Fred E. Ahlert
b. Sept. 19, 1892, New York, NY, USA., d. Oct. 20, 1953, New York, NY, USA.
Fred Ahlert was basically a Tin Pan Alley composer. That is to say, most of his songs were written independently of the Broadway stage and Hollywood musicals. From 1928 through 1933, his chief lyricist was Roy Turk, and their songs were immensely popular in the twenties and thirties.

Born with Perfect Pitch. Attended Townsend-Harris High School in NYC. For two summers, he worked with Ben Bernie in an Ice Cream Parlor. (For $7.00/week) He graduated from CCNY and from Fordham Law School. He then got a job with Waterson, Berlin and Snyder Publishers. He did arrangements for Irving Aaronson and his Commanders orchestra; Vaudevillians Fields and Seeley and the Fred Waring Glee Club.

Brief Chronology:
       1922 "I Gave You Up Before You Threw Me Down", With Kalmar and Ruby.
       1920 "My Mammy's Arms", his first hit, and a hit for Al Jolson, too.
       1927 "There's a Cradle in Caroline", with Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young.
       1928 "I'll Get By"

1929 for the film, 'Marianna', he wrote
       "Faithful In My Fashion", lyric by Turk.
       "Mean To Me"
       1931 "I Don't Know Why,"
               "Love, You Funny Thing"
               "Walkin' My Baby Back Home,"
               "Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day", Bing
               Crosby's vocalizing in an early Hollywood film, made it a hit.
       1936 "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" (a million
               seller still in 1957). A Joe Young Lyric.
               "Take My Heart", lyric by Joe Young.

Ahlert died in 1953, at age 61. He is a member of the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.

   Harry Akst
b. 1894, New York, N.Y., USA, d. March 31, 1963, Hollywood, CA, USA
See the American Bands database for more complete information on Harry Akst.

Harry was a Tin Pan Alley composer, writing songs on demand. Over his lifetime, he worked with many different lyricists, including Gus Kahn; Bert Kalmar; the team of Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, and even Al Jolson, with whom he toured during WW2.

Some of his hit songs were:
       1921 "Home Again Blues"
       1925 "Dinah"- Beautifully played here by Irwin Schwartz.
       1926 "Baby Face"
       1929 "Am I Blue?"
       1954 "Anema Core"

He died in 1963, at age 69.

   [ Charles Albertine ]
b. Feb. 24, 1929; d. May 18, 1986
Albertine was the youngest of three children. His older brother Herman is still alive and well (June 1999) living in Fernandina Beach FL, but his sister Beatrice sadly passed away at Christmas time -1998.

It is remarkable to realize that Charles was a self taught musician. As far as is known, he did not have any formal musical training. During his early years he played tenor sax with a variety of bands, including Sammy Kaye's orchestra (and working with Kaye could be quite difficult). He also played numerous other instruments but not with any bands. In time, he moved on to perform in the pit bands for Broadway shows, including 'Top Banana' which starred Phil Silvers and Bert Lahr (I think).

While working on Broadway he met Les Elgart, who, with his brother Larry, later formed their own orchestra. Charles became the lead arranger for their band early on. He also wrote several of the original pieces recorded by the Elgarts, including "Bandstand Boogie" - later adopted by Dick Clark's 'American Bandstand'. The album, "Music for Barefoot Ballerina's and Others" (Decca) was entirely his compositions. The title, by the way, refers to his then wife (Charles first wife) Audrey - who was a professional ballerina. Some of the other albums he worked on were: "Impressions of Outer Space" (a copy just sold on 'eBay' for $85), "Sophisticated Swing", "The Greatest Dance Band in The Land" and "The Elgart Touch". Many critics consider Charles Albertine to be responsible, to a great degree, for the Elgart Sound.

When he left the Elgarts in the 1950s, he began working with bandleader Al Nevins and vocalist Neil Sedaka (among others). He arranged most of the 'Three Suns' trio's later albums, including "Movin' and Groovin'", "Fever and Smoke", "On a Magic Carpet", "Warm and Tender" and "Twilight Memories". He also contributed some original pieces to these albums.

