Curtis Reginald Lewis (August 29, 1918 – May 23, 1969), American composer of popular songs, many of which have become jazz standards. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas, grew up in Chicago, and came to New York City in the 1940s. Lewis subsequently became one of the first black composers and lyricists to own a music publishing company on Broadway in the early 1950s. He died in

Kew Gardens, New York Kew Gardens is a neighborhood in the central area of the New York City borough of Queens. Kew Gardens is bounded to the north by the Union Turnpike and the Jackie Robinson Parkway (formerly the Interboro Parkway), to the east by the Van Wyck Exp ...

. Having served in the United States Army during World War II (from August 22, 1942, discharged as a Staff Sergeant December 2, 1945), his body was interred at the Long Island National Cemetery,

Farmingdale, NY Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York. The population was 8,189 as of the 2010 Census. The Lenox Hills neighborhood is adjacent to Bethpage State Park and the rest of ...

Selected compositions

*"All Night Long" ::

Shirley Horn Shirley Valerie Horn (May 1, 1934 – October 20, 2005) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She collaborated with many jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and othe ...

; Album: ''All Night Long'' (1981) :: Billie Holiday :: George Shearing Quintet with Nancy Wilson; Album: ''The Swingin's Mutual!'' :: Freddie Roach; Album: ''Brown Sugar'' ::

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

; Album: ''Sweet Bitter Love'' :: Sonny Criss; Album: '' Crisscraft'' (Muse, 1975) ::Sandy Graham; Album: ''Sandy Graham'' :: Elkie Brooks; Album: ''No More the Fool: The Collection'' ::Rolf Delfos, Marijn Wijnands; Album: ''Complete Boulevard of Broken Dreams'' ::Beverley Staunton, Album: ''Here's to You'' :: Mary Stallings; Album: ''Live at the Village Vanguard'' :: Mary Stallings; Album: ''San Francisco Jazz Festival'' ::

Dylan Cramer Dylan Cramer (born January 21, 1958 in North Vancouver, British Columbia), is a Canadian alto saxophonist, jazz musician and author. Career Cramer took up the saxophone at age 13, after the sudden death of his father. Four years later in 1977, Cra ...

; Album: ''All Night Long'' (2001) :: Nancy Wilson; Album: ''Lady Sings the Blues'' :: Joe Sample, Randy Crawford; Album: ''Feeling Good'' :: Diana Krall; Album: ''

Only Trust Your Heart ''Only Trust Your Heart'' is the second studio album by Canadian singer Diana Krall, released on February 14, 1995, by GRP Records. Track listing Personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Only Trust Your Heart''. Musicians * Diana ...

'' (1995) *"All Soul" *"Blue City" ::

; Album: ''Embers And Ashes'' (1960) *"Fortune Teller, Marion Keene" (1955) *"Garden of the Blues Suite, The" *"Great City, The" *"He Never Mentioned Love" ::

; Album: ''Embers And Ashes'' (1960) :: Claire Martin; Album: ''He Never Mentioned Love'' (2007) ::

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

; Album: ''The Complete Sarah Vaughan On Mercury Vol. 4 - 1963–1967'' *"He’s Gone Again" *"Now or Never" — Billie Holiday (music), Curtis R. Lewis (words) *"Old Country" *"Roaming Lover" *"

Today I Sing the Blues "Today I Sing the Blues" is a song written by Curtis Lewis and performed by Aretha Franklin. The song reached number 10 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1960. The song appeared on her 1961 album, '' Aretha''. The song was produced by John Hammond.. F ...

" *"What Would a Woman Do?" *"You Oughta Be Mine"

Selected albums

The Garden of the Blues ''The Garden of the Blues'' is a live album by jazz vocalist/pianist Shirley Horn, performing the compositions of Curtis Lewis, which was recorded in Florida in 1984 and released on the Danish SteepleChase Records, SteepleChase label.Fitzgerald, ...

sings Curtis Lewis
Steeple Chase Records

Film and TV

*'' Blown Away'' (1994): song, ''All Night Long'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Curtis Reginald 1918 births 1987 deaths Songwriters from Texas African-American songwriters 20th-century American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians