Hugo E. Peretti (December 6, 1916 – May 1, 1986) was an American songwriter, trumpeter, and record producer. Born 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 ...

to an Italian American family, Peretti began his music career as a teenager, playing the trumpet in the

Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York, straddling both Upstate New York and the north ...

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

. He graduated to playing with orchestras, then in the 1950s partnered with his cousin

Luigi Creatore Luigi Federico Creatore (December 21, 1921 – December 13, 2015) was an American songwriter and record producer. Creatore was born in New York City in 1921, the son of noted Italian-born bandleader and composer Giuseppe Creatore. After serving w ...

to form the

Hugo & Luigi Hugo & Luigi were an American record producing team, made up of songwriters and producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, who shared an office in New York's Brill Building. Besides their working relationship, they were cousins. Background Firs ...

songwriting team that evolved to producing records. In 1957 they bought into

Roulette Records Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed direc ...

, where they wrote songs for various artists such as

Valerie Carr Valerie Carr (born 1936, New York City, United States) is an American singer, best known for being a One-hit wonders in the UK, one hit wonder. Career Valerie Carr sound recording and reproduction, recorded for King Records (USA), King Records ...

, and produced major hits for

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...

, including "

Honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. beekeeping, Beekee ...

" (

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

#1), " Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" (Billboard #3), "

Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again" is a popular song written by Al Hoffman, Dick Manning, George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore and published in 1958. The best-known recording of the song was done by Jimmie Rodgers, charting in 195 ...

", and "

Secretly "Secretly" is a popular song. It was written by Al Hoffman, Dick Manning, Mark Markwell, and Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore and published in 1958. The best-known recording of the song was done by Jimmie Rodgers, which was a gold record. Chart ...

". Two years later, Peretti and Creatore signed a contract with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

, where they produced recordings for pop

crooner Crooner is a term used to describe primarily male singers who performed using a smooth style made possible by better microphones which picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to access a more dynamic range ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television personality

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

. They also produced recordings for

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

and

Ray Peterson Ray Peterson (April 23, 1935 – January 25, 2005) was an American pop music, pop singing, singer who is best remembered for singing "Tell Laura I Love Her". He also scored numerous other hits, including "Corrine, Corrina" which was compose ...

and wrote English lyrics for the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n composer

Solomon Linda Solomon Popoli Linda (19098 September 1962), also known as Solomon Ntsele ("Linda" was his clan name),Gilmore, Inigo"Penniless sisters fight record industry over father's hit song" ''The Telegraph'' (UK), 11 June 2000. was a South African musici ...

's song "

The Lion Sleeps Tonight "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube" for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda's original was written in isiZulu, while the English version's lyrics were wri ...

", which became a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

for

The Tokens The Tokens were an American doo-wop band and record production company group from Brooklyn, New York City. The group has had four top 40 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, all in the 1960s, their biggest being the chart-topping 1961 hit si ...

. With

George David Weiss George David Weiss (April 9, 1921 – August 23, 2010) was an American songwriter and arranger, who was a president of the Songwriters Guild of America. He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Weiss was born in a Jewish fa ...

, they co-wrote " Can't Help Falling in Love" for RCA's mega-star

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 ...

. Peretti and Creatore also wrote Presley's hit single "

Wild in the Country ''Wild in the Country'' is a 1961 American musical–drama film directed by Philip Dunne and starring Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, and Millie Perkins. Based on the 1958 novel ''The Lost Country'' by J. R. Salamanca, the screenplay ...

". In 1964, Peretti and Creatore left RCA to join Weiss in writing ''

Maggie Flynn ''Maggie Flynn'' is a 1968 musical with a book by Morton DaCosta and music and lyrics by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss. Based on an idea by John Flaxman, it was inspired by a true story set in the New York Draft Riots of 1 ...

'', a 1968

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 Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

about the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. In the 1970s, Peretti and Creatore owned part of

Avco Records Avco Records was a record label started by music producers/composers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore together with film and TV producer Joseph E. Levine in 1968 as Avco Embassy Records. History Hugo and Luigi had previously worked together fr ...

and then established

H&L Records H&L Records (1976–1979) was a record label founded by Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore after they left Avco Records. They took The Stylistics with them. History Releases The dual artist record, "That Old Black Magic" by The Softones backed with " ...

, which they operated until retiring at the end of the decade. Among their successes were recordings by

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of ...

and

The Softones The Softones are an American male singing group from the city of Baltimore, Maryland, best known for their 'sweet' soul recordings of the 1970s. History They recorded for the New York-based Avco Records label (later renamed H&L Records) from the ...

. They also won the 1977

Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award is generally given to the album producer, principal vocalist(s), and the composer and lyricist if they have written a new score which comprises 51% or more play ...

as producers of '' Bubbling Brown Sugar''. Peretti met and married singer

June Winters June Winters (May 17, 1918, Hazleton, Pennsylvania — March 29, 2015, Bergenfield, New Jersey) was an American actress and singer who was actively performing from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. She first came to prominence starring in the Broadway ...

in 1943. They formed a children's record label, Mayfair Records, in 1946 and released a series of bestselling albums featuring Winters as the "Lady in Blue". They had two daughters, Kathy and Tina Marie. Winters died on March 29, 2015 at the age of 96. Peretti died on May 1, 1986 in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

, aged 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peretti, Hugo 1916 births 1986 deaths Songwriters from New York (state) Record producers from New York (state) Grammy Award winners American people of Italian descent American musical theatre lyricists Musicians from New York City 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters