Hugh Martin
Encyclopedia
Hugh Martin was an American musical theater and film
composer
, arranger
, vocal coach
, and playwright
. He is best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In St. Louis
, in which Judy Garland
sang three Martin songs, "The Boy Next Door
," "The Trolley Song
," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
." The last of these has become a Christmas
season standard in the United States and around the English-speaking world. Martin became a close friend of Garland and was her accompanist at many of her concert performances in the 1950s, including her appearances at the Palace Theater.
(1941); Look Ma, I'm Dancin'! (1948); Make a Wish
(1951); High Spirits
(1964) (music and lyrics, with Timothy Gray
); and Meet Me In St. Louis
(1989), a stage version of the film with an expanded score by Martin and Ralph Blane
.
Martin's first Broadway credit was as an arranger for the 1937-1938 musical Hooray for What!
and was a vocal or choral arranger for such later Broadway musicals as The Boys From Syracuse
(1938–39), Too Many Girls
(1939–40), DuBarry Was a Lady
(1939–40), Cabin in the Sky
(1940–41), and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
(1949–51), Top Banana
(1951–52), and Lorelei
(1974). He was a vocal arranger for Sugar Babies
(1979–82).
As a performer, Martin appeared on Broadway in Hooray for What!, Where Do We Go From Here (1938), and Louisiana Purchase
(1940–41).
Ralph Blane
was Martin's songwriting partner for most of his work, and the two recorded an album of their best songs entitled Martin and Blane Sing Martin and Blane with the Ralph Burns Orchestra in 1956 (now available on CD). Martin and Blane were twice nominated for the Academy Award
for Best Song, for "The Trolley Song" in 1944, and for "Pass the Peace Pipe" (also co-written by Roger Edens
) from Good News in 1947. Hugh Martin also received four Tony award
nominations, three for High Spirits (Best Musical, Best Book Author of a Musical, Best Composer and Lyricist) and one for the 1990 Meet Me in St. Louis (Best Original Score).
Martin's other film work included songs for the films Athena
(1954) starring Jane Powell
, Debbie Reynolds
, and Vic Damone
, and The Girl Most Likely
(1957) starring Jane Powell as well as the film version of his Broadway hit Best Foot Forward which starred Lucille Ball
.
Martin collaborated with vocalist Michael Feinstein
for a 1995 CD Michael Feinstein Sings The Hugh Martin Songbook, an album on which the then 80-year-old songwriter accompanied Feinstein on piano and sang a duet. On an earlier CD Feinstein recorded the memorable Martin composition, "On Such a Night as This". He also released an album of his music called Hugh Sings Martin on the record label PS Classics
, which drew from his catalog as a composer, lyricist, arranger and singer. The album was released in conjunction with the Library of Congress
.
Martin, a Seventh-day Adventist
, spent much of the 1980s as an accompanist for gospel female vocalist Del Delker
on her revival tours and in 2001 rewrote his most famous song (with the assistance of Garland biographer John Fricke
) as a more specifically religious number, "Have Yourself A Blessed Little Christmas", which was recorded that year by Delker with the 86-year-old songwriter playing piano on the recording.
and Alabama Music Hall of Fame
and lived in Encinitas, California
.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
, vocal coach
Vocal coach
A vocal coach is a music teacher who instructs singers on how to improve their singing technique, take care of and develop their voice, and prepare for the performance of a song or other work. Vocal coaches may give private music lessons to singers, or they may coach singers who are rehearsing on...
, and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. He is best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
, in which 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...
sang three Martin songs, "The Boy Next Door
The Boy Next Door (song)
"The Boy Next Door" is a 1944 popular song by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane.It was first introduced in the musical film Meet Me in St. Louis, where it was performed by Judy Garland....
," "The Trolley Song
The Trolley Song
"The Trolley Song" is a song written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and made famous by Judy Garland in the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis...
," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics, which has become more common than the original. The song was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane...
." The last of these has become a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season standard in the United States and around the English-speaking world. Martin became a close friend of Garland and was her accompanist at many of her concert performances in the 1950s, including her appearances at the Palace Theater.