In the 1960's, Charles returned to working with the Elgarts. He also resumed working with Sammy Kaye, arranging for his band through the 1960's. Somehow, he found the time to arrange songs for Lawrence Welk, as well, during those years.

He later began working on film scoring, providing the title piece for 'The Long Ships' and working on 'To Sir With Love'. The later part of his career was spent writing music for television, working on such shows as 'Gidget', 'Hazel', 'The Incredible Hulk', 'The Bionic Woman', 'Fantasy Island' and a well known "soap-opera" -'Days of Our Lives'.

He also wrote classical pieces, including a symphony. (Recall that he never had formal musical training). Curiously, the one thing he never did in his professional career was having his own orchestra, although he was, however, an integral part of many others. Comparing the early works of Sammy Kaye with the later arrangements by Charles, you'll find a striking difference. The recognizable works (looking back in the 1990's) are, impressively, those that Albertine arranged rather than Kaye's earlier charts.

Sadly, Charles died far too young (age 57) on May 18, 1986 of a brain tumor. He was survived by his three children, Bruce, Kerry and David, his third wife, Barbara, his brother Herman, and sister Beatrice.
The BigBands Database thanks David, Jeannine & Ariana Albertine for these notes on David's father - Charles Albertine.

   Roy Alfred
Currently no information on this composer.
" How Does It Feel" - composed : November 1983

   Robert Allen
b. Feb. 5, 1928, Troy, NY, USA. d. Oct. 1 2000, Quogue, NY, USA. (colon cancer)
Over his long career, Allen worked as a Composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist. He was the chosen accompanist for Perry Como, Peter Lind Hayes, and Arthur Godfrey. Even The United Nations commissioned him to produce a record album entitled "3 Billion Millionaires", for which he also wrote the score.

As a composer, his chief musical collaborator was lyricist 'Al Stillman', and their songs were recorded by such stars as Dean Martin, the Four Lads, Johnny Mathis, and the Ray Charles Singers. Included among his hit songs are: "36 26 36"; "A Very Special Love"; "Baby Has Gone Bye Bye"; "Candy Bar Boogie (8 Bites to the Bar)"; "Can You Find It in Your Heart?"; "Chances Are"; "Come to Me"; "Every Step of the Way"; "Everybody Loves a Lover"; "Happy Anniversary"; "Home for the Holidays"; "I Love My Argentine";"I Never Felt More Like Falling in Love"; "It's Not For Me to Say"; "Meantime"; "Moments to Remember"; "My One and Only Heart"; "My Very Good Friend in the Looking Glass"; "Pamela Throws A Party"; "No, Not Much"; "Ruby Lips Emerald Eyes" "Sing Along"; "Song for a Summer Night"; "There's Only One of You"; "Teacher, Teacher"; "To Know You";"Who Needs You?"; "You Alone"; "You Are Never Far Away from Me" (closing theme on the Perry Como Show)

   Steve Allen
b. Dec. 26, 1921, Chicago. IL, d. Oct. 30, 2000, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Overview
Steve Allen was much more than the creator and first host of "The Tonight Show"; he is also an acknowledged master of ad-lib comedy; author of 43 books; playwright; jazz pianist, bandleader, lecturer, social critic, and as well as a prolific composer. These all describe the artist that Noel Coward once called "the most talented man in America". However, Allen himself ranked his gift for musical composition above all others, with ad-lib comedy a distant second. In the early days of 'test pattern' television, he created and hosted "The Tonight Show" from 1953 to 1957, and starred in "The Steve Allen Show" from 1956 to 1960.

Steve's beginnings were in vaudeville. His parents were the vaudeville team of Montrose and Allen. He began his career as a teenager playing piano in small bands and trios on Chicago's South Side. "My first gig paid 50 cents," he says. "Later, I gigged a couple of times with Mel Torme, who was a drummer then, as well as my high school classmate."

In the last half of the 20th century, Steve Allen has composed, at his own last count, 5,200 songs. Of these, perhaps 1000 have been published and only a few have become true international hits including, "This Could Be The Start of Something Big", "Picnic"; "Impossible", "Gravy Waltz", and the wonderful Dixieland tune "South Rampart Street Parade".

