LeRoy Holmes

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LeRoy Holmes born Alvin Holmes (September 22, 1913, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – July 27, 1986, Los Angeles, California) was an American songwriter, composer, arranger and conductor.

Holmes studied music at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and the Juilliard School in New York, before working with a number of bandleaders during the 1930s and early 40s. These included Ernst Toch, Vincent Lopez, and Harry James

After serving as a lieutenant in the US Navy during the Second World War, he moved to Hollywood, where he was hired by MGM Music Studios as a house arranger and conductor, before later moving to United Artists. During his time with MGM, he backed numerous vocalists, including Judy Garland, and in 1954 made what is possibly his best known recording, a version of the theme to the film The High and the Mighty. The song is known for its distinctive accompanying whistling, which was provided by Fred Lowery.

He moved to United Artists in the early 1960s, where he contributed to many compilations of movie themes, released albums under his own name and backed a succession of singers, notably Gloria Lynne and Shirley Bassey. He also worked on the music for the 1977 film The Chicken Chronicles.