The Oscars
Bill Pitman was a first call studio musician in Los Angles who played on a string of hit records and award winning motion pictures. As a member of the Wrecking Crew he played on the Beach Boy's Pet Sounds album as well as hundreds of top 40 hits beginning in the late 1950s. Bill's ukulele can be...
Jocko Marcellino and eleven college friends formed a doo wop group in the late 1960s called Sha Na Na. Their hope was to keep the doo wop sounds of the 1950s alive and well in the ever changing rock era. They performed at Woodstock in 1969, which led to recording contracts, a television series (...
Alan Bergman and his wife Marilyn are among the most celebrated songwriting team of their time (and anyone else’s). They began writing together in the early 1950s and wrote the lyrics for such hits as “Nice ‘n’ Easy” for Frank Sinatra, “Yellow Bird” which has been recorded by hundreds of artists...
Marilyn Bergman grew up very close to her future husband in Brooklyn, New York. This may provide some insight into their magical partnership both as a couple and as one of the most celebrated songwriting teams of all time. Together they wrote lyrics to classic songs that have won Emmys, Grammys...
Felice Mancini grew up in a home full of music. Her father was an Oscar-winning composer and her mother is the noted vocalist who formed the Society of Singers. Felice has devoted herself to the non-profit world when she became involved with the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation in 1998, just two years...
Ginny Mancini always loved singing! When she had the chance to form a backup group for a 17 year old vocalist coming from Chicago to Los Angles for the first time in the 1940s, Ginny jumped at it. The group became known as the Mel-Tones and they became the backup group for Mel Torme for over 3...
Hal David followed in the footsteps of his older brother Mack, who penned several popular songs in the 1930s and 40s. Hal worked hard to learn the craft and spent many years in and around the Brill Building in New York, which was the hub of music publishing in America at the time. After a number of...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Ray Evans was an Oscar winning songwriter who penned tunes for jazz and pop artists as well as for television and film. Teamed often with his lifelong friend Jay...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jay Livingston happily wrote the music to accompany the lyrics of his lifelong friend, Ray Evans. They wrote three Oscar winning songs along with the Christmas classic "...