The SongHall was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of inductee and long-time Board Member George David Weiss on August 23rd.
Born on April 9, 1921 in New York, Weiss originally planned a career as a lawyer or accountant, but his love for music led him to the Julliard School of Music where he honed his skills in writing and arranging. This experience led to writing arrangements for Stan Kenton, Vincent Lopez and Johnny Richards.
Mr. Weiss went on to write some of the most popular pop songs of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. He worked with many collaborators, but a large number of his well-known songs were written with Bennie Benjamin. Some of their songs include “Rumors Are Flying” (1946, Frankie Carle, Les Paul), “Surrender” (1946, Perry Como), “Confess” (1948, Patti Page), “I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore” (1949, Gordon Jenkins), “Can Anyone Explain? (No! No! No!)” (1950, The Ames Brothers, Ray Anthony), “Echoes” (1950, Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae), “I’ll Never Be Free” (1950, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan, Kay Starr), “To Think You’ve Chosen Me” (1950, Eddy Howard), “I Ran All the Way Home” (1951, Sarah Vaughan), “Jet” (1951, Nat “King” Cole), “Wheel of Fortune” (1952, Kay Starr), “Cross Over the Bridge” (1954, Patti Page), and “How Important Can It Be?” (1955, Joni James).
He also had successful song hits with other composers, including “Lullaby of Birdland” (1952, with George Shearing), “Can’t Help Falling In Love” (1961, with Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, recorded by Elvis Presley), “What A Wonderful World” (1967, with Bob Thiele, recorded by Louis Armstrong), “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (1961, with Peretti and Creatore, recorded by the Tokens), and “That Sunday, That Summer” (1963, with Joe Sherman, recorded by Nat “King” Cole). Weiss’ movie scores include Murder, Inc. (1960), Gidget Goes to Rome (1963), Mediterranean Holiday (1964), and Mademoiselle (1966).
Additionally, Mr. Weiss collaborated on Broadway musicals, such as Mr. Wonderful (1956, with Jerry Bock and Larry Holofcener), which starred Sammy Davis, Jr. and featured the title song as well as “Too Close For Comfort.” Others included First Impressions, based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1959, with Robert Goldman and Glenn Paxton), and Maggie Flynn (1968, with Peretti and Creatore), set in New York during the Civil War, which starred Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy. Weiss and Will Severin composed the family musical, A Tale of Cinderella, which premiered in December 1994 at the Theater Institute in Troy, New York and filmed for presentation on PBS.
Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984, Mr. Weiss also served on the Songwriters Hall of Fame Board for many years, and he will be greatly missed.
Photo: Sam Teicher Collection/Songwriters Hall of Fame