Victor Young (August 8, 1900 – November 10, 1956)
was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago
Young was born inChicago
Playing before Russian generals and nobles, while inWarsaw , he was later
introduced to Czar Nicholas in St. Petersburg ,
and his playing so impressed the Czar that he presented him with many gifts but
the revolution cut short his success in Russia Warsaw , then Paris , and
from there to the United
States
He returned toChicago
In 1930Chicago
bandleader and radio-star Isham Jones commissioned Young to write a ballad
instrumental of Hoagy Carmichael ’s “Stardust”,
which had been played, up until then, as an up-tempo number. Young slowed it
down and played the melody as a gorgeous romantic violin solo which inspired Mitchell
Parish to write lyrics for what then became a much performed love song.
In the mid-1930s he moved toHollywood
Victor Young
On radio, he was the musical director of The Old Gold Don Ameche Show and Harvest of Stars. He was musical director for many of Bing Crosby’s's recordings for the American branch of Decca Records. For Decca, he also conducted the first album of songs from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, a sort of "pre-soundtrack" cover version rather than a true soundtrack album. The album featured Judy Garland and the Ken Darby Singers singing songs from the film in Young's own arrangements. He also composed the music for several Decca spoken word albums.
He received 22 Academy Award nominations for his work in film, twice being nominated four times in a single year, but he did not win during his lifetime. He received his only Oscar posthumously for his score of Around the World in Eighty Days (1956). Thus, Victor Young holds the record for most Oscar nominations before winning the first award. His other scores include Anything Goes (1936), The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936),Artists and Models (1937), The Gladiator, Golden Boy (1939), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), The Uninvited (1944), Love Letters (1945), So Evil My Love (1948), The Emperor Waltz (1948), The Paleface (1948), Samson and Delilah (1949), Our Very Own (1950), My Favorite Spy (1951), Payment on Demand (1951), The Quiet Man (1952), Scaramouche (1952), Something to Live For (1952), Shane (1953), The Country Girl (1954), A Man Alone (1955), and Written on the Wind (1956).
His last scores were for the films Omar Khayyam and China Gate, both released after his death. The latter was left unfinished at the time of his death and was finished by his long-time friend, Max Steiner.
"The Call of the Faraway Hills", which Young had composed for the film Shane was also used as the theme for theU.S.
As an occasional bit player, Young can be glimpsed briefly in The Country Girl (1954) playing a recording studio leader conducting Bing Crosby while he tapes "You've Got What It Takes".
Biography
Young was born in
Playing before Russian generals and nobles, while in
He returned to
In 1930
In the mid-1930s he moved to
Radio, Film and Television
On radio, he was the musical director of The Old Gold Don Ameche Show and Harvest of Stars. He was musical director for many of Bing Crosby’s's recordings for the American branch of Decca Records. For Decca, he also conducted the first album of songs from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, a sort of "pre-soundtrack" cover version rather than a true soundtrack album. The album featured Judy Garland and the Ken Darby Singers singing songs from the film in Young's own arrangements. He also composed the music for several Decca spoken word albums.
He received 22 Academy Award nominations for his work in film, twice being nominated four times in a single year, but he did not win during his lifetime. He received his only Oscar posthumously for his score of Around the World in Eighty Days (1956). Thus, Victor Young holds the record for most Oscar nominations before winning the first award. His other scores include Anything Goes (1936), The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936),Artists and Models (1937), The Gladiator, Golden Boy (1939), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), The Uninvited (1944), Love Letters (1945), So Evil My Love (1948), The Emperor Waltz (1948), The Paleface (1948), Samson and Delilah (1949), Our Very Own (1950), My Favorite Spy (1951), Payment on Demand (1951), The Quiet Man (1952), Scaramouche (1952), Something to Live For (1952), Shane (1953), The Country Girl (1954), A Man Alone (1955), and Written on the Wind (1956).
His last scores were for the films Omar Khayyam and China Gate, both released after his death. The latter was left unfinished at the time of his death and was finished by his long-time friend, Max Steiner.
"The Call of the Faraway Hills", which Young had composed for the film Shane was also used as the theme for the
As an occasional bit player, Young can be glimpsed briefly in The Country Girl (1954) playing a recording studio leader conducting Bing Crosby while he tapes "You've Got What It Takes".
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