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 Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(from August 22, 1942, discharged as a Staff Sergeant December 2, 1945), his body was interred at the

Long Island National Cemetery Long Island National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Suffolk County, New York. It is surrounded by a group of other separate cemeteries and memorial parks situated along Wellwood Avenue (County Road 3) – these include Pi ...

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 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 si ...

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 t ...

Quintet with Nancy Wilson; Album: ''The Swingin's Mutual!'' ::

Freddie Roach Frederick Steven Roach (born March 5, 1960) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer. Roach is widely regarded as one of the best boxing trainers of all time. He is the enduring boxing coach of the eight-division world champio ...

; 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 William "Sonny" Criss (23 October 1927 – 19 November 1977) was an American jazz musician. An alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker. Biography William Criss wa ...

; Album: ''

Crisscraft ''Crisscraft'' is a 1975 album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Criss, originally released on the Muse Records, Muse label, and later reissued on 32 Jazz.Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1946) is an English rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest success in the late 1970s and 1980 ...

; 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 Mary Stallings (born August 16, 1939) is an American jazz vocalist and mother of soul singer Adriana Evans. Biography One of eleven children, Mary Stallings was born in San Francisco, California. She grew up in the neighborhood of Laurel Hei ...

; Album: ''Live at the Village Vanguard'' ::

; Album: ''San Francisco Jazz Festival'' :: Dylan Cramer; Album: ''All Night Long'' (2001) :: Nancy Wilson; Album: ''Lady Sings the Blues'' ::

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...

Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has ap ...

; Album: ''Feeling Good'' ::

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 ...

; 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" —

(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