DECEMBER 24

HARRY WARREN + MITCHEL AYERS + FRANZ WAXMAN + RALPH MARTERIE + MICHAEL JONES

1893 Harry Warren (Death: September 22, 1981) was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe". He wrote the music for the first blockbuster film musical, 42nd Street, directed and choreographed by Busby Berkeley, with whom he would collaborate on many musical films. Over a career spanning four decades, Warren wrote over 800 songs. Other well-known Warren hits included "I Only Have Eyes for You", "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", "Jeepers Creepers", "The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)", "That's Amore", "The More I See You", "At Last" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo" (the last of which was the first gold record in history). He was one of America's most prolific film composers, Warren's songs have been featured in over 300 films.
Search Amazon.com for Harry Warren

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 1909 Mitchel Ayres born in Milwaukee Wisc. The Mitchell Ayres Orchestra was a cooperative effort founded by a group of musicians who

left the Little Jack Little Orchestra in the mid-1930s. Violinist Ayres served as front man for the band. Ayres later became the musical director for Columbia Records. He also worked on several television programs, including The Perry Como Show, TV's Top Tunes, and The Hollywood Palace. Mitchell Ayres passed away in 1969 when he was struck by an automobile while crossing the street.

  Search Amazon.com for Mitchell Ayres Orchestra

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1906 Franz Waxman (Death: 24 February 1967) was a German composer, known for his bravura Carmen Fantasie for violin and orchestra, based on musical themes from the Bizet opera Carmen, and for his musical scores for films. Wikipedia Bio | Search Amazon.com for Franz Waxman

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1914 Ralph Marterie (Death: 10 October 1978) was a big-band leader born in Acerra, Italy. In the 1940s, he played trumpet for various bands. His highest success in the U.S. charts was a cover of "Skokiaan" in 1954. In 1953 he recorded a version of Bill Haley's "Crazy, Man, Crazy", which is generally regarded as the first rock and roll song. His version of "Crazy, Man, Crazy" reached #13 on the Billboard jockey chart and #11 on Cashbox in June, 1953. His recordings of "Pretend" and "Caravan" also made the Top 10. "Caravan" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Search Amazon.com for Ralph Marterie

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1960 Michael Jones is a New Age pianist, author, and lecturer. Jones is a native of Ontario, Canada. His first album, Pianoscapes, was the first album released on the Narada record label. Michael is the author of two books; the award winning Creating an Imaginative Life (1995, 2006) and Artful Leadership, Awakening the Commons of the Imagination (2006). Search Amazon.com for Michael Jones.