- Henry Katzman
Henry Manners Katzman (
March 2 ,1912 –May 11 ,2001 ) was amusician ,composer , painter, and one of the founders ofBroadcast Music Incorporated (BMI).The son of bandleader
Louis Katzman , he grew up in New York City in a musical household and quickly took to the piano as his instrument of choice. He was one of the founders of BMI, which was established as an alternative toASCAP , the leading music publisher of the day. ASCAP had focused solely onbig band music and refused to publish works in such categories as blues, country, jazz, and folk. BMI's creation allowed for the expansion of American music, and helped pave the way for the eventual rise of rock, soul, and country music.In March 1940, BMI issued their very first contract for "We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together", with music composed by Katzman and lyrics by
Robert Sour . Although this was the first song published by BMI, it has been frequently covered by a wide variety of artists, including older recordings by Barbara Lee,Judy Garland , andLiza Minnelli , and more recent recordings byPhil Woods andBebo Valdés . Katzman composed over 65 other popular works, including "Delilah", "Starlight Sonata" (famously covered by a youngFrank Sinatra ), "Keep An Eye On Your Heart", and "Mabel Mabel" (covered byNat King Cole ). He also composed soundtrack music, including "Thumper Song" and "Twitterpated" for the original Bambi animated film.As a pianist, he played with
George Gershwin and accompanied Irene Bordony,Fred Allen , andJan Peerce . He also volunteered with the Veterans Bedside Network, and was a long-time member of the Radio Pioneers.External links
*imdb name|1261040
* [http://repertoire.bmi.com/writer.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&page=1&fromrow=1&torow=25&querytype=WriterID&keyid=180762&keyname=KATZMAN%20HENRY&CAE=15962090&Affiliation=BMI Henry Katzman's compositions for BMI]
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/05/13/MNKATZMAN32.DTL Obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle]
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