Buddy Bregman
Encyclopedia
Buddy Bregman is an American
musical arranger, record producer and composer.
He has worked with many of the greatest musical artists of 20th Century popular music including; Ella Fitzgerald
, Bing Crosby
, Judy Garland
, Peggy Lee
, Anita O'Day
, Matt Monro
, and Frank Sinatra
.
Born in Chicago, he studied at UCLA and during his sophomore year, wrote 'I Need Your Lovin' with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
which subsequently became his first hit record.
As an arranger, conductor and the A&R head of Norman Granz
's newly established Verve Records
, he also scored and orchestrated many major motion pictures including; The Pajama Game
, Crime in the Streets
, Secret of the Purple Reef and several others.
1956 saw Bregman orchestrate and arrange three albums which subsequently went platinum, and which still remain today one of his greatest achievements.
Two of the albums represented the commencement of Ella Fitzgerald
's epic 'Songbooks
' project.
Bregman's intelligent and sensitive arrangements for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook
, and Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook
would establish Fitzgerald as an international star, and secure her legacy as one of the supreme interpreters of the Great American Songbook
. Bregman also arranged several of Fitzgerald's early Verve singles.
Bing Crosby
's 1956 album Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings
which Bregman also arranged and conducted also later went platinum.
After his tenure at Verve, Bregman became a television producer and director, working with great success for the BBC
, and also as Head of Entertainment for the London weekday ITV company Rediffusion London from December 1965.
Bregman then wrote Jump Jim Crow
, a musical for the Royal Shakespeare Company
, and later went into London-based independent TV and film production, and subsequently produced and directed a feature film starring Olivia Newton-John
.
Upon returning to the United States, Bregman worked as a television producer and director.
Buddy was married to actress Suzanne Lloyd
from 1961 to 1988. He is the father of soap actress Tracey E. Bregman
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musical arranger, record producer and composer.
He has worked with many of the greatest musical artists of 20th Century popular music including; Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Anita O'Day
Anita O'Day
Anita O'Day was an American jazz singer.Born Anita Belle Colton, O'Day was admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer"...
, Matt Monro
Matt Monro
Matt Monro was an English singer who became one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s...
, and Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
.
Born in Chicago, he studied at UCLA and during his sophomore year, wrote 'I Need Your Lovin' with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...
which subsequently became his first hit record.
As an arranger, conductor and the A&R head of Norman Granz
Norman Granz
Norman Granz was an American jazz music impresario and producer.Granz was a fundamental figure in American jazz, especially from about 1947 to 1960...
's newly established Verve Records
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
, he also scored and orchestrated many major motion pictures including; The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
, Crime in the Streets
Crime in the Streets
Crime in the Streets is a 1956 film about juvenile delinquency, directed by Don Siegel and based on a television play written by Reginald Rose. The play first appeared on the Elgin Hour and was directed by Sidney Lumet. The film featured actor Sal Mineo who had previously appeared in Rebel Without...
, Secret of the Purple Reef and several others.
1956 saw Bregman orchestrate and arrange three albums which subsequently went platinum, and which still remain today one of his greatest achievements.
Two of the albums represented the commencement of Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
's epic 'Songbooks
The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Songbooks
The Ella Fitzgerald Songbooks were a series of eight studio albums released in irregular intervals between 1956 and 1964, recorded by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, supported by a variety of orchestras, big bands, and jazz quartets....
' project.
Bregman's intelligent and sensitive arrangements for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook is a 1956 album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Buddy Bregman, focusing on the songs of Cole Porter....
, and Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Songbook is a 1956 album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Buddy Bregman, focusing on the songs written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.This album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in...
would establish Fitzgerald as an international star, and secure her legacy as one of the supreme interpreters of the Great American Songbook
Great American Songbook
The Great American Songbook is a hypothetical construct that seeks to represent the best American songs of the 20th century principally from Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musicals, from the 1920s to 1960, including dozens of songs of enduring popularity...
. Bregman also arranged several of Fitzgerald's early Verve singles.
Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
's 1956 album Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings
Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings
Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings was Bing Crosby's sixth long play album, but the first recorded with Verve.This was Bing Crosby's first LP with a modern, swinging orchestra in accompaniment. The songs, are also among the rare few that Bing had never before recorded up to that point...
which Bregman also arranged and conducted also later went platinum.
After his tenure at Verve, Bregman became a television producer and director, working with great success for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, and also as Head of Entertainment for the London weekday ITV company Rediffusion London from December 1965.
Bregman then wrote Jump Jim Crow
Jump Jim Crow
Jump Jim Crow is a song and dance from 1828 that was done in blackface by white comedian Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice. The first song sheet edition appeared in the early 1830s, published by E. Riley. The number was supposedly inspired by the song and dance of a crippled African slave called Jim...
, a musical for the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, and later went into London-based independent TV and film production, and subsequently produced and directed a feature film starring Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
.
Upon returning to the United States, Bregman worked as a television producer and director.
Buddy was married to actress Suzanne Lloyd
Suzanne Lloyd
-Selected filmography:* Seven Ways from Sundown * Pepe * The Return of Mr. Moto * That Riviera Touch -External links:...
from 1961 to 1988. He is the father of soap actress Tracey E. Bregman
Tracey E. Bregman
Tracey E. Bregman is an German-American soap opera actress. She is best known for the role of Lauren Fenmore on The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful and for her role as Sarah Smythe on The Young and the Restless .-Personal life:She was born...
.