Frederick Loewe
b. June 10, 1904. Berlin, Germany, d. 1988
Loewe came from a musical family. His father created the role of Prince Danilo in Lehar's 'The Merry Widow' operetta. Loewe was studying the piano at age 5, and, age 13, appeared with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the youngest soloist ever to appear with the orchestra. As a child, Loewe was writing songs for his father's variety acts. His song, written at age 13, "Katrina" sold over a million copies. As a young man, he received serious musical training in piano and composition from such teachers as Eugene d'Albert; Ferruccio Busoni and Nikolaus Reznicek.

In 1924, Loewe emigrated to the U.S. He landed in New York City, but when he couldn't succeed there, he roamed the U.S. where he had many menial jobs including ridiing instructor; gold prospector; bantamweight boxer (he won 8 of 9); Cowboy (in Montana); and piano player on cruise ships, nightclubs and beer halls.

In 1934, one of his songs, "Love Tiptoed Through My Heart", was heard in the Broadway play 'Petticoat Fever'. In 1935, Loewe got together with a radio and Hollywood script writer named Earle Crooker. Their song "A Waltz Was Born in Vienna" was heard in the Broadway revue 'The Illustrators Show'. The team of Gomez and Winona danced to the song.

Brief Chronology:
-----------------
1937 Loewe and Crooker score St. Louis show 'Salute to Spring'.
1938 Loewe and Crooker score Broadway operetta 'Great Lady'. The show ran for 20 performances.

While attending a Lambs Club meeting in New York, Loewe met a young Harvard graduate, Alan Jay Lerner. Lerner had been writing scripts for radio shows, but his ambition was to write for the Broadway stage. The two men formed a team, that would henceforth be known as Lerner and Loewe. In time, they were to write some of our greatest pop songs.

1942 'Life of the Party'; a re-vamped 'Salute to Spring'.
1943 The team scores Broadway show 'What's Up?'. Jimmy Savo starred. The show ran for 8 weeks. Lerner also wrote the libretto.
1945 'The Day Before Spring', -a modest success rememberedtoday mostly because Loewe's music began to assume an American 'feel'.
1947 Lerner and Loewe's 'Brigadoon' is a Broadway smash hit.
        "Come To Me, Bend To Me"
        "Brigadoon"
        "Almost Like Being In Love"
        "The Heather on the Hill"

1951 Another musical success on Broadway with 'Paint Your Wagon'
1956 Lerner and Loewe create a musical landmark. 'My Fair Lady'. Starred Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn.
        "Get Me To The Church on Time"
        "A Hymn to Him"
        "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face"
        "Ascot Gavotte"
        "Why Can't The English"
        "On The Street Where You Live"
        "I Could Have Danced All Night"
        "With A Little Bit of Luck"

1957 Lerner and Loewe score the Film 'GiGi' for Hollywood. Leslie Caron starred along with Maurice Chevalier, and Hermione Gingold.
        "The Night They Invented Champagne"
        "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Any More"
        "GiGi"
        "Thank Heaven For Little Girls"
        "I Remember it Well"

1960 'Camelot' opens on Broadway. Julie Andrews; Richard Burton; Robert Goulet were the stars.
        "How to Handle a Woman"
        "If Ever I Would Leave You"

The great partnership of Lerner and Loewe came to an end in 1961. Loewe had suffered a heart attack, and announced the end of the team. In August of 1960, Oscar Hammerstein died in his home in Doylestown, PA, USA. In 1961, Richard Rodgers announced that he and Alan Lerner would collaborate.

   Carmen Lombardo
b. 1903, London, Canada, d. 1971, Miami, Florida
Carmen, one of Guy Lombardo's brothers, played lead saxophone and often sang with the 'Royal Canadians Orchestra' during the 1930's. He also did some arranging and composed several hit songs. (See: John Loeb entry)

Among the songs that are credited to Carmen, are:
1930 "You're Beautiful Tonight, My Dear", lyric by Joe Young.
1932 "Snuggled On Your Shoulder, Cuddled in Your Arms", Lyric Joe Young.
Others are:
"Jungle Drums"
"Boo Hoo"
"Little Coquette"

   Louiguy
b. 1916, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain, d. April 4, 1991, Vence, France.
né: Louis Guiglielmi
AKA: Louis Guy, E. Louiguy, and Roger Louiguy
This French musician is best recalled for such songs as "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White", which became a huge hit for bandleader Perez Prado when he recorded it as a mambo. Louiguy's "La Vie En Rose" virtually became Edith Piaf's theme song (she wrote the lyric). Up into the 1970's, Louiguy was actively working in the French motion picture studios, where, among his other work, he scored famed French actor Jean Gabin's last gangster movie, 'The Verdict'. He was quite active in the French motion picture studios where his music was used in over 100 films.

