninvited , a 1944 film released by Paramount Pictures....
", and "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You

I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You

"I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You" is a 1932 song composed by Victor Young, with lyrics written by Ned Washington and Bing Crosby....
."

Records

Young was signed to Brunswick

Brunswick Records

Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by Koch Entertainment....
in 1931 where his studio groups recorded scores of popular dance music, waltzes and semi-classics through 1934. His studio groups often contained some of the best jazz musicians in New York, including Bunny Berigan

Bunny Berigan

Rowland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan was an United States jazz trumpeter who rose to fame during the Swing Era, but whose virtuosity and influence were shortened by a losing battle with alcoholism that ended in his early death at age 33....
, Tommy Dorsey

Tommy Dorsey

Tommy Dorsey was an United States jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big band era. He was the younger brother of Jimmy Dorsey....
, Jimmy Dorsey

Jimmy Dorsey

James "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent United States jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader....
, Joe Venuti, Arthur Schutt

Arthur Schutt

File:Arthur Schutt .jpgArthur Schutt was an American jazz pianist and arranger.Schutt learned piano from his father, and accompanied silent films as a teenager in the 1910s....
, Eddie Lang

Eddie Lang

Eddie Lang was an American jazz guitarist, regarded as the most important Chicago jazz guitarist and the Father of the Jazz Guitar. He played a Gibson L-4 and Gibson L-5 guitar, providing great influence for many guitarists, including Django Reinhardt....
, and others. He used first-rate vocalists, including Paul Small, Dick Robertson

Dick Robertson

Preston James Robertson was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched in two games for the Cincinnati Reds in 1913, thirteen games for the 1918 Los Angeles Dodgers and seven games for the 1919 Minnesota Twins....
, Smith Ballew

Smith Ballew

Smith Ballew was an United States actor, singer, and orchestra leader.He was born in Palestine, Texas. He attended high school in Sherman, Texas and college at Austin College and the University of Texas....
, Helen Rowland, Frank Munn, The Boswell Sisters, Lee Wiley

Lee Wiley

Lee Wiley was an United States jazz singer popular in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. She possessed an attractive, slightly husky tone and delivered lyrics with warmth and intimacy....
and others. One of his most interesting recordings was the January 22, 1932 session containing songs written by Herman Hupfeld

Herman Hupfeld

Herman Hupfeld was an United States songwriter. His most notable composition was "As Time Goes By " .Hupfeld never wrote a whole Broadway score, but he became known as a composer who could write a song to fit a specific scene within a Broadway show....
"Goopy Geer" and "Down The Old Back Road", which Hupfeld sang and played piano on (his only two known vocals).

In late 1934, Young signed with Decca

Decca Records

Radio and films

On radio, he was the musical director of Harvest of Stars
Harvest of Stars

Harvest of Stars was a concert music series, produced and directed by Glen Heisch and starring James Melton. Sponsored by International Harvester, the program was broadcast on NBC and CBS from 1945 to 1950....
. He was musical director for many of Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an United States popular singer and actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death.One of the first multimedia stars, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby held a nearly unrivaled command of record sales, radio ratings and motion picture grosses....
's recordings for the American branch of Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. For Decca, he also conducted the first album of songs from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)

The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 in film Cinema of the United States musical film-fantasy film mainly directed by Victor Fleming and based on the 1900 Children's literature novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L....
, a sort of "pre-soundtrack" cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song.In its current use, it can sometimes have a pejorative meaning — implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version, usually in the sense of an "authentic" rendition, and all...
rather than a true soundtrack album

Soundtrack album

A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the movie trailer that do not appear in the movie but occur on the soundtrack album....
. The album featured Judy Garland

Judy Garland

Judy Garland was an American actress and alto singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage....
and the Ken Darby

Ken Darby

Ken Darby was an American Academy Award and Grammy Award winning composer, vocal arranger, and conductor. He has shared in winning an Oscar three times and was nominated for three others:...
Singers singing songs from the film in Young's own arrangements. He also composed the music for several Decca spoken word album

Spoken word album

A spoken word album was a record album that did not consist mainly of music or songs, but of spoken material. It could be said to be the ancestor of today's audiobook format....
s.

