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| From | Marty Rudnick <mrudnick@marturo.com> |
| Subject | RIP Ben Weisman |
| Date | Fri, 25 May 2007 10:11:20 -0700 |
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(source: Wikipedia)
Ben Weisman (November 16 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_16>,
1921 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921>--May 20
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_20>, 2007
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007>) was an American composer and
pianist best known for having written many of the songs associated with
Elvis Presley <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley>.
A native of Providence <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providence>, Ben
Weisman was one of Elvis Presley's chief songwriters
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songwriter> throughout the 1960s
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960s>. He co-composed for Elvis' movies
and stage performances nearly sixty songs that proceeded to go gold or
platinum, including "First in Line
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=First_in_Line&action=edit>",
"Got a Lot of Living to Do
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Got_a_Lot_of_Living_to_Do&action=edit>",
"Follow That Dream <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Follow_That_Dream>" and
"Wooden Heart <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooden_Heart>". Weisman also
wrote songs recorded by Barbra Streisand
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbra_Streisand> ("Love in the Afternoon
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Love_in_the_Afternoon_%28song%29&action=edit>"),
The Beatles <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles> ("Lend Me Your
Comb
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lend_Me_Your_Comb&action=edit>"),
Johnny Mathis <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Mathis> ("When I Am
with You
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=When_I_Am_with_You&action=edit>"),
Terry Stafford <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Stafford> ("I'll
Touch A Star
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%22I%27ll_Touch_A_Star&action=edit>"),
Bobby Vee <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Vee> ("The Night Has A
Thousand Eyes
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%22The_Night_Has_A_Thousand_Eyes&action=edit>")
and many others.
Since Weisman's outward appearance was atypical for a "rock 'roll guy",
Elvis' pet nickname for him was "the mad professor". Just before
Weisman's last meeting with Elvis in 1976, Elvis proudly announced to
the crowd that he had recorded more of Weisman's songs than those of any
other songwriter. Weisman's most recent musical score was for the 1995
movie Crossroads at Laredo: The Lost Film of Edward D. Wood Jr
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_D._Wood_Jr>.
Ben Weisman died at a long-term care hospital in Los Angeles
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles> after complications from
Alzheimer's disease <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease>
and stroke. He was 85.
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