Louis Isidore "Buddy" Bregman (July 9, 1930 – January 8, 2017) was an American arranger and conductor.
Biography
Bregman was born in Chicago. His father was an executive in the steel industry. His uncle was songwriter Jule Styne. He spent summers in Hollywood with Styne, observing him compose music. Bregman wrote his first arrangement when he was eleven years old.
After two years at the University of California in Los Angeles, he left to pursue a career in music. He wrote an arrangement for the song "Bazoom I Need Your Lovin'" (1954) by
The Cheers
The Cheers were an American vocal group, that had a string of novelty hits for Capitol Records in the mid-1950s starting with "(Bazoom) I Need Your Lovin'" which hit number fifteen on the U.S. chart in 1954. This was the first hit written by Jerry ...
, written by
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...
. In 1955 he was appointed orchestra leader for the ''Gary Crosby Show'' on CBS radio.
At the age of 25 Bregman became head of artists and repertoire (A&R) at
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...
, founded and run by
Norman Granz
Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo. Granz was acknowledged as "the most successful impres ...
, after meeting with Granz at the home of Rosemary Clooney and José Ferrer. He arranged and conducted Verve's first single ("I'm With You"/"The Rock and Roll Waltz") and first album, ''Anita'', both featuring vocals by
Anita O'Day
Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band app ...
. In 1956 Bregman arranged and conducted three albums which were certified platinum by the RIAA. The first two recordings in Ella Fitzgerald's '' Songbooks'' were arranged by Bregman: the Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers entries. He also arranged several of Fitzgerald's early Verve singles. Learning that Bing Crosby was out of his exclusive contract at
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
, in 1956 Bregman conceived, arranged and conducted ''
Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings
''Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings'' was Bing Crosby's sixth LP, his first album for Verve, recorded and released in a mono format in 1956.
''Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings'' was a stylistic departure for Crosby, marking the first time he re ...
'', which was certified platinum. During the same year, he was arranger and conductor for ''The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards''. Bregman arranged and conducted on albums for Toni Harper,
Jane Powell
Jane Powell (born Suzanne Lorraine Burce; April 1, 1929 – September 16, 2021) was an American actress, singer, and dancer who first appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s and 50s. With her soprano voice and girl-next-door image ...
,
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...
, and for his friend
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
, including several of Astaire's own songs.
Bregman arranged and conducted tracks such as "Let There Be Love" (
Trend
A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period.
Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve shor ...
) for
Bobby Shaw
Bobby T. Shaw II (born April 23, 1975 in San Francisco, California) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. Shaw has played for five NFL teams: Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, ...
, "
Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody
"Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" is a popular song written by Jean Schwartz, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. The song was introduced by Al Jolson in the Broadway musical '' Sinbad'' and published in 1918.
Probably the best- ...
" (
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
The Wayward Wind
"The Wayward Wind" is a country song written by Stanley Lebowsky (music) and Herb Newman (lyrics).
Members of the Western Writers of America chose the song as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
Background
The “Wayward Wind” of th ...
" (
Era
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
) for
Gogi Grant
Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg (September 20, 1924 – March 10, 2016), known professionally as Gogi Grant, was an American pop singer. She is best known for her No. 1 hit in 1956, "The Wayward Wind".
Life and career
Grant was born Myrtle Audrey Arin ...
.
In addition, he produced a selection of his own instrumental albums, such as ''The Gershwin Anniversary Album'', ''Funny Face & Other Gershwin Tunes'', ''Swinging Kicks'', ''Swingin' Standards'', ''Dig Buddy in Hi-Fi'', ''Symphony of the Golden West'', ''Anita O'Day – Rules of the Road'', and ''That Swing''. After leaving Verve, he became music director for ''
The Eddie Fisher Show
''The Eddie Fisher Show'' is an American musical comedy/variety television series starring Eddie Fisher. The series alternated on Tuesday nights with ''The George Gobel Show'' with episodes running from October 1, 1957 – March 17, 1959 on NB ...
'', then his own show, '' The Music Shop''.
He was involved in creating the scores or orchestrations for several motion pictures in this period: ''
Five Guns West
''Five Guns West'' is a 1955 Western film set during the American Civil War directed by Roger Corman. It was Corman's first film as director although he had already made two as producer. It was the second film released by the American Releasing ...
'' (1955), ''
Crime in the Streets
''Crime in the Streets'' is a 1956 film about juvenile delinquency, directed by Don Siegel and based on a television play written by Reginald Rose. The play first appeared on the Elgin Hour and was directed by Sidney Lumet.
The film, starring J ...
The Pajama Game
''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell.
The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his ...
'' (1957), including scoring all of the
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...
dance numbers, ''The Delicate Delinquent'', '' Born Reckless'' (1958), ''Secret of the Purple Reef'' (1960), and ''
The Cat Burglar
''The Cat Burglar'' is a 1961 American neo-noir crime film written by actor and former criminal Leo Gordon and directed by William Witney. It starred Jack Hogan, June Kenney and John Baer.David Attenborough for BBC 2 in 1964. In 1966, he was appointed head of light entertainment for the weekday ITV company
Rediffusion London
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...
.
Bregman wrote '' Jump Jim Crow'' – a musical for the Royal Shakespeare Company – and moved into London-based independent TV and film production. He produced and directed ''The New-Fangled Wandering Minstrel Show'', a TV special starring
Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
and
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...
.
After returning to the United States, Bregman worked as a producer and director on television programs.
In late 2004, Bregman was tasked with arranging and conducting a 16-track vocal album of old and newer pop/jazz standards. It features an 18-piece big band of West Coast sidemen
Hubert Laws
Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 40 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm- ...
, Ricky Woodard, Charles Owens, George Bohannon, Bobby Rodriguez,
Patrice Rushen
Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director.
Her 1982 single "Forget Me Nots" received a Grammy Awar ...
, Roberto Miranda, and others. These sessions were recorded over two days in May 2006 at the Quincy Jones / Michael Jackson designed signature studio, 'D', at Westlake Recording Studios, with the UCLA's and CJO's Charley Harrison serving as MD. The album was conceived and self-produced by actor and amateur baritone, Tom Mark. Vocals were recorded by Mark at Westlake Recording Studios in May and November 2006. Bregman also recorded 'scratch' vocals against each and every one of his own session-tracks during studio downtime at Westlake.
Bregman was married to actress Suzanne Lloyd from 1961 to 1988; the couple had a daughter,
Tracey E. Bregman
Tracey Elizabeth Bregman is an American soap opera actress. She is best known for the role of Lauren Fenmore on ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful''.
Early life
Bregman was born May 29, 1963, in Munich, Germany to A ...
, an actress on television soap operas. On January 8, 2017, she confirmed that Bregman had died from complications of Alzheimer's disease, which he had suffered from for many years.