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Meredith Willson

1902-1984 US, Mason City, Iowa
Composer / Songwriter / Conductor of Soundtrack and Pop
A.k.a. Robert Meredith Willson

Meredith Willson (born 18 May 1902, Mason City, Iowa, USA – died 15 June 1984, Santa Monica, California, USA) was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright. Willson played the flute and piccolo and was a member of John Philip Sousa’s famous band from 1921 to 1923. He then joined the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1924 to 1929. He is best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 1958 Tony Award winning hit musical The Music Man. The cast recording of The Music Man won the first Grammy Award given for best cast album. Also remembered for playing a regular character on the Burns and Allen radio program, musical director for numerous radio shows and his work on films. He received Academy Awards nominations for writing the music for Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940) and William Wyler's The Little Foxes (1941). Many of his songs have become standards, including Till There Was You a hit for the Beatles in 1963.

     
Genres
  • Soundtrack
  • Pop
  • Jazz
  • Classical
  • Children's Music
Popular Tracks   
Gary, Indiana on The Music Man by Various Artists
The Music Man: Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little on Willson, M.: Music Man by Meredith Willson
The Music Man: Till I Met You (1950 mono recording) on Willson, M.: Music Man by Meredith Willson
The Music Man: Iowa Stubborn on Willson, M.: Music Man by Meredith Willson
Seventy Six Trombones on America, The Beautiful by Boston Pops Orchestra, Aaron Copland, John Williams, Morton Gould, Arthur Fiedler, Samuel A. Ward, Woody Guthrie, Anonymous, Scott Joplin, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Meredith Willson, John Philip Sousa & Charles Ives
Lida Rose on Change to The Music Man by The Hollywood Sound Stage Chorus & The Theatre Orchestra
The Music Man: Till There Was You on Willson, M.: Music Man by Meredith Willson
The Music Man: Seventy-Six Trombones on Willson, M.: Music Man by Meredith Willson
The Wonderful Plan on The Unsinkable Molly Brown by Meredith Willson & Dick Scanlan
I'll Never Say No / My Own Brass Bed on The Unsinkable Molly Brown by Meredith Willson & Dick Scanlan

Track list and 30sec audio provided by


Band Members
Discography



Title Artist Year Type
The Music Man Original Broadway CastMeredith Willson2016Album
Meredith Wilson's The Music Man - Original CastMeredith Willson2016Album
Meredith William's The Music Man SamplerMeredith Willson2000Album
Symphony No. 1 In F Minor, "A Symphony Of San Francisco" / Symphony No. 2 In E Minor, "The Missions Of California"Meredith Willson, The Moscow Symphony Orchestra, William Stromberg1999Album
The Unsinkable Molly Brown Original MGM SoundtrackMeredith Willson1990Album
The Unsinkable Molly Brown (The MGM Sound Track Album)Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell1964Album
Here's Love (Original Broadway Cast)Meredith Willson1963Album
The Music Man - Original SoundtrackMeredith Willson1962Album
The Unsinkable Molly Brown - Original Broadway CastMeredith Willson1960Album
. . . And Then I Wrote The Music ManMeredith Willson1959Album
The Music Man - Original Broadway CastMeredith Willson1958Album
The Music From Meredith Willson's The Music ManMeredith Willson1958Single
The Music From Meredith Willson's The Music ManMeredith Willson1958Album
Meredith Willson's Marching BandMeredith Willson1957Album
While We're Young / Kiss Me GoodnightMeredith Willson1949Album
Chicken FatMeredith WillsonSingle
Meredith Willson's Here's LoveFrank Chacksfield & His Orchestra, Meredith WillsonAlbum
Here's Love (Hit Songs From The New Broadway Musical)The Merrill Staton Voices, Meredith WillsonAlbum
External Links
Wikipedia Logo Wikipedia  MusicBrainz Logo MusicBrainz  Discogs Logo Discogs  iTunes Logo iTunes  Spotify Logo Spotify  
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Acknowledgements
To all the music fans that are contributing on Discogs, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Thanks to Franz Flückiger for providing Storygram used to visualize band membership.
Universal Link: https://music.metason.net/artistinfo?name=Meredith%20Willson
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