Benjamin Weisman (November 16, 1921 – May 20, 2007) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. He wrote 57 songs recorded by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, more than any other

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 gen ...

Biography

Weisman was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, and grew up in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He studied classical piano as a child, and then at the Juilliard School of Music. After being drafted, he became Special Services Music Director for the

U.S. Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, before returning to New York and a career in

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 ...

. Initially, he found success writing with Fred Wise and

Kay Twomey Kathleen G. "Kay" Twomey (April 27, 1914 in Boston, Massachusetts – September 26, 1995 in Wellesley, Massachusetts) was an American songwriter and music arranger. Twomey co-wrote '' Serenade of the Bells'', which reached the Billboard magazine ...

, often using the collective pseudonym "Al Hill". Their early successes included "

Let Me Go, Lover! "Let Me Go, Lover!", a popular song, was written by Jenny Lou Carson and Al Hill, a pen name used by Fred Wise, Kathleen Twomey, and Ben Weisman. It is based on an earlier song called " Let Me Go, Devil", about alcoholism. Background "Let Me ...

", written with

Jenny Lou Carson Jenny Lou Carson, (January 13, 1915 – December 16, 1978), born Virginia Lucille Overstake, was an American country music singer-songwriter and the first woman to write a No. 1 country music hit. From 1945 to 1955 she was one of the most prolifi ...

and recorded by

Joan Weber Joan Weber (December 12, 1935 – May 13, 1981) was an American popular music singer. Early years Weber was raised in Paulsboro, New Jersey, and married to George Verfaillie, a young bandleader. She was pregnant in 1954 when she was intr ...

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

, and many others. Songs written by Ben Weisman, ''MusicVf''
Retrieved 12 October 2022 He signed an exclusive contract with the

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...

Hill & Range Hill & Range (originally "Hill and Range Songs, Inc.") is a music publishing company which was particularly responsible for much of the country music produced in the 1950s and 1960s, and had control over the material recorded by Elvis Presley over ...

, and began writing for Presley at the request of company co-owner

Jean Aberbach Joachim "Jean" Aberbach (12 August 1910 – 24 May 1992) was an Austrian-born American music publisher. With his brother Julian, he was responsible for establishing Hill and Range as one of the leading music publishing houses, responsible for so ...

. Ben Weisman obituary, ''Variety'', May 23, 2007
Retrieved October 12, 2022
Retrieved 12 October 2022 Weisman wrote for Presley from 1956 (" First in Line") to 1971 ("

Change of Habit ''Change of Habit'' is a 1969 American crime drama musical film directed by William A. Graham and starring Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore. Written by James Lee, S.S. Schweitzer, and Eric Bercovici, based on a story by John Joseph and Ric ...

"). Their early association (1957–1962) produced many of the most powerful rockers and poignant ballads in Presley's repertoire, including " Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do", "

Follow That Dream ''Follow That Dream'' is a 1962 American musical film made by Mirisch Productions and starring Elvis Presley. The film was based on the 1959 novel ''Pioneer, Go Home!'' by Richard P. Powell. Producer Walter Mirisch liked the film's song "Follow T ...

", "

Rock-A-Hula Baby "Rock-A-Hula Baby ("Twist" Special)" is a 1961 song recorded by Elvis Presley and performed in the 1961 film '' Blue Hawaii''. The song was also released as a single. Background The song was recorded on March 23, 1961 at Radio Recorders in Hollywo ...

", " Crawfish", " As Long as I Have You", "

Pocketful of Rainbows "Pocketful of Rainbows" is a song from the 1960 Elvis Presley album, ''G.I. Blues (soundtrack), G.I. Blues'', written by Fred Wise (lyricist), Fred Wise and Ben Weisman. Song information The song was recorded on May 6, 1960, at RCA Victors Hollywo ...

" and " Fame and Fortune". Weisman later said:

"I approached writing for Elvis differently than I did for any other artist. The songs had to have a combination of blues, country, rock and pop - what came to be called 'rockabilly'. It was like walking in his musical shoes. With each new Elvis movie, more of my songs were being recorded. It became more and more exciting, for I was becoming the only songwriter to have so many songs recorded by him. After completing each song, I would make a demonstration record, using a singer that could copy Elvis' sound. I used the same type of rhythm section that he used, with the same type of vocal backgrounds. The end result was a tailor-made production, just for him.... My friendship with Elvis developed during the studio sessions in Hollywood, to which I was always invited to attend. Since they copied my demos note-for-note, Elvis liked to have me around in case there were any problems. He had a great sense of humor, and used to call me the 'Mad Professor.'"

Weisman also co-wrote hit songs for other artists, including " The Night Has a Thousand Eyes", written with Dorothy Wayne and Marilyn Garrett, and recorded by

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty-e ...

. Ben Weisman died in 2007 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, surrounded by friends and family.

References

External links

Interview with Ben Weisman
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weisman, Ben Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island American male composers Songwriters from Rhode Island 1921 births 2007 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in California 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters