Johnny Marks was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

. Although he was Jewish, he specialized in Christmas songs

Christmas music

Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...

 and wrote many standards, including "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (a hit for Gene Autry

Gene Autry

Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...

 and others), "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1864 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.- Origin :...

" (first recorded by 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....

), "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Rockin' around the Christmas Tree

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958 on Decca 9-30776.-Background:...

" (a hit for Brenda Lee

Brenda Lee

Brenda Mae Tarpley , known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis...

), and "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (recorded by the Quinto Sisters and later by Burl Ives

Burl Ives

Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....

), and Run Rudolph Run

Run Rudolph Run

"Run, Rudolph, Run" is a Christmas song popularized by Chuck Berry and written by Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie and published by St. Nicholas Music . The song was first recorded by Berry in 1958 and released as Chess Records 1714...

 (recorded by Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...

).

Early life

Marks was born in Mount Vernon, New York

Mount Vernon, New York

Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City borough of The Bronx.-Overview:...

. A graduate of the McBurney School in Trumbull, CT, Colgate

Colgate University

Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...

, and Columbia

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 Universities, Marks later studied in Paris. He earned a Bronze Star

Bronze Star Medal

The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...

 and four Battle Stars as a Captain in the 26th Special Service Company during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Marks had three children: Michael, Laura and David. He is a great-uncle of economist Steven Levitt

Steven Levitt

Steven David "Steve" Levitt is an American economist known for his work in the field of crime, in particular on the link between legalized abortion and crime rates. Winner of the 2004 John Bates Clark Medal, he is currently the William B...

Career

Among Marks's many works is "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer", which was based on a poem by the same name, written by Marks’s brother-in-law, Robert L. May

Robert L. May (Rudolph)

Robert Lewis May was the creator of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.-Life and career: Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1926...

, Rudolph's creator. Although "Frosty the Snowman

Frosty the Snowman

"Frosty the Snowman" is a popular song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. It was written after the success of Autry's recording of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" the previous year; Rollins and Nelson shipped the...

" and "Jingle Bell Rock

Jingle Bell Rock

"Jingle Bell Rock" is the name of a popular Christmas song first released by Bobby Helms in 1957. It has received frequent airplay in the United States during every Christmas time since then. "Jingle Bell Rock" was composed by Joseph Carleton Beal , and James Ross Boothe...

" have the same musical structure as "Rudolph," "Rockin'," and "Holly Jolly," they were written by different authors.

In addition to his songwriting, he founded St. Nicholas Music in 1949, and served as director of ASCAP from 1957 to 1961. In 1981, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Songwriters 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...

.

Christmas Songs

• Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer – 1949 (inspired by a poem by Robert L. May, Marks' brother-in-law)
• When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter – 1952
• The Night Before Christmas Song – 1952
• An Old-Fashioned Christmas – 1952
• Everyone's a Child at Christmas – 1956
• I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
  I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
  "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1864 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.- Origin :...
  
   – 1956 (words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
  
  , adapted by Marks)
• Run Rudolph Run
  Run Rudolph Run
  "Run, Rudolph, Run" is a Christmas song popularized by Chuck Berry and written by Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie and published by St. Nicholas Music . The song was first recorded by Berry in 1958 and released as Chess Records 1714...
  
   - 1958
• Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
  Rockin' around the Christmas Tree
  "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958 on Decca 9-30776.-Background:...
  
   – 1958
• A Merry, Merry Christmas to You – 1959
• The Santa Claus Parade – 1959
• A Caroling We Go - 1966
• Joyous Christmas - 1969

From the 1964 CBS/Rankin-Bass TV Production Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer

• A Holly Jolly Christmas – 1965 (separate single release), 1964-65**
• Jingle, Jingle, Jingle – 1964
• The Most Wonderful Day of the Year – 1964
• Silver and Gold
  Silver and Gold
  The term Silver and Gold may refer to:*Silver and Gold , an album by ASAP*Silver & Gold , an album by Vanessa L. Williams*Silver & Gold, an album by Neil Young*Silver and Gold, a song by U2...
  
   – 1964-65**
• We Are Santa's Elves – 1964
• There's Always Tomorrow - 1964
• The Island of Misfit Toys - 1964
• We're a Couple of Misfits - 1964

** Burl Ives released "A Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Silver and Gold," two songs he sang as his character Sam the Snowman, as singles for the 1965 holiday season, the year after the TV production.

Other

• Happy New Year Darling – 1946 (with J. Carmen Lombardo)
• Address Unknown
• Chicken Today and Feathers Tomorrow
• Don't Cross Your Fingers, Cross Your Heart
• Free
• How Long Is Forever?
• I Guess There's an End to Everything
• Neglected
• She'll Always Remember
• Summer Holiday
• There's Always Tomorrow
• We Speak of You Often
• What've You Got to Lose But Your Heart
• Who Calls?