Steve always had a small portable tape recorder near him, even at his bedside. Often he would dream a melody and the lyric. If he still recalled it upon awakening, he would immediately put it into the recorder for later revision. In this fashion, he wrote the score of 'The Bachelor', - TV's first musical, which contained his biggest hit "This Could Be the Start of Something". The 1955 bio-pic 'The Benny Goodman Story' starred Steve as Benny.

Steve's own musical tastes varied. He not only preferred jazz and classical, but once penned an essay entitled: "Consider the Possibility That Your Tastes in Music Are Related to Your Degree of Overall Intelligence." In it, he cited studies that infants exposed to Mozart developed superior IQs.

When he died (in his sleep) at the age of 78, he was survived by his wife,actress Jayne Meadows; four sons; 11 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. And the world lost a true talent.

   Thornton W. Allen
Currently no information available.
Among his work is:
"Bill Bailey", beautifully played here by Mr. Irwin Schwartz.

   Laurindo Almeida
b. Sept. 2, 1917, Sao Paulo, Brazil, d. June 1995, Los Angeles, CA
In 1947, while visiting Brazil, Bandleader Stan Kenton heard a young guitarist playing in a Rio de Janeiro nightclub. Kenton brought him back to the U.S., where Almeida played in Kenton's band while the band was enjoying it's peak success.
After leaving Kenton, Almeida found work both in the Los Angeles studio system and as an active member of the Jazz club scene. During his career, he played, and recorded, with such well known jazzmen as Herbie Mann, Stan Getz and others.
It is safe to say that Almeida introduced the U.S. to the Brazilian Bossa Nova, that blend of Brazilian guitar and American jazz. In 1953, Almeida, with Bud Shank playing alto sax, recorded two albums that anticipated the sound of bossa nova by nearly a decade. And, at the peak of the Bossa Nova's popularity, Almeida's record "Viva Bossa Nova" enjoyed very successful sales.
In the late 1960's, Almeida founded the L.A. Four, a "chamber" Jazz quartet. The group, which included himself, Ray Brown, Shelley Mann, and Bud Shank, remained active into the early 1980's. During this time, Almeida also did some film scores including 'Maracaibo' and 'Cry Tough'.

Among Almeida's Recordings are:
A Man and a Woman, Capitol ST-2701
Acapulco '22, Tower 5060
Brazilliance, Pacific Jazz LP1204
Broadway Solo Guitar, Capitol ST-2063
Conversations with the Guitar, Capitol ST-8532, 1961 Grammy Winner.
Discantus 1962 Grammy Winner.
Guitar from Ipanema, Capitol ST-21971, 1965 Grammy Winner.
Happy Cha Cha Cha, Capitol T-1263
Ole! Bossa Nova, Capitol ST-1872
Reverie for the Spanish Guitar, Capitol ST-8571, 1962 Grammy Winner.
Spanish Guitars of Laurindo Almeida, 1961 Grammy Winner.
The Look of Love, Capitol ST-2866
Viva Bossa Nova!, Capitol ST-1759

   Louis Alter
b. 1902, Haverhill, Massachusetts d. 1980, New York, N. Y. USA.
At age 13, he was playing the piano in local Movie Houses for the Silent Pictures. After attending New England Conservatory (Boston), he accompanied the famous vaudeville entertainer Nora Bayes, from 1924 to 1928, and toured Europe with her. In the next 4-5 years, he also played with Irene Bordoni; Helen Morgan and Beatrice Lillie. He then worked for Irivng Berlin's music publishing company and also Shapiro and Bernstein Music Publiishing.

Brief Chronology:
        1928 "Manhattan Serenade". An instrumental that later became the
       theme song for Easy Aces Radio Show (1930's), starring Goodman Ace.
       In 1942, Harold Adamson added a lyric.

