Septimus Winner
b. May 11, 1827, Philadelphia, PA, USA, d. Nov. 22, 1902, Phila. PA, USA.
Winner studied violin as a young man, and at age 20, opened a music shop in his home town of Philadelphia, where it is known that he gave lessons on various instruments.

He is the author of over two hundred books of instruction covering twenty three instruments. His book for the banjo was the most popular, which, for those years, is understandable. He was a frequent contributor to Graham's Magazine, then edited by Edgar Allen Poe.

While he composed the music and wrote the lyrics for over 200 songs, only a handful ever became successful. He always wrote under the pseudonym of Alice Hawthorne. The few that did achieve success, were very successful.

1854 His first successful tune was "What is Home Without a Mother?".
1855 His great hit "Listen to the Mocking Bird" was published. Septimus sold this song outright for $5.00. At least, 25 million copies of sheet music have been sold over the years. (The cover described it as "a sentimental Ethiopian Ballad." )

He wrote a number of songs during the Civil War. None of any real value, but one did land him in jail briefly. He had written a song called "Give Us Back Our Old Commander: Little Mac, the People's Pride". He was giving voice to the then prevalent sentiment for the return of General McClellan, whom Lincoln had removed from command due to his inability to mount an attack against the rebels. The song was considered subversive and landed its author in jail briefly. Interestingly, the song re-appeared, with markedly different lyrics, during General Grant's presidential election campaign.

During the war, Winner also wrote "Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone". This tune was written to the melody of a German Folk song "Lauterbach".

After 1865, he wrote:
Ten Little Injuns"
Abraham's Daughter"
"Ellie Rhee"
"Whispering Hope"

He died in his home town of Philadelphia, in 1902, at age 75.

   Charles Williams
b: 1893, London, England, UK. d. 1978, U. K.
This English conductor, composer, leader, and violinist studied at London's Royal Academy of Music. After serving in England's armed forces during World War 1, he returned to playing the violin in symphony and cinema orchestras. He started to conduct at the New Gallery Cinema, Regent Street in London. It is now little recalled, but Williams worked on the director Alfred Hitchcock's 1929 film 'Blackmail', the first British "talkie".

From 1933-'39, he was resident composer for Gaumont-British Films, whre he scored such films as The Thirty Nine Steps (1935, starring Robert Donat and Madelline Carroll), the Will Hay comedies, Kipps (1941), The Night Has Eyes (1942), The Way to the Stars (1945), The Noose (1946), Night Boat to Dublin (1946) and The Young Mr Pitt. The music for 1947's While I Live was perhaps his best received work. Curiously, most of Williams' film music came from various 'mood music' libraries. Still, it is interesting to note that his "Dream of Olwen" sold more than a quarter million copies in Sheet Music alone. In addition to his other endeavors, Williams conducted his own concert orchestra. He was recorded by Columbia Records and Chappells Recorded Music Library.

   John Towner Williams
b: February 8, 1932, New York, NY, USA (Flushing - Queens Borough)
Instruments: Composer, piano, trumpet, clarinet.
Overview
In 1977, Steven Spielberg, on the strength of Williams' scoring for the film Jaws, introduced Williams to George Lucas, and suggested Willams might be good for a little picture George was then working on called Star Wars. Over his career, Williams has composed music and worked as a music director for more than seventy-five films including Schindler's List, Return of the Jedi, The Empire Strikes Back, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, E.T., Empire of the Sun, Jane Eyre, The Witches of Eastwick, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Jurassic Park, Sabrina, The Lost World, Rosewood, Always, Guide For The Married Man, Sleepers, Nixon, Cowboys, Cinderella Liberty, Far and Away, JFK, Hook, Presumed Innocent, Born on the Fourth of July, Stanley and Iris, The Accidental Tourist, Superman, and Goodbye, Mr. Chips (just to name a few). Williams has also composed the scores for the Star Wars prequels 'The Phantom Menace' and 'Attack of the Clones', for the Civil War adventure 'The Patriot' for the screen adaptation of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone', for Steven Spielberg's last two movies 'A.I.' and 'Minority Report', as well as further Star Wars and Harry Potter movies to appear in 2002 and 2005.

Here's a photo of    John Williams, who is the eldest son of Esther and Johnny Williams. Other siblings include brothers Jerry and Don, and a sister, Joan. Music played an important part of their lives. His father, a Jazz drummer, is best recalled as one of the original members of the    Raymond Scott Quintet, and later percussionist with the CBS Radio Orchestra and NBC's "Your Hit Parade". At age seven, John began to study piano, and later also the trumpet and clarinet.