Life and career
Martin wrote the music, and in some cases the lyrics, for five Broadway musicals: Best Foot ForwardBest Foot Forward
Best Foot Forward is a 1943 American film adapted from the 1941 Broadway musical comedy of the same title. The film was released by MGM, directed by Edward Buzzell, and starring Lucille Ball, William Gaxton, Virginia Weidler, Chill Wills, June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven, and Nancy Walker.-Plot:The...
(1941); Look Ma, I'm Dancin'! (1948); Make a Wish
Make a Wish (musical)
Make a Wish is a musical with a book by Preston Sturges and Abe Burrows, who was not credited, and music and lyrics by Hugh Martin.Based on Sturges' screenplay for the 1935 film The Good Fairy, which in turn is based on the play of the same name by Ferenc Molnár as translated by Jane Hinton, the...
(1951); High Spirits
High Spirits (musical)
High Spirits is a musical with a book, lyrics, and music by Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray, based on the play Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward, about a man's problems caused by the spirit of his dead wife....
(1964) (music and lyrics, with Timothy Gray
Timothy Gray
Not to be confused with the Editor-in-Chief of Variety Timothy M. Gray, or American football player Tim Gray.Timothy Gray was an American songwriter, author, singer and director, remembered for his partnership with Hugh Martin which produced High Spirits, a musical based on Noel Coward's play,...
); and Meet Me In St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
(1989), a stage version of the film with an expanded score by Martin and Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane was an American composer, lyricist, and performer.-Life and career:Born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Blane was the son of grocery store owners. He attended Tulsa Central High School...
.
Martin's first Broadway credit was as an arranger for the 1937-1938 musical Hooray for What!
Hooray for What!
Hooray for What! is an anti-war musical with music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It introduced the song "Down With Love".-Productions:...
and was a vocal or choral arranger for such later Broadway musicals as The Boys From Syracuse
The Boys from Syracuse
The Boys from Syracuse is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play, The Comedy of Errors, as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemporary rhythms of the 1930s. The show was the first musical...
(1938–39), Too Many Girls
Too Many Girls
Too Many Girls may refer to:*Too Many Girls , a 1939 Broadway musical comedy and a 1940 film version*Two Many Girls , 1967 episode of TV show The Monkees...
(1939–40), DuBarry Was a Lady
DuBarry Was a Lady
DuBarry Was a Lady is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and the book by Herbert Fields and B.G. DeSylva. The musical starred Bert Lahr, Ethel Merman and Betty Grable, and the song "Friendship" was one of the highlights...
(1939–40), Cabin in the Sky
Cabin in the Sky
Cabin in the Sky is a 1943 American musical film with music by Vernon Duke, lyrics by John La Touche, and a musical book by Lynn Root. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 25, 1940. It closed on March 8, 1941 after a total of 156 performances...
(1940–41), and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a musical with a book by Joseph Fields and Anita Loos, lyrics by Leo Robin, and music by Jule Styne, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Loos...
(1949–51), Top Banana
Top Banana
Top Banana is an environmentally-themed platform game produced by Hex and Psycore for the Acorn Archimedes in 1991 and ported to the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST in 1992. The chief artist and coder was Miles Visman, with supporting graphics and sound by Karel Dander, and supporting graphics by...
(1951–52), and Lorelei
Lorelei (musical)
Lorelei is a musical with a book by Kenny Solms and Gail Parent, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Jule Styne. It is a revision of the Joseph Fields-Anita Loos book for the 1949 production Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and includes many of the Jule Styne-Leo Robin songs written for...
(1974). He was a vocal arranger for Sugar Babies
Sugar Babies
Sugar Babies is a musical revue conceived by Ralph G. Allen and Harry Rigby, with music by Jimmy McHugh, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and Al Dubin and various others. The show is a tribute to the old burlesque era...
(1979–82).
As a performer, Martin appeared on Broadway in Hooray for What!, Where Do We Go From Here (1938), and Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
(1940–41).
Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane was an American composer, lyricist, and performer.-Life and career:Born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Blane was the son of grocery store owners. He attended Tulsa Central High School...
was Martin's songwriting partner for most of his work, and the two recorded an album of their best songs entitled Martin and Blane Sing Martin and Blane with the Ralph Burns Orchestra in 1956 (now available on CD). Martin and Blane were twice nominated for the Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Song, for "The Trolley Song" in 1944, and for "Pass the Peace Pipe" (also co-written by Roger Edens
Roger Edens
Roger Edens was a Hollywood composer, arranger and associate producer, and is considered one of the major creative figures in Arthur Freed's musical film production unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the "golden era of Hollywood".-Early career and work with Judy Garland:Edens was born in...
) from Good News in 1947. Hugh Martin also received four Tony award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations, three for High Spirits (Best Musical, Best Book Author of a Musical, Best Composer and Lyricist) and one for the 1990 Meet Me in St. Louis (Best Original Score).
Martin's other film work included songs for the films Athena
Athena (film)
Athena is a romantic musical comedy, starring Jane Powell, Edmund Purdom, Debbie Reynolds, Vic Damone, Louis Calhern, and Norma Varden, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer....
(1954) starring Jane Powell
Jane Powell
Jane Powell is an American singer, dancer and actress.After rising to fame as a singer in her home state of Oregon, Powell was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while still in her teens...
, Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
, and Vic Damone
Vic Damone
Vic Damone is an American singer and entertainer.- Early life :Damone was born Vito Rocco Farinola in Brooklyn, New York to French-Italian immigrants based in Bari, Italy—Rocco and Mamie Farinola. His father was an electrician; and his mother taught piano. His cousin was the actress and singer...
, and The Girl Most Likely
The Girl Most Likely
The Girl Most Likely is a musical about a young woman who ends up engaged to three men at the same time. The film, a remake of Tom, Dick and Harry , was directed by Mitchell Leisen, and stars Jane Powell, Cliff Robertson, and Keith Andes...
(1957) starring Jane Powell as well as the film version of his Broadway hit Best Foot Forward which starred Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
.
Martin collaborated with vocalist Michael Feinstein
Michael Feinstein
Michael Jay Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs...
for a 1995 CD Michael Feinstein Sings The Hugh Martin Songbook, an album on which the then 80-year-old songwriter accompanied Feinstein on piano and sang a duet. On an earlier CD Feinstein recorded the memorable Martin composition, "On Such a Night as This". He also released an album of his music called Hugh Sings Martin on the record label PS Classics
PS Classics
PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals. Founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin, their releases have been critically acclaimed for their meticulous sonic detail and high-quality packaging and...
, which drew from his catalog as a composer, lyricist, arranger and singer. The album was released in conjunction with the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
Martin, a Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
, spent much of the 1980s as an accompanist for gospel female vocalist Del Delker
Del Delker
Del Delker is an American contralto sacred music female vocalist who has sung on the Voice of Prophecy radio ministry since 1947.Delker has recorded over forty albums for Chapel Records since the early 1950s. Among the songs she is best known for are "The Love of God", "Ten Thousand Angels", and...
on her revival tours and in 2001 rewrote his most famous song (with the assistance of Garland biographer John Fricke
John Fricke
John Fricke is a historian/author on The Wizard of Oz and Judy Garland. He has been a major figure in the Oz community for many years. He recently served as consultant for every aspect of the new 2005 deluxe DVD set of M-G-M's The Wizard of Oz, released by Warner Home Video. This includes his...
) as a more specifically religious number, "Have Yourself A Blessed Little Christmas", which was recorded that year by Delker with the 86-year-old songwriter playing piano on the recording.
Other
Martin was the subject of a songbook collection, The Songs of Hugh Martin published by Hal Leonard Publishing in 2008. He published his autobiography Hugh Martin - The Boy Next Door in October 2010 at age 96. Martin was a member of the Songwriters Hall of FameSongwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
and Alabama Music Hall of Fame
Alabama Music Hall of Fame
The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, first conceived by the Muscle Shoals Music Association in the early 1980s, was created by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame Board, which then saw to its Phase One construction of a after a state-wide referendum in 1987...
and lived in Encinitas, California
Encinitas, California
Encinitas is a coastal beach city in San Diego County, California. Located within Southern California, it is approximately north of San Diego in North County and about south of Los Angeles. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 59,518, up from 58,014 at the 2000 census. Encinitas is...
.