John Green (composer)

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John Green (also Johnny Green) is a composer and conductor who was born in New York City on October 10, 1908 and died in May 17, 1989. Green attended Horace Mann H.S., the New York Military Academy and later graduated from Harvard University. His musical tutors were Herman Wasserman, Ignace Hilsberg and Walter Spalding. Early on he arranged for the Lombardo Orchestra he also contributed to revues, such as "Three's a Crowd".

Between 1930 and 1933 he was the arranger and conductor for Paramount Studios and worked with singers Ethel Merman, Gertrude Lawrence and James Melton. After 1933 he had his own orchestra which he used to play around the country. He also, until 1940, conducted orchestras for the Jack Benny and Philip Morris records and radio shows

From 1949 to 1959, Green became the Music Director at MGM. There, he produced numerous film scores, such as:

• "Something in the Wind
• "Raintree Country"
• "Easter Parade"
• "Fiesta"
• "Bathing Beauty"
• "Summer Stock"
• "The Toast of New Orleans"
• "An American in Paris
• "Royal Wedding"
• "High Society"
• "West Side Story"
• "Bye Bye Birdie"

Having left MGM, he conducted with various orchestras, such as the Denver Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra.

He has worked with numerous artists, most notably:

• Gus Kahn
• Yip Harburg
• Edward Heyman
• Paul Francis Webster
• Mack David
• Billy Rose
• Johnny Mercier

Some of his hit songs are:

• "Body and Soul"
• "Coquette"
• "I’m Yours"
• "Oceans of Time"
• "Out of Nowhere"
• "Weep No More My Baby"
• "I Cover the Waterfront"
• "An Hour Ago This Minute"
• "Rain, Rain, Go Away"
• "Easy Come, Easy Go"
• "You’re Mine, You"
• "The Steam is on he Beam"
• "I’ve Got a Heavy Date"
• "I Wanna Be Loved"
• "Hello, My Lover, Goodbye"
• "Something in the Wind"
• "The Turntable Song"
• "The Song of Raintree County"

He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972.

[edit] References

• Songwriters Hall of Fame