In 1948, the family was in Los Angeles, CA, where his father was free-lancing in the Hollywood studios. John attended North Hollywood High School, where he played, arranged, and composed for the school band, graduating in 1950. He then entered the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) where he took courses in piano and composition as well as studying privately with pianist-arranger Bobby Van Eps.

In 1951, Williams was Drafted into the the U.S. Armed Forces, serving for three years. He was assigned to the United States Air Force where he conducted and arranged music for service bands. In 1954, he was discharged and then spent a year at New York's famed Julliard School of Music as a piano student of Rosina Lhevinne. While studying in New York, he also found work as a jazz pianist in the local nightclubs.

In time, he became singer Vic Damone's accompanist. In 1956, he relocated to Hollywood when he was hired by Columbia Pictures as a sessons pianist in Morris Stoloff's Columbia Pictures staff orchestra (his father was then a member of that orch.). Becoming more and more fascinated with scoring for film and less and less interested in being a concert pianist, he moved to the 20th Century Fox studio, where he worked with composer Alfred Newman. During this time, he continued his musical studies with Arthur Olaf Anderson, and with the noted Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He has also worked with such composers as Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman, Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, and Henri Mancini.

In the late 1950's, Williams began to work in television. He first appeared as a Jazz pianist in the Detective series Johnny Staccato. Later, as Johnny Williams, he would both composed and conduct for such shows as "M-Squad", "Wagon Train", and "Chrysler Theatre", the "Kraft Suspense Theatre", "Lost in Space", "Convoy", "Time Tunnel", "Checkmate", "Playhouse 90", "Tales of Wells Fargo", "Gilligan's Island", and "Land of the Giants". For the 1968-'69 season, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honored him with two Emmy awards for the NBC TV Special Heidi, and for Jane Eyre (which Williams calls his favorite score next to "Close Encounters of a Third Kind").

In 1974, Barbara (né: Barbara Ruick), his wife of eithteen years, died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Six years later, on June 9, 1980, while living in Boston, MA, he remarried. His bride was Samantha Winslow, a photographer and interior decorator whom he had met while working in Hollywood. (Barbara Ruick was herself the daughter of actors Melville Ruick and Lurene Tuttle.)

Arthur Fielder, conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, died on July 10, 1979. On January 10, 1980 John Williams, became the nineteenth conductor of the 'Pops'. His initial contract was for 3 years, but Williams remained with the 'Pops' for a total of 12 years.

Williams has one of the greatest director/composer relationsips of all times with director Steven Spielberg, scoring all but one of his feature films. Their collaboration started with The Sugarland Express. The only Spielberg film not scored by Williams was The Color Purple (because co-producer Quincy Jones wanted to do it). Williams has also worked extensively with director Oliver Stone.

In addition to his film music, Mr. Williams has written many concert pieces including
1965, Prelude and Fugue
1966, Essay for Strings
1966, Symphony No. 1, dedicated to his long time friend Andr�Previn
19??, Symphony No. 2
1968, Sinfonietta for Wind Instruments
1972, Nostalgic Jazz Odyssey
1980, Jubilee 350 Fanfare (composed for the 350th anniversary of the city of Boston)
1981, Pops on the March (requested by Arthur Fiedler; but not completed before Fiedler's death)
1982, "America, the Dream Goes On" (with lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman);
1983, Esplanade Overture
1986, Liberty Fanfare (composed for the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty)
1987, Hymn to New England
1987, "We're Lookin' Good!" a march dedicated to the Special Olympics in celebration of the International Summer Games. (His widely known 'Olympic Games' themes were written on three separate occassions. In 1984 he wrote "Olympic Fanfare", and in 1988 he did "Olympic Spirit", and for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA, he wrote "Summon the Heroes".
1988, Fanfare for Michael Dukakis (1988)
1988, To Lenny! To Lenny! (for Leonard Bernsteins 70th birthday)
1989, Winter Games Fanfare written for the 1989 Alpine Ski Championships in Vail, Colorado
1990, Celebrate Discovery for the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America
1992, Fanfare for Prince Philip (of Great Britain)
1993, Sound the Bells for the wedding of Crown Princess Masako of Japan
1995, Variations on Happy Birthday (for a Tanglewood concert celebrating three birthdays --Seji Ozawa's 60th, Itzhak Perlman's 50th, and Yo-Yo Ma's 40th).