   Ruth Lowe
b. 1915, Toronto, Canada. d. 1981
In 1936, Ruth was working in the 'Song Shop' in Toronto (Canada) when Ina Ray Hutton brought her All-Girl band (The Melodears) to town. Her piano player had taken ill, and Ina was frantically trying to locate a good-looking blond lady replacement. Ruth Lowe auditioned, and became the regular pianist in Ina Ray's band. At age 23 (1938), Ruth married Harold Cohen, a Chicago music publicist. It was a very happy marriage that only lasted one year until Harold's tragic demise during an operation in 1939. In her great grief, Ruth composed a tune she named "I'll Never Smile Again". The song was first heard on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio program 'Music By Faith', in an arrangement by Percy Faith, a fine Canadian musician who would soon go on to fame in the USA and the World. Approximately a year later, Ruth passed a copy of the tune to a saxophone player in the Tommy Dorsey band, hoping to have Dorsey hear the tune. Dorsey thought the tune had much merit, and arranged it for his very young singer, - Frank Sinatra. It was Sinatra's first great hit, and really launched Sinatra on his phenomenal career. Here's a photograph showing Ruth Lowe, Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey, together. Later she composed still another Frank Sinatra hit "Put Your Dreams Away", Frank's 'signature' song (which was also played at his funeral).

In 1945, Ruth again married this time to Nathan Sandler and the union produced two sons, Tommy and Stephen. In 1982, the year after she died, she was inducted into the American Music Hall of Fame with an honorary Grammy Award.
The BigBands Database thanks Mr. Tommy Lowe Sandler for the above information on his mother Ruth Lowe Sandler. Mr Sandler has just completed a documentary on his mother's life which is currently scheduled to be aired on the History Channel March 7, 2001. BigBands Database readers are urged to watch for this TV special.

   Leighton Lucas
b. 1903, d. 1982
This British composer and conductor originally studied to be a dancer, but at age 19 became a theatre conductor. During World War II, he served in the RAF and composed film music for various propaganda films, including 'Target for To-night', and most of the score for 'The Dambusters'. Eric Coates actually composed the "Dambuster's March", and Lucas used the 'March' theme in various places throughout the score. He also composed the score for director Alfred Hitchcock's 'Stage Fright'. Lucas was active in the field of "light" music and led his own eponymous orchestra which was regularly featured on Third Programme broadcast.

His film works include:
Of Love and Destiny, Son of Robin Hood (1958 composed the scores for both.)
Ice Cold in Alex (scored. "The Road to Alex" march was extracted from the score)
Yangtse Incident (scored. "The Amethyst" march was extracted from the score)
Target for Tonight (1941)
Stage Fright (1950)
The Weak and the Wicked (1954)
The Dam Busters (1955)
The Son of Robin Hood (1959)
Desert Attack (1960)

   John Lurie
Currently no information on this English Composer.

   Gustav Luders
b. Dec. 13,1865 Bremen, Germany d. January 1913, New York, NY, USA.
Musically trained in Europe, Gustav emigrated to Milwaukee, WI, in 1888, when he was 23 years old, and started conducting theater and beer hall orchestras. The eminent composer, Charles K. Hall ("After the Ball") encouraged him to follow career in music publishing, in Chicago. He found work as an arranger, in the Chicago office of Isidore Witmark Publishing, but also continued to conduct theater orchestras in the 'Windy City'.

In 1899, Luders' first operetta 'Little Robinson Crusoe' opened in Chicago. It starred Eddie Foy. Henry W. Savage heard it and commissioned Luders to score the operetta 'The Burgomaster', which also opened in Chicago. At this time, Luders formed a team with Frank Pixley, the editor of the Chicago Times-Herald Newspaper, with Pixley writing text and lyrics.

