Arthur Hamilton Stern (born October 22, 1926),Stern, Arthur “Art”
''Mar-Ken.org''. Retrieved January 14, 2016 known professionally as Arthur Hamilton, is an American songwriter. He is best known for writing the song " Cry Me a River", first published in 1953, and recorded by

Julie London Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty albums ...

and numerous other artists.

Biography

Arthur "Art" Stern was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington, the son of songwriter and comedian Jacob Abraham "Jack" Stern (1896–1985) and Grace Hamilton Stern Leet (1883–1953). He moved as an infant with his family to Hollywood, California. He learned piano as a child, and also studied music theory and

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

. He later began using the name Arthur Hamilton. In 1949 he wrote an early live television musical for

KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outle ...

in Los Angeles, California. He also worked for a music publishing company. In 1953, when under contract to

Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Joe Friday, Sgt. Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise) ...

, he contributed three songs to the film '' Pete Kelly's Blues'', including " Sing A Rainbow" and "He Needs Me", sung by

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

. However, Hamilton's third song, " Cry Me a River", sung by

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 ...

, was dropped from the film, although Ella did go on to record it later in her career. The song's first release and most famous recording was by actress and singer Julie London – who had been Jack Webb's wife "How London Found Path To "River"", ''Billboard'', 11 November 2000, p.45
/ref> – in 1955. Her performance of the song in the 1956 film ''

The Girl Can't Help It ''The Girl Can't Help It'' is a 1956 American musical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield in the titular role, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, and Julie London. The picture was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenpl ...

'' helped to make it a million-selling hit, reaching # 9 in the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' chart and # 22 in the UK. The song, which was also covered by Joe Cocker in 1970, contains the lyric: 'told me love was too plebeian, told me you were through with me 'n...'. In 2010, Hamilton attended a recording session at

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

in Los Angeles, where the song was performed by

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

. His compositions have been recorded by

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 ...

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

, Harry Connick Jr.,

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 List ...

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

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 ...

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, '' Billboard'' maga ...

The Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

(whose version of "Sing a Rainbow" was an international hit in 1969), and others. On many occasions, Hamilton worked exclusively as a lyricist; his long list of collaborators includes such composers as

Walter Jurmann Walter Jurmann (October 12, 1903 - June 17, 1971) was an Austrian-born composer of popular music renowned for his versatility who, after emigrating to the United States, specialized in film scores and soundtracks. Biography Born in Vienna, Jurman ...

Armando Manzanero Armando Manzanero Canché (7 December 1935 – 28 December 2020) was a Mexican Mayan musician, singer, composer, actor and music producer, widely considered the premier Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era and one of the most successfu ...

Jerry Fielding Jerry Fielding (born Joshua Itzhak Feldman; June 17, 1922 – February 17, 1980)Redman, Nick"Fielding, Jerry" Jackson, Kenneth T.; Markoe, Karen E.; Markoe, Arnold (1995). ''Dictionary of American Biography; Supplement 10: 1976–1980''. New ...

Johnny Mandel John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many son ...

David Raksin David Raksin (August 4, 1912 – August 9, 2004) was an American composer who was noted for his work in film and television. With more than 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit, he became known as the "Grandfather of Film Music ...

, Robert Ragland,

Riz Ortolani Riziero Ortolani (; 25 March 192623 January 2014) was an Italian composer, conductor, and orchestrator, predominantly of film scores. He scored over 200 films and television programs between 1955 and 2014, with a career spanning over fifty year ...

Terry Trotter Terry William Trotter (born October 5, 1940) is an American jazz pianist and piano teacher living in Los Angeles. He has recorded with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, Larry Carlton, and many others. Tro ...

, Lori Barth, Barry Mann,

Dave Grusin Robert David "Dave" Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record w ...

Walter Scharf Walter Scharf (August 1, 1910 – February 24, 2003) was an American musician, best known as a film, television and concert composer and arranger/conductor. Biography Broadway theatre Born in Manhattan, he was the son of Yiddish theatre comic B ...

Joe Harnell Joseph Harnell (August 2, 1924 – July 14, 2005) was an American composer, musician, and music arranger. Early life His father was a vaudeville performer who also played in jazz and klezmer ensembles. Harnell began playing piano at age six and ...

Leroy Holmes Alvin LeRoy Holmes (September 22, 1913 – July 27, 1986) was an American songwriter, composer, arranger, orchestra conductor and record producer. Biography Holmes graduated from Hollywood High School, studied music at Northwestern Univer ...

Harriet Schock Harriet Schock (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, teacher, author, and actress. She made three albums for a major label in the 1970s, scoring gold and platinum awards for her Grammy-nominated " Ain't No Way to Treat a La ...

, Ron Anthony, and Patrick Williams. Hamilton has also been nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

, two

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s, and a Golden Globe. He is a member of the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Music Branch), and a member of the board of the

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

Foundation. "About The ASCAP Foundation"
Retrieved 7 March 2020

References

External links

*
Arthur Hamilton
''TheMusicEdge.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Arthur Living people 1926 births Musicians from Seattle Songwriters from Washington (state)