His seven concerti are written for
1969, flute (1969),
1976, violin (1976, dedicated to his late wife Barbara Ruick ),
1985, tuba (for the 100th anniversary season of the Boston Pops in 1985),
1991, clarinet (for Los Angeles Philharmonic principal clarinetist Michele Zukovsky),
1994, cello (for Yo-Yo Ma and premiered by her and the Boston Symphony Orchestra)
1995, bassoon (inspired by the poetic works of Robert Graves and written in 1995 for the 150th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic for its principal bassoonist, Judith LeClair)
1996, trumpet (for the 100th Anniversary of the Cleveland Orchestra).
In addition, Mr. Williams has composed the well-known NBC News Theme "The Mission", "Liberty Fanfare," composed for the rededication of the Statue of Liberty.

Over his career, Williams has (so far) received 41 Academy Award nominations and has been awarded five Oscars(1971, 1975, 1977, 1982, 1993). In addition to several gold and platinum records, he has seventeen Grammies. His most recent Oscar was for Best Original Score for the film Schindler's List.

   Patrick Williams
Overview
Patrick Williams, a versatile and highly respected composer/arranger, has composed hundreds of scores for feature films (where he has been active for 3 decades), as well as for television, records and concert works. A man of diverse talents. Williams has an Academy Award nomination; 19 Emmy nominations, 10 Grammy nominations and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. He has been awarded three Emmys, 2 Grammys, and a CableACE award. In the late 1970s, he worked as Musical Director/Arranger/Conductor for "Frank Sinatra's Duets" (I & II) and has arranged for a variety of other artists including Barbara Striesand, Billy Joel and Gloria Estefan. He has worked in virtually every aspect of the music business, including owning his own Record Label,- Soundwings. Williams has taught at several universities, and has led record dates on his own label Soundwings, as well as for others including Capitol, Warner Bros., EMI, Pausa, Columbia, Allegiance, and ABC.

Initially, he studied classical trumpet, but led his own swing-oriented band while still in high school. He later played in the Norwalk (CT) Symphony Orchestra. Williams matriculated from Duke University (where he led the Duke Ambassadors, Photo courtesy Mr. Richard Currie, and the Duke Univ. Archives. The singer is unidentified.), and later attended Columbia University. (It is possible that the Ambassadors were also led by Sonny Burke, while still a student at Duke Univ.) During the 1961-67 period, Williams was quite active in New York studios working as a trumpeter. However, since moving to Hollywood in 1968, he has devoted all of his time to arranging and to composing.
Among his works are:
"An American Concerto (for Jazz Quartet and Symphony Orchestra)", "Gulliver", and "Spring Wings" Theme for Earth Day"

   P. G. Wodehouse
b. Oct. 15, 1881, Guildford, England, d. 1975 (St. Valentine's Day - at age 93) Southampton, NY, USA
né: Pelham (Plum) Grenville Wodehouse. (Best known by initials P. G. and nickname "Plum")
Overview
While this transplanted (to the USA) Englishman is probably most recalled today as a humorist writer, especially for his series of short stories in the 'New Yorker' magazine, entitled 'Bertie and Wooster', he did write a great many lyrics. Later knighted, he became 'Sir" Wodehouse. He was an important lyricist for Broadway musicals in the late 'teens and 1920's. His most popular lyrics inciude 1917's "Till the Clouds Roll By" and 1927's "Bill."

After matriculating from Dulwich College. he worked for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank for two years. He then became a humorist and (from 1903 to 1909) wrote the 'By the Way' column for the London Globe magazine, and also contributed a series of school stories to 'The Captain', a magazine for boys, He traveled to America before WW1, and sold a serial to the Saturday Evening Post magazine, - the magazine that would see the first prints of his great stories. In 1914 he married.

While P.G.Wodehouse would author more than 90 books, it was his flagship stories - those starring the gentlemen's gentleman Jeeves and his master Bertram Wooster, that are best recalled today. Wodehouse's first book, 'Psmith in the City' (1910) estabilished his reputation as a humorous novelist, He maintained this popularity with novels about the hapless young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his efficient butler, Jeeves, including . Very Good Jeeves (1930), The Butler Did It (1957), and Bachelors Anonymous (1974).

Wodehouse also co-authored many plays and musical comedies (mostly in America), including "Oh Kay" (1926 With Music by George Gershwin) and "Rosalie" (1928), During the 1940s he was interned in Germany. When the German's invaded France, they took over his home, and interred him in a number of prison camps.(He later appeared 6 or 7 times on German Shortwave radio. In 1955 he became an American citizen, and in 1975, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

   Jacques Wolfe
b. April 29, 1896, Botoshan, Rumania; d. Miami, FL, USA.
Very little is known of his early life. His family emigrated to New York when he was still only a child. As a young man, he studied piano under James Friskin, at New York's Institute of Musical Arts, graduating in 1915. He was a clarinetist in the 50th Infantry band during WW1, and became fascinated with negro songs after being re-assigned to another musical unit in North Carolina. After the war, he did some comprehensive research into Black music in America, even while he was touring the concert stages. He then became a music teacher in the New York high school system.