Brief Chronology:
----------------
1902 Luders and Pixley operetta 'King Dodo' opens in Chicago.
        "The Tale of the Bunble Bee"
        "Diana"
1903 'The Prince of Pilsen' opens on Broadway. A very successful operetta. Toured the U.S. for 5 years returning to Broadway three times.
        "The Heidelberg Stein Song"
        "The Message of the Violet"
        "The Tale of the Sea Shell"
1904 Luders and Pixley operetta 'Woodland" opens on Broadway
        "The Tale of the Violet"
1904 Luders and George Ade show 'The Sho Gun' opens on Broadway
1907 Luders and Pixley operetta 'The Grand Mogul', on Broadway
1908 Luders and Pixley operetta 'Marcelle', opens on Broadway
        "The Message of the Red, Red Rose"
1904 Luders and George Ade show 'The Fair Co-ed' opens on Broadway
1912 Luders and Pixley operetta 'The Gypsy'on Broadway.
1913 Luders' show 'Somewhere Else' opened on Broadway.

The show 'Somewhere Else' was severly panned by the critics. It was his 13th operetta, and ran for 8 performances. Luders had suffered a serious illness, prior to the show's opening, and died just one day after the show closed. A heart attack.

   Elisabeth Lutyens
b. 1906 ; d. 1983
Still one more fine British composer who got her first big break when she received a commission from Muir Mathieson to provide some music for a 1944 RAF newsreel. (She composed the march `Bustle for WAAFs' with music reminiscent of Malcolm Arnold's wonderful scores for the 'Belles of St. Trinians' films.) But it would be another music director, Philip Martell, who would become her principle film advisor.

During the 1940s), Elisabeth was writing music mostly for the Crown Film Unit's production of short World War II documentaries. As an example, one such was 'Jungle Mariners', which depicted the deadly techniques useed in jungle warfare. She continued to work on documentaries into the early 1950s, with films covering such topics as, Africa in 'The Boy Kumasemu' (1952), Switzerland in 'Tyrolean Harvests' (1954), and Israel in 'Challenge of the Desert' (1960).

Her film 'This Little Ship', centered on the loss of HMS Plymouth which exploded while carrying nuclear weapons, was never released. She provided film music for a Cold War propaganda film, 'The Atlantic Decade', and for another film 'The Weald of Kent', with narration by Sir John Betjeman. It is interesting to note that while Luytens enjoyed working with the musical Twelve Tone system, she would abandon it for her early film work.

1960 found her moving more into "features" (mostly Horror type films) starting with 'Don't Bother to Knock'. Luytens had been wanting more feature film work but felt that Muir Mathieson was blocking her. (One biographer has reported that Luytens once over-heard Matheson commenting that women film composers were unable to express passion in music!) And so it was that Philip Martell became music director for the majority of her feature pictures (at Hammer Films).

During this time, she also went back to doing more and more work using the twelve tone system that she had abandoned back in the days of working on shorts and documentaries. Her association with Hammer films proved fruitful - for both her and Hammer. Her work at Hammer films brought her financial security with an income that continued into her old age and later benefited her estate. She is said to have once commented that, "..... a single showing in the Spanish cinemas of Dr Terror's House of Horrors brought me more income than all my BBC broadcasts put together". She said that her film 'Earth Dies Screaming' kept her in champagne for years. And, it has been reported that in one year, during the 1970s, her horror films brought in 10,000 in royalties.

Her feeling about film music is interesting. Some film music composers see music as an absolutely integral part of the filming process. However, Luytens did not see her work as 'great art', only as a service that should enhance the final product (the film). Her feeling was that the music should be discreet and supportive rather than commanding. The audience should be following the story and not be aware of the music. Luytens enjoyed her work and was quite happy to come in well after the shooting and compose to the visual images, -the mark of a consummate professional.

While odd documentary commissions continued to come her way well into the 1970s, still, she was greatly profiting from full film scores which included
Mijn Nachten met Susan, Olga, Albert, Julie, Piet & Sandra (1975)
      aka My Nights with Susan, Sandra, Olga & Julie (1975)
      aka Secrets of Naughty Susan (1975 UK: video title)
Theatre of Death (1967)
      (aka in USA: Blood Fiend)
      )aka: Female Fiend, The)
Terrornauts, The (1967)
Psychopath, The (1966)
Spaceflight IC-1 (1965)
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965. aka: The Blood Suckers)
Skull, The (1965)
Earth Dies Screaming, The (1964)
Paranoiac (1963)
Don't Bother to Knock (1961. aka in USA: Why Bother to Knock)
Malpas Mystery, The (1960)
      aka Edgar Wallace Mysteries: The Malpas Mystery (1960. The UK series title)
Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960. aka Never Take Candy From a Stranger)
Penny and the Pownall Case (1948)

   Abe Lyman
b. 1897, Chicago, IL, USA. d. 1957, Beverly Hills, CA, USA
Overview
Abe Lyman is remembered as a most successful band leader of the 1930's through the 1940's. His band was often heard on the Radio networks. With the decline of the big bands in the late 40's, Abe retired from the music business and opened a restaurant.