       1929 Relocated to Hollywood. Alter wrote music for a few Broadway musicals and for several movie musicals. Among Alter's popular movie tunes, are:
       1936 "Trail of the Lonesome Pine".
       1936 "You Turned the Tables on Me," from the movie 'Sing, Baby, Sing'.
       1941 "Dolores," from the movie 'Las Vegas Nights'
       1947 "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?," from movie 'New Orleans'.
       1941 "Dolores", with the lyric by Frank Loesser

   Arthur Altman
b. 1912, Brooklyn, New York
Overview
Composer Arthur Altman worked principally with lyricists Hal David and Jack Lawrence. Just a few of his songs are well known, namely:
       1932 "Play, Fiddle, Play"
       1943 "All or Nothing At All"

   Daniele Amfitheatrof
b. Oct. 29, 1901, St. Petersburg, Russia: d. June 7, 1983, Rome, Italy
Currently No Information Available
This film composer's career includes compositions for over 110 films, including his first in ca. 1933, 'Servant of Mankind', and his last in 1965, 'Major Dundee'. Along the way, he composed for such Hollywood "classics" as 'From Hell to Texas' (1958); 'Earth vs. the Flying Saucers' (1956 - uncredited), and 1951's 'Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man'. But, he also composed for such films as, 1943's 'Du Barry Was a Lady' (for which he added additional songs); the dance music for 1953's 'Salome', and for the 1951 film 'A Place in the Sun' (where he was uncredited). He also composed music for the 1957 TV Series 'Wagon Train'.

   Morey Amsterdam
b. 1912, Chicago, Illinois
Overview
Morey is primarily an actor-comedian, who often played his cello on stage. In the '60's he appeared on the Dick Van Dyke TV show, with co-star "Baby" Rose Marie. He is included here because of a song to which he added lyrics. The song, one of the big hits of the mid-forties, was "Rum and Coca-Cola," for which he adapted a calypso melody from Trinidad. It was a huge hit for the Andrews Sisters.

   William Alwyn
b. Nov. 7, 1905, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, UK
d. September 12, 1985, Southwold, Suffolk, England, UK.
Alwyn studied music at the Royal Academy, and subsequently began his professional career playing flute in various London east end theaters. In 1927, he became a staff member of the Royal Academy (by invitation of J. B. McEwen) where he remained until 1955.

Prior to WW2, Alwyn had already worked on many film scores (mostly at the Pinewood Studios) where he had began writing as early as 1936. During WW2, the Ministry of Information and the Army Film Unit utilized his services scoring propaganda films for the home front. His most notable film of these years was 1944's 'The Way Ahead', directed by Carol Reed. It is interesting to note that because his music was such a great morale booster, Alwyn's name was on Hitler's "hit list" in the event of their occupation of Britain. (Perhaps his greatest 'honor'.)

Herbert Culot has written about William Alwyn:
        "In fact, writing for films was as serious a task as composing a
        major symphony. Alwyn approached the film score with the same
        earnestness of purpose and the same artistic integrity as he did
        his concert works, and he always tried to meet all the requirements
        of the film while writing music of high quality. He did his own
        orchestrations with the exception of the three Disney films, which
        were scored by Muir Mathieson who, incidentally, conducted most
        film scores by Alwyn. As the composer says in his autobiography,
        "each film score I had written was an opportunity for experiment
        and an exceptional chance, given the splendid orchestras who
        played my scores, to improve and polish my technique and widen my
        dramatic range". Although he enjoyed writing for films, Alwyn was
        never interested in having his scores re-recorded or reworked.
        [when it was] once suggested, rather naively, that he should make
        concert suites from some of his best film scores in order to
        preserve some fine music, which he countered by saying that the
        scores had been destroyed along with Pinewood Studios in the
        fifties! In this he shared the late Sir Arthur Bliss' defiant
        attitude towards his own film music, which is a pity given the
        musical excellence of some of it."

