Ann Ronell (née Rosenblatt; December 25, 1905 — December 25, 1993) was an American composer and

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

. She was best known for the standards "

Willow Weep for Me "Willow Weep for Me" is a popular song composed in 1932 by Ann Ronell, who also wrote the lyrics. The song form is AABA, written in time,Zimmers, Tighe, E. (2009). ''Tin Pan Alley Girl: A Biography of Ann Ronell''. McFarland. pp. 19-22. altho ...

" (1932) and "

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" is a popular song written by Frank Churchill with additional lyrics by Ann Ronell, which originally featured in the 1933 Disney cartoon ''Three Little Pigs (film), Three Little Pigs'', where it was sung by Fiddle ...

" (1933).

Early life

Ronell was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, to Morris and Mollie Rosenblatt. Ronell graduated from Omaha's Central High School in 1923. She enrolled in

Wheaton College, Massachusetts Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college in Norton, Massachusetts. Wheaton was founded in 1834 as a female seminary. The trustees officially changed the name of the Wheaton Female Seminary to Wheaton College in 1912 after receiving ...

, but transferred after her sophomore year to pursue a more serious music education.Benjamin Sears
"Ann Ronell"
''American National Biography Online'', 2000 She graduated from Radcliffe College, where she studied music with

Walter Piston Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter Ha ...

. While at Radcliffe, Ronell wrote music for college plays and contributed reviews and interviews to the school's music publication. After interviewing

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, she struck up a friendship with the composer, who hired her as a rehearsal pianist for his show '' Rosalie''. It was Gershwin who suggested that she change her name from Rosenblatt to Ronell.

Music career

Ronell was, along with

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...

Dana Suesse Nadine Dana Suesse (; December 3, 1911 – October 16, 1987) was an American musician, composer and lyricist. Biography Dana Suesse was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1909. When she grew too tall for ballet, she began piano lessons with Gertru ...

, and

Kay Swift Katharine Faulkner "Kay" Swift (April 19, 1897 – January 28, 1993) was an American composer of popular and classical music, the first woman to score a hit musical completely. Written in 1930, the Broadway musical '' Fine and Dandy'' includes s ...

, one of the first successful Hollywood and

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

female composers or librettists. In 1929 she put her first song in a show, ''Down By the River.'' In 1930, she wrote her first hit, "Baby's Birthday Party." Originally written for a musical, Ronell shopped the song around several music publishers to no avail until Famous Music agreed to publish it. In 1932, she produced the two more songs that gained her notoriety, "Rain on the Roof" and "Willow Weep for Me," the latter of which she dedicated to George Gershwin. In 1933, Ronell moved to Hollywood. There, she cowrote Disney's first hit song, "

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" is a popular song written by Frank Churchill with additional lyrics by Ann Ronell, which originally featured in the 1933 Disney cartoon ''Three Little Pigs'', where it was sung by Fiddler Pig and Fifer Pig (voic ...

" with Frank Churchill for the cartoon ''

Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house ...

'' (1933). She was notable for being one of the only composers at the time to handle both music and lyrics. She wrote the lyrics and music for the Broadway musical ''Count Me In'' (1942) She wrote songs for movies including ''Champagne Waltz'' (1937) and ''Blockade'' (1938) and wrote the scores for movies including the Lester Cowan-produced ''

The Story of G.I. Joe ''The Story of G.I. Joe'', also credited in prints as ''Ernie Pyle's Story of G.I. Joe'', is a 1945 American war film directed by William A. Wellman, starring Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, i ...

'' (1945), the film adaptation of the Weill/Nash musical ''

One Touch of Venus ''One Touch of Venus'' is a 1943 musical with music written by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash, and book by S. J. Perelman and Nash, based on the 1885 novella ''The Tinted Venus'' by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, and very loosely spoofing the Pygma ...

'' (1948), and the Marx Brothers' ''

Love Happy ''Love Happy'' is a 1949 American musical comedy film, released by United Artists, directed by David Miller and starring the Marx Brothers (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx and Chico Marx) in their 13th and final feature film, as well as a memorable wa ...

'' (1949). She served as musical director for ''

Main Street to Broadway ''Main Street to Broadway'' is a 1953 American romantic musical comedy-drama film by independent producer Lester Cowan, his final credit, in collaboration with The Council of the Living Theatre, which provided tie-up with a number of well-known ...

'' (1953). She was nominated for Best Song, "Linda," and with co-composer Louis Applebaum for Best Score, for her work on ''

''.

Legacy

Ronell's work scoring films was influential in the field. Her score for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' was the first drama to feature a theme song sung over the credits. She was also the first to produce a record from a film score, which she did with ''

Ladies in Retirement ''Ladies in Retirement'' is a 1941 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward, who were married at the time. It is based on a 1940 Broadway play of the same title by Reginald Denham and Edward Percy t ...

''. In 1942, Ronell became the first woman to write both the music and lyrics for a broadway show with ''Count Me In''. "Willow Weep for Me," Ronell's most famous song, has been recorded by such notable artists as

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

, Frank Sinatra,

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

, Nancy Wilson,

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Lena Horne, Julie London,

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

, Sarah Vaughan, June Christy, and Chad & Jeremy, whose version became a top 20 single hit in 1965. ( Source: Billboard Hot 100 Charts)

Family

She married producer Lester Cowan. The couple had no children.

Significant songs

* "Baby's Birthday Party" (1930) * "There's A Woman With The Man In The Moon" (1931) (lyric by Lu C Bender) Kay Cotterill, kaysmusic * "Rain On The Roof" (1932) * "

" (1932) * "

" (1933)

Work on Broadway

*''Count Me In'' (1942) -

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

- composer and

*''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

'' (1953) -

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

- composer for the "

Lullaby A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...

" *''Blues in the Night'' (1982) -

- featured

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

for "

References

External links

Ann Ronell Papers
the composer's personal papers in th

o
Ann Ronell
at the Internet Broadway Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Ronell, Ann American women composers American women jazz musicians American jazz composers Women jazz composers 1905 births 1993 deaths Jazz musicians from New York (state) Jewish American songwriters Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska Musicians from New York City Songwriters from Nebraska Radcliffe College alumni 20th-century American composers Broadway composers and lyricists Songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American women musicians Jazz musicians from Nebraska 20th-century jazz composers 20th-century women composers 20th-century American Jews Wheaton College (Massachusetts) alumni