Victor Young

Victor Young ( born August 8, 1900 in Chicago, Illinois, † November 10, 1956 in Palm Springs, California ) was an American violinist, composer and bandleader who has become especially known for his composition of numerous film scores, but also by Jazz standards such as (I Do not Stand ) a Ghost of a Chance ( With You ), Stella by Starlight and Street of Dreams.

Life

Already with 10 years came the highly gifted Victor Young to Europe, where he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory with Isidor Lotto violin and participated as a violinist at several international tours of the Warsaw Philharmonic.

Back in the USA Young worked as concertmaster for various classical orchestras, before he joined as a violinist and arranger of big band by Ted Fiorito and henceforth devoted himself to the increasingly popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, Young worked for numerous radio stations in his hometown of Chicago and in New York City, including as orchestra leader for Al Jolson.

The mid 1930s moved Young to California, where he founded his own orchestra and so many vocalists accompanied their studio recordings, such as Bing Crosby in many of his recordings for Decca Records. In 1938 he accompanied with his orchestra, among other things Judy Garland in their initial reception of Evergreens Over the Rainbow.

As a composer of songs Young in 1932 had his first major hit with (I Do not Stand ) A Ghost of a Chance ( With You ), which he had co-written by Ned Washington and Bing Crosby and quickly became the jazz standard. In the same year, the similarly successful, written with Sam M. Lewis piece Street of Dreams appeared. Along with Washington later emerged more hits like Stella by Starlight ( 1944), Mad About You (1949) and My Foolish Heart (1949 ).

Except with Washington Young also worked successfully with other writers together, such as with Ray Evans and Jay Livingston for Golden Earrings (1946 ), Mona Lisa (1950 ) and Edward Heyman for When I Fall In Love (1952 ), a hit song by Doris Day. Young's songs have been interpreted by many well known artists from jazz and pop, including next Crosby Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Harry James and Frank Sinatra, for his television show Young and Washington in 1950, the piece You're the One ( for Me ) composed.

After moving to California Young began in the late 1930s to work in Hollywood as a film composer and was within a few years become one of the most successful representatives of this guild. By 1956, more than 350 film scores emerged from his pen, including for Union Pacific (1939 ), Golden Boy (1939 ), Rhythm on the River ( 1940), Aloma, the daughter of the South Seas (1941 ), The Road to Morocco (1942 ) the glass Key (1942 ), for Whom the Bell Tolls (1943 ), No time for Love (1943 ), the Best Man (1948 ), The night has a thousand eyes (1948 ), Samson and Delilah (1949 ), Korea ( 1952), Shane (1953) and Three coins in the Fountain (1954).

His works have earned him a total of 22 Oscar nominations; Only 1938-1943 he was nominated fifteen times for an Academy Award, in 1939 and 1940 even for four films simultaneously. However, he could win the award only once, for Around the World in 80 Days; The prize was awarded to him for half a year after his death posthumously. With a text by Ned Washington an instrumental theme from the movie titled Around The World was through recordings by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra (both 1957) and Young's last hit as a songwriter. In Germany Around The World In 80 Days was Young's single chart success, the title achieved 1957 place 16 of the singles charts.

In the 1950s, Young occasionally worked as a composer for television; his theme songs for the series Medic and Light's Diamond Jubilee brought him 1955/56, two Emmy nominations. On 10 November 1956 before the premiere of his latest film work Storm over Persia, he succumbed to the effects of a cerebral hemorrhage suffered the day before.

Posthumously Victor Young was awarded in the category of music recordings, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame ( 6363, Hollywood Boulevard). He also was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Known Song Compositions (selection )

With text by Ned Washington

Any Time, Any Place, Anywhere (1933, with Lee Wiley )
Can not We Talk It Over ( 1931)
Got the South in My Soul (1932, with Lee Wiley )
A Hundred Years From Today (1933 )
(I Do not Stand a) Ghost of a Chance ( With You ) (1932, with Bing Crosby )
Love Is the Thing
A Love Like This
Mad About You (1949 )
The Maverick Queen
My Foolish Heart (1949 )
My Love
Shadows on the Moon
Stella by Starlight ( 1944)
Sweet Madness
Waltzing in a Dream ( with Bing Crosby )
You're the One ( For Me ) ( 1950)
You're Not In My Arms Tonight

Around the World in Eighty Days (1956, Music & Lyrics )
Beautiful Love (1930, with Haven Gillespie )
Blue Star ( with Edward Heyman )
Golden Earrings (1946, with Ray Evans and Jay Livingston )
Lawd, You Made the Nights Too Long ( Music & Lyrics )
Love Letters (1945, with Edward Heyman )
Love Me (1934, Music & Lyrics )
Love Me Tonight ( Music & Lyrics )
A Man With a Dream ( with Stella Unger)
The Old Man n the Mountain ( with Billy Hill )
The Rose and the Butterfly ( with Stella Unger)
Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long ( with Sam M. Lewis)
Street of Dreams (1932, Sam M. Lewis)
Sweet Sue, Just You (1928, with Will Harris)
Too Late ( Sam M. Lewis)
A Weaver of Dreams ( Jack Elliott )
When I Fall In Love (1952, with Edward Heyman )
Written on the Wind (1956, with Sammy Cahn )

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