Leon Carr

Leon Carr (June 10, 1910 – March 27, 1976) was a prolific American songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist and conductor,^[1] best known for his marketing jingles used in advertisements for Mounds candy ("Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut...") and Chevrolet ("See the U.S.A. In Your Chevrolet"), and the "Bert the Turtle" theme song for the nuclear public education awareness film, Duck and Cover.

Biography

Carr was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and moved to New York City in 1935.

Education

Carr was educated at Pennsylvania State University. He also studied the Schillinger System at New York University in New York City.

Career

Carr's marketing jingles are among the best known in the history of commercials. His biggest non-jingle hit was "There's No Tomorrow", a parody of "O Sole Mio", which was popularized by Tony Martin in the film Two Tickets to Broadway and spent 27 weeks on the Billboard charts in 1949, peaking at #2.

Carr's other popular-song compositions include "Bell Bottom Blues", "Hotel Happiness", "Herthquake", "Hey There Lonely Girl", "Your Socks Don't Match", "A Man Could Be a Wonderful Thing", "Goblins in the Steeple", "Big Name Button", "If You Smile at the Sun", "Skiddle-Diddle-Dee", "Should I Wait?", "Our Everlasting Love", "Another Cup of Coffee", "Most People Get Married", "Clinging Vine", "Marriage Is for Old Folks", "The Secret Life" and "Confidence".

The list of artists who have recorded Carr's songs includes a veritable who's who of popular music: Brook Benton, Teresa Brewer, Vic Damone, Roy Hamilton, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Tony Martin, Johnny Mathis, Guy Mitchell, Patti Page, Gene Pitney, Louis Prima, Buddy Rich, Nina Simone, Mel Tormé and Bobby Vinton.

In 1938, Jimmie Lunceford's orchestra recorded Carr's instrumental composition "Frisco Fog", which prefigured Duke Ellington's celebrated 1940 "Ko-Ko".

Carr also composed the off-Broadway musical The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, based on the short story of the same name by James Thurber, which opened at New York's Players Theatre on October 26, 1964, and ran for 96 performances.

References