Walter Gross (musician)

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Walter Lloyd Gross (born July 14, 1909 in New York ; † November 27, 1967 in Los Angeles ) was an American jazz musician (pianist, band leader) and composer who composed numerous pop songs, including " Tenderly " in 1946 .

Life

Gross made his first public appearance as a pianist at the age of eleven. He became a professional musician in the early 1930s, playing piano in the orchestras of Paul Whiteman , Tommy Dorsey, and Raymond Scott , but then worked as a studio musician at CBS . After completing his military service, he was employed by Musicraft Records in 1946 , where he acted as pianist, arranger and conductor in recording sessions, including for Mel Tormé . In the 1950s he moved to California, where he worked in the studios and performed occasionally. As a pianist he accompanied Maxine Sullivan and Alec Wilder, among others .

In 1946 Jack Lawrence wrote a text for one of his compositions, Tenderly . The song was already a minor hit in the original version by Sarah Vaughan , but became a million seller in 1952 in the interpretation of Rosemary Clooney . Other successful songs by him are Your Love , I'm in a Fog about You , Mexican Moon and Just a Moon Ago .

literature

  • William F. Lee People in Jazz: Jazz Keyboard Improvisors of the 19th & 20th Centuries Hialeah: 1984
  • William Emmett Studwell They Also Wrote: Evaluative Essays on Lesser-Known Popular American Songwriters prior to the Rock Era Scarecrow 2000; ISBN 978-0810837898
  • Warren W. Vaché The Unsung Songwriters: America's Masters of Melodies Scarecrow 2000; ISBN 978-0810835702

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ ASCAP directory of the compositions by Gross
  2. ↑ in its Octet
personal data
SURNAME Gross, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gross, Walter Lloyd (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz and studio musician
DATE OF BIRTH July 14, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH November 27, 1967
Place of death Los Angeles , California , United States