James(Jimmy) Van Heusen
Jimmy Van Heusen was a Tin Pan Alley
songwriter who was active from the late 1930s well into the 1960s. He
collaborated primarily with lyricists Eddie De Lange; Johnny Burke and Sammy
Cahn.
Van Heusens mother, Ida May Foster, a descendent of Stephen Foster, taught
her son piano. Edward Clester Babcock, as he was born, wrote songs while he was
still in Syracuse's Central High School. While in high school, he had a regular
program on a small local radio station. It was during that job that Jimmy
adopted the last name of Van Heusen, after the men's Collar manufacturer. After
high school, Jimmy attended Cazenovia Seminary followed by Syracuse University.
It was at Syracuse University that Jimmy was set on a music career. He became
friends with another student, Jerry Arlen, Harold Arlen's brother, and Jimmy
then started writing songs for the Cotton Club, with Harold Arlen's help. That
lasted a few months, and Van Heusen got a job as a freight elevator operator,
while continuing to try to break into music.
He became staff pianist in some Tin Pan Alley publishers, and in 1938 while
working at Remick Music, he wrote "It's The Dreamer In Me" to lyrics that Tommy
Dorsey had written. Remick gave him a pay raise and a 2 year contract. Jimmy
teamed with lyricist Eddie De Lange to write some successful tunes such as "Oh!
You Crazy Moon," "Heaven Can Wait," "So Help Me" and "Deep in a Dream."
In 1939, the team of Van Heusen and De Lange, wrote all of the songs for the
Broadway show Swingin' the Dream, a jazz version of A Midsummer's
Night Dream. The show flopped, but produced a number of classic numbers
including "Darn That Dream."
Van Heusen wrote more than 60 songs, most of which have become standard
popular songs, often being adapted to jazz recordings. The Jimmy Van Heusen
songbook includes; "Shake Down the Stars" lyric by Eddie De Lange, "Polka Dots
and Moonbeams" lyric by Johnny Burke and "Imagination" lyric by Johnny Burke,
all published in 1940.
The film On the Road To Zanzibar starring Bing Crosby brought Van
Heusen to the big screen. Burke and Van Heusen went on to score 20 Crosby
productions including the film The Road To Morocco. The Road To
Morocco debuted a number of classic Van Heusen and Burke songs including
"Moonlight Becomes You," "Ain't Got a Dime to My Name," and "Constantly." The
team won an Academy Award in 1944 for the score to film Going My Way.
They also wrote "Sunday, Monday, or Always," "If You Please," "Day After
Forever," "Swinging on a Star," "Personality," "Put It There, Pal," "Aren't You
Glad You're You?," "Country Style," "But Beautiful," "Sunshine Cake," "You Can
Bounce Right Back," and "I Couldn't Care Less."
Van Heusen and Burke also scored for films other than those with Crosby. For
the film My Favorite Spy the team wrote "Got the Moon In My Pocket." For
the film And the Angels Sing they wrote "It Could Happen to You" and for
the film Cross My Heart they scored "That Little Dream Got Nowhere."
In 1946, the team wrote "You May Not Love Me" and "Just My Luck" for the
successful Broadway show Nelly Bly. Seven years later they where back on
Broadway for Carnival in Flanders. The following year the team spilt up
when Burke moved to Hollywood.
Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn teamed in 1955 for the TV production of Our
Town, an adaptation of the Thornton Wilder play. The show was among a host
to TV productions that became critically acclaimed winning an Emmy Award. The
program also provided two new numbers "Love and Marriage" and "Impatient Years."
Van Heusen and Cahn also wrote for the 1957 film The Joker is Wild, which
included the smash hit "All The Way." The song, just like the two that would
follow won Academy Awards. "High Hopes," and "The Second Time Around" not only
won awards, but recordings by Frank Sinatra gave the team and an ailing Tin Pan
Alley new credit.
Over the years the team also wrote, "Love Is a Career," "Come Fly With Me,"
"Come Dance With Me," and "Only The Lonely." All four of the above were recorded
with tremendous success by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra went on to record over 75
songs by Van Heusen and Cahn, more than another team.
Since 1948, Van Heusen was active in music publishing. his first firm was
called BurVan Inc. Over the years his publishing ventures including; Burke-Van
Heusen Publishing Company, Maraville Music Corporation and Famous Music.
Van Heusen was one of ten songwriters elected to the Songwriters Hall of
Fame when it was founded in 1971. He married for the first time in 1969, at the
age of 56. His wife Bobbie survived him.
"Jimmy Van Heusen was an architect of melody!" ---Sammy Cahn
B: January 26, 1913,
Syracuse, NY
D: February 7, 1990, Rancho Mirage, CA