Among his film scores can be found:

1936
        Air Outpost
        The Birth of the Year
        The Future's in the Air
        Monkey into Man
        The Zoo and You
        Zoo Babies 1937
        These Children are Safe
        Wings over Empire 1938
        New Worlds for Old (Paul Rotha) 1939
        Roads Across Britain 1940
        S.O.S.
        Steel Goes to Sea
        W.V.S. 1941
        The Harvest shall Come (Marc Anderson)
        Kipps
        Penn of Pennsylvania 1942
        Spring on the Farm
        Crown of the Year
        The Countrywomen
        Life Begins Again
        They Flew Alone
        Wales
        Western Isles
        Winter on the Farm
        World of Plenty (Paul Rotha)
        The Young Mr Pitt 1943
        Border Weave
        Citizens of Tomorrow
        Desert Victory (working with Roy Boulting)
        Escape to Danger
        Fires were Started
        Medal for the General
        On Approval
        The Proud City
        Squadron Leader X
        There's a Future in it 1944
        French Town
        Lost Illusion
        Our Country
        Soldier-Sailor
        Summer on the Farm
        Tunisian Victory, (working with with Dimitri Tiomkin)
        The Way Ahead (Carol Reed)
        Welcome to Britain 1945
        Great Day
        The Rake's Progress (Sidney Gilliat)
        Today and Tomorrow
        Total War in Britain
        The True Glory (G. Kanin and C. Reed) 1946
        Green for Danger (Sidney Gilliat)
        I See a Dark Stranger (Frank Launder)
        Land of Promise 1947
        Approach to Science
        Captain Boycott
        A City Speaks
        October Man (Roy Ward Baker)
        Odd Man Out (directed by Carol Reed)
        Take my Life (Ronald Neame)
        Your Children and You 1948
        Daybreak in Udi
        Escape
        The Fallen Idol (directed by Carol Reed)
        So Evil my Love with V. Young (Lewis Allen)
        Three Dawns to Sydney
        The Winslow Boy (Anthony Asquith) 1949
        The History of Mr Polly
        The Rocking Horse Winner 1950
        The Cure for Love
        The Golden Salamander (Ronald Neame)
        Madeleine (David Leane)
        The Magnet (Charles Frend)
        The Mudlark (Jean Negulesco)
        Morning Departure (Roy Ward Baker)
        State Secret (Sidney Gilliat) 1951
        Henry Moore
        The House in the Square
        Lady Godiva Rides Again
        The Magic Box ( Roy Boulting)
        Night without Stars (Paul Rotha)
        No Resting Place
        Royal River 1952
        The Card ( Ronald Neame)
        The Crimson Pirate (Robert Siodmak)
        Mandy (Alexander Mackendrick)
        Royal Heritage 1953
        The Long Memory
        The Malta Story (Brian Desmond Hurst)
        Master of Ballantrae (William Keighley)
        A Personal Affair
        Powered Flight 1954
        Black on White
        The Million Pound Note
        The Rainbow Jacket
        The Seekers
        Svengali 1955
        Bedevilled
        The Constant Husband (Sidney Gilliat)
        Geordie
        The Ship that Died of Shame 1956
        The Black Tent (Brian Desmond Hurst)
        Safari (Terence Young)
        Smiley (Anthony Dimmings) 1957
        Fortune is a Woman (Sidney Gilliat)
        Manuela (Guy Hamilton)
        The Smallest Show on Earth (Basil Dearden)
        Zarak (Terence Young) 1958
        Carve her Name with Pride (Lewis Gilbert)
        I Accuse!
        A Night to Remember ( Roy Ward Baker)
        The Silent Enemy 1959
        Shake Hands with the Devil ( Michael Anderson)
        Third Man on the Mountain (Ken Annakin) 1960
        The Killers of Kilimanjaro
        Swiss Family Robinson (Ken Annakin) 1961
        In Search of the Castaways
        The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson) 1962
        Life for Ruth
        Night of the Eagle 1963
        The Running Man

While not too prevalent today, previously, many film composers suffered the public's belief that "Film Music" was not "great" music. Alwyn, who was composing both Film music and Concert works, suffered the same criticism, especially since his concert works exhibited the same romanticism as his film scores. How curious is it that Alwyn himself had the very same belief. Whenever it was suggested that he make concert pieces of some of his best film scores, he would scoff at the idea, thinking his music to be unworthy. Many other British composers of the day shared this feeling, including (the late) Sir Arthur Bliss and others.