Harry Simeone
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Harry Moses Simeone (Newark, NJ, May 9, 1911 - February 22, 2005, New York City) was a distinguished arranger, conductor and composer, best known for co-writing the classic Christmas song "The Little Drummer Boy."
Sparked by his childhood passion for the Metropolitan Opera, Simeone sought a career as a concert pianist and eventually attended the Juilliard School of Music for three years before leaving to take work at CBS as an arranger for bandleader Fred Waring. After garnering vocal and music arrangement credits on the 1938 RKO motion picture Radio City Revels, Simeone moved to Hollywood with his wife Margaret McCravy, who was Benny Goodman's first singer using stage name Margaret McCrae and later Fred Waring vocalist. Once there, he took various music production jobs on several Paramount films from 1939 to 1946, including several that starred Bing Crosby. In 1948, Simeone joined NBC's "The Swift Show" as the program's orchestra leader, and in 1952, he joined NBC's The Firestone Hour as conductor and choral arranger.
When 20th Century Fox contracted Simeone to make a Christmas album, he assembled the Harry Simeone Chorale and searched for recording material. After being introduced to an obscure song by friend and credited song co-author Henry Onorati, Simeone recorded The Little Drummer Boy for his album "Sing We Now of Christmas." The "Little Drummer Boy" single quickly became popular and stayed on the U.S. music charts from 1958 to 1962.
On May 22, 2000, Harry and Margaret McCravy Simeone officially established the Harry and Margaret Simeone Music Scholarship at Yale University by bestowing a gift of US$1 million.