In 1928, he published the two songs with which he is still associated today.
"De Glory Road", lyric by Clement Wood.
"Short'nin' Bread", lyric by Clement Wood. Currently, musicologists consider this song to be a transcription, inasmuch as authorship is claimed by several (negro) composers. The most plausible being Reese d'Pree, who claimed to have written it in 1905. In any event, it is via Wolfe that the song has become a part of American song repertory.

Among the other songs composed by Jacques Wolfe are:
"Gwine to Henn'n"
"Hallelujah Rhythm"
"Betsy's Boy"
"The Hand-Organ Man"
"Sailormen"
"Prairie Waters by Night", based on a Carl Sandburg poem.
"Lost", based on a Carl Sandburg poem.

In 1938, Wolfe wrote music for the Broadway show 'John Henry', starring Paul Robeson. He has written other choral music as well.

After 1947, Wolfe decided to devote the bulk of his time to photography. His work has been displayed in many art galleries throughout the south.

In 1957, his opera 'The Trysting Tree", with libretto by Irving Rowan, was performed in Miami, Florida.

   Malcolm Williamson
This English composer of the deeply impressive "Mass of Christ the King", was also honored by being made the 'Master of the Queen's Music' (UK).

Williamson's film scores include:
The Brides of Dracula (1960), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), Crescendo (1972), Nothing But the Night (1972. aka: The Devil's Undead; aka: The Resurrection Syndicate in the 1976 USA reissue), Watership Down (1978) (composed incidental music. aka: Richard Adams' Watership Down), The Masks of Death (1984. aka Sherlock Holmes and the Masks of Death -TV USA), and Peter Cushing: A One-Way Ticket to Hollywood (1989 -TV)

   John Wilson
b. 1975, UK
Currently no information available. This British Composer worked with Howard Blake on the score for the sequel of 'The Snowman' (1982) and has also helped Patrick Doyle with the music for 'Donny Brosco' (1997).

   Debbie Wiseman
Debbie is another of the fine British musicians that worked as a conductor ('Wilde' 1997), a musical director ('Tom and Viv' 1994), as well as a composer for some 30 or 40 films and Television shows, starting in the mid-1980s and continuing to present. Her latest work was for the TV series "Rebel Heart" (2000), and her work extends back to the 1987 TV Series "Your Mother Wouldn't Like It".

In between, she worked on "That's Show Business" (1989 TV Series 2 & 3), "The Essential History of Europe" (1992 TV Series- episode "Germany"), "Haunted" (1995), "Female Perversions" (1996. aka: Phantasien Einer Frau - in Germany), "Auntie: The Inside Story of the BBC" (1997 mini TV Series), "In Defence" (a 2000 mini TV Series), and about 30 or 40 other and films and TV scores.

   Gerhard Winkler
b. Sept. 12, 1906, Berlin, Germany, d. Sept. 25, 1977, Kempten, Bavaria, Germany.
composer, pianist, violin player, singer, painter, stage and film actor. After graduating from Berlin's Konservatorium, Winkler found work as a pianist in different bands throughout Germany. Howeverm after his 1926 composition "Neapoleanisches Ständchen" ("Chansons Napolitaines") found wide success, he began to work mostly as a composer, becoming well-known in the German Schlager as an Italian-wave composer. (Although he did record as a leader.)

Some of his songs are
  1936  "O mia bella Napoli" ("O, My Beautiful Napoli"),
  1940  "Frühling in Sorrent" ("Spring in Sorrent"),
  1942  "Chiantilied"
  1943  "Caprifischer". His first song after the Defeat of Germany;the term "Capri Fischer" became the synonym of German's post-war period. The tune had a small comeback in 1999, when the Italian Albano Carisi released it with his own new lyric, on his CD "Volare", - the only non-Italian song on the album.

   1949  "Mandolino"
  1950  "Möwe, du fliegst in die Heimat" ("Seagull, You Fly to the Homeland")
  1952  "Glaube Mir" ("Have Faith in Me"
  1952  "Frauen und Wein" ("Women and Wine", (French title: "Des Femmes et du vin")
  1952  "Schützenliesen"
  1954  "Nicolo, Nicolo, Nicolino"
  1955  "In meiner Hängematte" ("In my Hammock", French title: "Dans mon hamac")

He also well remembered for his recording "Lili Marlene", an immensely popular hit with the German soldiers during WW2. Among his many awards was the 1957 'Paul-Lincke Ring', and the 1967 'Bundesverdienstkreuz'.