George D. Weiss, songwriter
Evan Hulka
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/arts/music/24weiss.html
George David Weiss, Writer of Hit Pop Songs, Dies at 89
By MARGALIT FOX
Published: August 23, 2010
George David Weiss, a songwriter who had a hand in some of the biggest
hits of midcentury pop music, recorded by some of the biggest stars,
died on Monday at his home in Oldwick, N.J. He was 89.
The death was of natural causes, his wife, Claire, said.
Among his most famous numbers were “Can’t Help Falling in Love,”
recorded by Elvis Presley; “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” recorded by the
Tokens; and “What a Wonderful World,” recorded by Louis Armstrong.
“Can’t Help Falling in Love,” introduced in Presley’s 1961 film “Blue
Hawaii,” was a million-seller. It has words and music by Mr. Weiss,
Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore.
“The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (1961), based on a South African Zulu song
first recorded in the 1930s, was given a reworked melody and new
lyrics (“In the jungle, the mighty jungle/The lion sleeps tonight”) by
Mr. Weiss, Mr. Peretti and Mr. Creatore.
Their adaptation, which kept the refrain — “Wimoweh, wimoweh” —
popularized in a 1950s version by the Weavers, became a million-
selling hit for the Tokens. Widely recorded since, the song has been
used in many motion pictures, including “The Lion King” (1994).
“What a Wonderful World” (1967), with words and music by Mr. Weiss and
Bob Thiele, came to renewed attention after Armstrong’s recording of
it was featured on the soundtrack of the 1987 film “Good Morning,
Vietnam.” The Armstrong version has since become a contemporary
standard.
Mr. Weiss’s other standards include “Lullaby of Birdland” (1952), the
vocal version of George Shearing’s jazz standard, and many songs with
his frequent collaborator Bennie Benjamin, among them
“Surrender” (1946), recorded by Perry Como; “Confess” (1948), recorded
by Patti Page; and “Wheel of Fortune” (1952), recorded by Kay Starr.
He collaborated on several Broadway musicals, the best known of which
is “Mr. Wonderful” (1956), starring Sammy Davis Jr., for which Mr.
Weiss contributed original music and lyrics with Jerry Bock and Larry
Holofcener.
His other Broadway credits include “First Impressions” (1959), an
adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” starring Polly
Bergen, Hermione Gingold and Farley Granger, for which Mr. Weiss wrote
music and lyrics with Robert Goldman and Glenn Paxton; and “Maggie
Flynn” (1968), starring Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy, with book,
music and lyrics by Mr. Weiss, Mr. Peretti and Mr. Creatore.
Mr. Weiss was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984. As
president of the Songwriters Guild of America from 1982 to 2000, he
spoke widely about copyright issues and testified before government
bodies.
George David Weiss was born in Manhattan on April 9, 1921. He wanted
to be a musician. His mother wanted him to be a lawyer. The ensuing
emotional battle, he later said, drove him to consult a doctor.
As Mr. Weiss recounted in a 1995 interview with The Miami Herald, the
prescription was simple. The doctor asked: “Mrs. Weiss, what would you
rather have? A live bum of a musician or a dead lawyer?”
Mr. Weiss, who played the violin, piano, saxophone and clarinet,
earned a bachelor’s degree in music theory from the Juilliard School
and afterward served as a military bandleader in World War II before
beginning his songwriting career.
Mr. Weiss’s first marriage, to Bea Foster, ended in divorce, as did
his second, to Rosalyn Marks. In addition to his wife, the former
Claire Nicholson, whom he married in 1976, he is survived by a sister,
Harriet Harbus; two sons, Barry and Jeffrey, and a daughter, Peggy
Self, from his first marriage; a son, Robert, from his second
marriage; and eight grandchildren.
In an interview with The Santa Fe New Mexican in 1995, Mr. Weiss
described the making of one of his early hits, “Oh! What It Seemed to
Be” (1946), written with Mr. Benjamin and Frankie Carle.
After finding a publisher for the song, the writers went in search of
a singer. They called on Frank Sinatra, and a nervous young Mr. Weiss
played it through for him.
“Before I had finished it Sinatra was on the phone calling the record
company and telling them he just heard a great song and wanted to
record it,” Mr. Weiss recalled. “You can imagine what happened to me —
I froze at the piano. I just kept playing. See, the publisher had told
me that no matter what happens, I should keep playing to make sure the
tune got into their heads.”
He continued: “So everyone sat down and discussed horses and women and
gossip for a half hour or so, and I’m still playing that song at the
piano. Finally, the publisher comes over to me, lifts me up under the
armpits and says, ‘Say goodbye to Frank.’ I said goodbye and they led
me out like a zombie.”