Bernard D. Hanighen (April 27, 1908 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 ...

– October 19, 1976 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York) Attended Hackley School (Tarrytown, New York) - Class of 1926, also attended Harvard University - Class of 1930. He was an American songwriter and record producer best known for " When a Woman Loves a Man" and writing lyrics to the jazz composition " 'Round Midnight" which was composed by jazz musician

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

. Hanighen also worked with Clarence Williams and Johnny Mercer.

Songwriting career

Hanighen composed lyrics for the 1946

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

Lute Song The term lute song is given to a music style from the late 16th century to early 17th century, late Renaissance to early Baroque, that was predominantly in England and France. Lute songs were generally in strophic form or verse repeating with a h ...

'', which starred

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...

and

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in th ...

, and which featured music by

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is ...

. Bernie Hanighen and

Cootie Williams Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter. Biography Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Yo ...

collaborated to transform Thelonious Monk's bop masterpiece "'Round Midnight", creating what became a standard in the vocal canon thanks to performances by Mel Tormé,

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 ...

, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Chris Connor, and Julie London.

Producing Billie Holiday

From 1936 to 1939, Hanighen co-produced

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 ...

's early Columbia recordings with John Hammond. He and Holiday remained close friends. She wrote in her 1956 autobiography, '' Lady Sings the Blues'':

Bernie almost lost his job at Columbia fighting for me. A lot of guys were big tippers uptown, but when it came to fighting for you downtown, they were nowhere. Not Bernie. He was the cause of me making my first records under my own name - not as anybody's damn vocalist, but Billie Holiday period, and then the list of musicians backing me. Bernie Hanighen is a great guy.

References

External links

* * 1908 births 1976 deaths Songwriters from Nebraska Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska Record producers from Nebraska Jazz record producers 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American businesspeople Harvard College alumni Hackley School alumni {{songwriter-stub