He received 22 Academy Award

Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
nominations for his work in film, twice being nominated four times in a single year, but he did not win during his lifetime. He received his only Oscar posthumously for his score of Around the World in Eighty Days
Around the World in Eighty Days (1956 film)

Around the World in 80 Days is a 1956 in film adventure film produced by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists. It was directed by Michael Anderson ....
(1956). His other scores include Golden Boy
Golden Boy (film)

Golden Boy is a 1939 in film black-and-white Columbia Pictures drama film based on the Clifford Odets Golden Boy . It features William Holden in the role that made him a star: a promising violinist who wants to be a Boxing....
(1939), For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls (film)

For Whom the Bell Tolls is a 1943 in film film in Technicolor based on the For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. It stars Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff and Katina Paxinou....
(1943), Love Letters
Love Letters (1945 film)

Love Letters is a 1945 film adapted by Ayn Rand from the novel Pity My Simplicity by Christopher Massie. It was directed by William Dieterle and stars Jennifer Jones , Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards , Cecil Kellaway, Gladys Cooper and Anita Louise....
(1945), Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah (1949 film)

Samson and Delilah is a film made by Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr as the title characters....
(1949), My Favorite Spy
My Favorite Spy

My Favorite Spy is a 1951 in film comedy film starring Bob Hope and Hedy Lamarr. The movie was directed by Norman Z. McLeod....
(1951), Payment on Demand
Payment on Demand

Payment on Demand is a 1951 in film drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. The screenplay by Bernhardt and Bruce Manning chronicles a marriage from its idealistic early days to its dissolution....
(1951), The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man

The Quiet Man is a United States Romantic film drama film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald....
(1952), Scaramouche
Scaramouche (1952 film)

Scaramouche is a 1952 in film Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romantic adventure film based on the 1921 novel Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini as well as the Scaramouche starring Ram?n Novarro....
(1952), Something to Live For
Something to Live For (film)

Something to Live For is a United States drama film starring Joan Fontaine, Ray Milland, and Teresa Wright, directed by George Stevens, and released by Paramount Pictures....
(1952), Shane (1953), and Written on the Wind
Written on the Wind

Written on the Wind is a 1956 in film United States drama film directed by Douglas Sirk. The screenplay by George Zuckerman was based on Robert Wilder 's 1945 novel of the same name, a thinly disguised account of the real-life scandal involving torch singer Libby Holman and her husband, tobacco heir Smith Reynolds....
(1956). His last film score was for Omar Khayyam
Omar Khayyam (film)

Omar Khayyam is an American movie directed by William Dieterle, filmed in 1956 and released in 1957 in film. It starred Cornel Wilde as Omar Khayy?m, the eponymous Iran poet, Michael Rennie as Hasani Sabah, and famous exotica singer Yma Sumac as Karina....
, starring Cornel Wilde

Cornel Wilde

Cornelius Louis Wilde was an United States actor and film director....
, filmed in 1956 and released by Paramount

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production company and distribution company, located on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California....
in 1957 after Young's death.

At 56, Victor Young died in Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, California, approximately 111 miles east of Los Angeles, California and 136 miles northeast of San Diego, California....
after a cerebral hemorrhage.

His family donated his artifacts and memorabilia (including his Oscar) to Brandeis University

Brandeis University

Brandeis University is a Private university research university with a liberal arts focus, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, nine miles west of Boston, Massachusetts....
, where they are housed today.

Broadway

Murder at the Vanities (1933) - musical - contributing composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
Blackbirds of 1933 (1933) - revue
Revue

A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre entertainment that combines music, dance and sketch comedy. The revue has its roots in nineteenth-century American popular entertainment and melodrama, but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from ca....
- featured songwriter
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
Winged Victory (1944) - play - performer for the role of "Lee"
Arms and the Girl (1950) - musical - performer for the role of "Son of Liberty"
Pardon Our French (1950) - revue
Revue

A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre entertainment that combines music, dance and sketch comedy. The revue has its roots in nineteenth-century American popular entertainment and melodrama, but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from ca....
- composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
Seventh Heaven (1955) - musical - composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....

Sources

Young, Victor. Cinema Rhapsodies: The Musical Genius of Victor Young Ontario: (Hit Parade Records, 2006).

External links

at the Internet Broadway Database
Internet Broadway Database

The Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....