- Ben Weisman
Ben Weisman (
November 16 1921 —May 20 2007 ) was an American composer and pianist best known for having written many of the songs associated withElvis Presley .A native of
Providence , Ben Weisman was one of Elvis Presley's chiefsongwriter s throughout the 1960s. He co-composed for Elvis' movies and stage performances nearly sixty songs that proceeded to go gold or platinum, including "First in Line ", "Got a Lot of Living to Do ", "Follow That Dream " and "Wooden Heart ". Weisman also wrote songs recorded byBarbra Streisand ("Love in the Afternoon"),The Beatles ("Lend Me Your Comb "),Johnny Mathis ("When I Am with You "),Terry Stafford ("I'll Touch A Star "),Bobby Vee ("The Night Has a Thousand Eyes") and many others.Since Weisman's outward appearance was atypical for a "rock 'roll guy", Elvis' pet nickname for him was "the mad professor". Just before Weisman's last meeting with Elvis in 1976, Elvis proudly announced to the crowd that he had recorded more of Weisman's songs than those of any other songwriter. Weisman's most recent musical score was for the 1995 movie "Crossroads at Laredo: The Lost Film of
Edward D. Wood Jr ".Ben Weisman died at a long-term care hospital in
Los Angeles after complications frompneumonia and stroke.References
* [http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/ben_weisman_interview.shtml Interview with Ben Weisman]
* [http://www.biwa.ne.jp/~presley/elnews-BenWeisman.htm "Songwriter Ben Weisman," from the Ben Weisman Songbook]
* [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=165971 The New York Times: Movies > Ben Weisman]External links
*imdb name|id=0918840|name=Ben Weisman
* [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/22/america/NA-GEN-US-Obit-Ben-Weisman,php Ben Weisman obituary in the May 22 edition of the International Herald Tribune]
* [http://keepkey.yochanan.net/terry.htm Ben Weisman wrote five songs specifically for Terry Stafford's Suspicion! album]
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