Occasionally, over his career, he wrote music and lyrics to some songs that did become quite popular, including:
1923 "I Cried for You", music by Gus Arnheim and Abe Lyman, lyric by Arthur Freed.
1926 "After I Say I'm Sorry"

Abe died at age 60, in Hollywood, California.

   Joe Lyons
Currently no information on this lyricist.
1922 "On The Alamo", co-lyricist Gilbert Keyes. Composer Isham Jones' first big hit record.

   Francisco Lomuto
b: Nov. 24, 1893, Buenos Aires, Argentina. d: Dec. 23, 1950, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
As a child, "Pancho" Lomuto was taught music theory and piano by his mother, and he later perfected his skills at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory. In 1906, (while working full time for the Argentine Railroad system) he composed his first song, - a Tango entitled "El 606" (published 5 years later by Juan S. Balerio). Soon, other Tangos followed including "El Chacoton", "La Revoltosa", and "La Rezongona", - all of which were later recorded (on the Nacional Odeon label) by famed leader Roberto Firpo.

Circa 1915, two very significant events were occurring in Argentina; singer Carlos Gardel was bringing Tangos to the world's attention, and the very first group of Tango lyricists (starting with Contursi) began appearing. In 1918, at the Theatre San Martin, singer/actress Maria Luisa Notar sang Lomuto's composition "Mnequita", with words by Adolpho Herschel. At this time, Francisco was working full time as a pianist for the music publishing firm of Castiglioni (on Florida Street - between Sarmiento and Corrientes) playing tunes for customers wishing to buy some sheet music. In 1922, Carlos Gardel sang "Nunca Mas", with music composed by Francisco Lomuto, and words by Francisco's brother Oscar. At night, Lomuto was a frequent visitor to the Royal Cabaret. Francisco Canaro's orchestra (with pianist Luis Ricardi) was then resident at the club, and Canaro would often let Lomuto perform at the piano.

With his success as a composer, and his on-stage experiences with Canaro, Lomuto formed an orchestra which he at first co-led with Hector Quesada, before taking over sole leadership. Over the years, this orchestra had such members as pianist Oscar Napolitano, Carmelo Aquila on clarinet, violinist Leopoldo Schifrin, and Daniel Alvarez on bandoneon, as well as vocalists Charlo and Antonio Rodriguez Lesende.

In 1924, Lomuto recorded "Tierra del Fuego", and "Malpaso", (his first sides) for the Odeon label. In 1924, for the Victor label, he recorded "Nunca Mas", and "De Pura Cepa". During the late 1920s, vocalists Fernando Diaz and Jorge Omar worked with Lomuto. In addition, Lomuto found some work as a singer on the steamship 'Cap Polonio' then cruising the Atlantic Ocean.

During the 1930s, Lomuto, - using the pseudonym of Pancho Laguna - wrote the words to several of his own Tango compositions including "Dimelo al Oido", "Churrasca", and "Cachadora", among others. During this same period, Lomuto worked at the Argentine Theatre (Bartolome Mitre Street), and not only appeared in the 1937 Argentine film Melgarejo, and the 1938 film La Rubia del Camino, but also composed the incidental music for both films. He also toured various cities in Spain, along with singer Chola Luna and the impressario Antonio Botta.

In the late 1940s, he was still very active leading one of his best orchestras, that also featured singers Alberto Rivera and Miguel Montero. Sadly, Lomuto passed away in December 1950, leaving behind him a legacy of wonderful tunes that he composed, including:
       "Si Soy Asi"
       "Mi Reflexion"
       "Pa'que te Acordes" (Gluksmann Award Winner)
       "A Toda Vela"
       "Tierra del Fuego"
       "De Buena Fe"
       "Los Dardanelos"
       "Aunque Parezca Mentira"
       "Viento Fresco"
       "Sin Dejar Rastro"
       "Que Lindo es Amar"
       "Don Juan Malevo"
       "Mi Reflexion"
       "Mis Amigos de Ayer"
       "Muchachita de Campo"
       "Sombras Nada Mas"
       "A Todo Vela"
       "Desagravio"

One of his enduring efforts began in 1918. Lomuto, then a member of an Association of Music Writers, joined with fellow composers Luis Teisseire, Guillermo Fisher and Enrique Caviglia to become part of the Founding Committee of the National Society of Writers, Composers and Publishers of Music. In 1936, Lomuto became Chairman of the SADAIC's first board.