Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman, November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) 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 ...

and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including

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 ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

, and

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

. His career spanned over six decades.

Biography

Haskell was born in

Brooklyn 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 ...

, New York. He entered the music business in the 1950s doing arrangements for

Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group. Early years to ...

. His first professional arrangement was a chart of "

Nature Boy "Nature Boy" is a song first recorded by American jazz singer Nat King Cole. It was released on March 29, 1948, as a single by Capitol Records, and later appeared on the album, ''The Nat King Cole Story''. It was written by eden ahbez as a tri ...

", sold to

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

. He became the

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

of choice for

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

, arranging and producing around 75 records for the artist, including such hits as " There's Nothing I Can Say" and "

Hello Mary Lou "Hello Mary Lou" is a song written by American singer Gene Pitney first recorded by Johnny Duncan in 1960 and in the following year by Ricky Nelson. The song was recorded by Ricky Nelson at the famous United Western Recorders Studios on 22nd Ma ...

". In 1960, he accompanied Elvis Presley on accordion on the "G.I. Blues" soundtrack. Almost four decades later he provided arrangements on Sheryl Crow's album ''

The Globe Sessions ''The Globe Sessions'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released on September 21, 1998, in the United Kingdom and September 29, 1998, in the United States, then re-released in 1999. It was nominated for Grammy ...

''. In 1960, Haskell entered the motion picture soundtrack industry as an uncredited orchestrator for

Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (, ; May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City ...

's '' The Alamo''. The following year he composed his first score, ''

Love in a Goldfish Bowl ''Love in a Goldfish Bowl'' is a 1961 teen film directed by Jack Sher starring singing idols Tommy Sands and Fabian. Plot Gordon Slide and Blythe Holloway are two platonic best friends at a college, both from single-parent families. They are so ...

''. His composition "The Silly Song" became the theme song of American television's ''

The Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show Television pilot, piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debut ...

''. He composed a variety of film scores such as A.C. Lyles' Westerns and arranging

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

's title song for ''

Spy Hard ''Spy Hard'' is a 1996 American spy parody film starring Leslie Nielsen (who also executive produced) and Nicollette Sheridan, parodying James Bond and other action films. The introduction to the film is sung by comedy artist "Weird Al" Yanko ...

''. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Haskell was the arranger of choice for

The Grass Roots The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums, two go ...

. He arranged the signature string section on Chicago's song "

If You Leave Me Now "If You Leave Me Now" is a song by the American rock group Chicago, from their album '' Chicago X''. It was written and sung by bass player Peter Cetera and released as a single on July 30, 1976. It is also the title of a Chicago compilation a ...

", for which he won a

Grammy award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, and also provided horn and string arrangements for Blondie's 1980 album ''

Autoamerican ''Autoamerican'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Blondie. It was released in November 1980 and reached in the UK charts, in the US, and in Australia. Background The album was a radical departure for the band, with the openin ...

'', including for the US and UK No. 1 hit "

The Tide Is High "The Tide Is High" is a 1967 rocksteady song written by John Holt, originally produced by Duke Reid and performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover vers ...

". In the mid-1970s, Haskell worked with the band

, providing orchestration on their 1974 album ''

Pretzel Logic ''Pretzel Logic'' is the third studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released on February 20, 1974, by ABC Records. It was written by principal band members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, and recorded at The Village Recorder in Wes ...

'' and arrangements and horn on their 1975 album ''

Katy Lied ''Katy Lied'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in 1975 by ABC Records. It was certified gold and peaked at No. 13 on the US charts. The single "Black Friday" charted at No. 37. The album was the first afte ...

''. In 2009, well into his eighties, he provided "a lovely, understated string arrangement" on David Rawlings' album ''A Friend of a Friend''. In addition to composing and arranging, Haskell would often act as conductor and selected the musicians used. His birthday is widely reported as 1936 because he lied about his age, figuring he would get more work if people thought he was younger. A statement from his daughter published by The Musicians Union of Los Angeles gives the correct birthday in 1926.

Awards

Haskell was awarded an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Special (Dramatic Underscore) for ''

See How She Runs ''See How She Runs'' is a 1978 American TV movie starring Joanne Woodward who won an Emmy for her performance. Plot A 40 year old divorced school teacher decides to enter the Boston Marathon. Production At one stage the film was going to be dire ...

'' (1978) and has received two other nominations. He was awarded

Grammies The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for his arrangements of "

Ode to Billie Joe "Ode to Billie Joe" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry released by Capitol Records in July 1967, and later used as the title-track of her debut album. Five weeks after its release, the song topped '' Billboard's'' Pop sin ...

" recorded by

Bobbie Gentry Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Sou ...

, " Bridge Over Troubled Water" recorded by

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

, and "

" recorded by

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1961) *''

I'll Take Sweden ''I'll Take Sweden'' is a 1965 American comedy film directed by Frederick de Cordova, and starring Bob Hope, Frankie Avalon, and Tuesday Weld. Plot Single father Bob Holcomb, a widower, is unhappy with the guitar-playing boy Kenny his daughter ...

'' (1965) *'' Town Tamer'' (1965) *''

Apache Uprising ''Apache Uprising'' is a 1965 American Technicolor Western (genre), Western Techniscope film directed by R. G. Springsteen and written by Max Lamb and Harry Sanford. The film stars Rory Calhoun, Corinne Calvet, John Russell (actor), John Russel ...

'' (1965) *''

Red Tomahawk ''Red Tomahawk'' is a 1967 American Western (genre), Western film directed by R. G. Springsteen and written by Steve Fisher (writer), Steve Fisher. The film stars Howard Keel, Joan Caulfield, Broderick Crawford, Scott Brady, Wendell Corey, Rich ...

'' (1966) *'' Johnny Reno'' (1966) *''

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

'' (1966) *''

Hostile Guns ''Hostile Guns'' is a 1967 Western starring George Montgomery, Tab Hunter and Yvonne de Carlo. Plot Cast * George Montgomery as Sheriff Gid McCool *Tab Hunter as Mike Reno *Yvonne De Carlo as Laura Mannon *Brian Donlevy as Marshal Willett * ...

'' (1967) *''

Fort Utah Fort Utah (also known as Fort Provo) was the original white settlement at Provo, Utah, United States, and was established March 12, 1849. The original settlers were President John S. Higbee and about 30 families or 150 persons that were sent fr ...

'' (1967) *''

The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz ''The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz'' is a 1968 DeLuxe Color American comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Elke Sommer, Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and Leon Askin. The screenplay concerns an East German athlete who defects to ...

'' (1968) *''

Arizona Bushwhackers ''Arizona Bushwhackers'' is a 1968 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Howard Keel, Yvonne de Carlo, John Ireland, Marilyn Maxwell, Scott Brady and Brian Donlevy.Rogue's Gallery A rogues' gallery (or rogues gallery) is a police collection of mug shots or other images of criminal suspects kept for identification purposes. History In 1855, Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, established a ...

'' (1968) *'' Buckskin'' (1968) *''

The Thousand Plane Raid ''The Thousand Plane Raid'' (also known as ''The One Thousand Plane Raid'') is a 1969 DeLuxe Color film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Christopher George and Laraine Stephens. Although claimed to be derived from Ralph Barker's ''The Thousan ...

'' (1969) *'' Zachariah'' (1971) *''

The Honkers ''The Honkers'' is a 1972 American drama film directed by Steve Ihnat and written by Steve Ihnat and Stephen Lodge. The film stars James Coburn, Lois Nettleton, Slim Pickens, Anne Archer, Richard Anderson and Joan Huntington. The film was sho ...

'' (1972) *''

Night of the Lepus ''Night of the Lepus'' (also known as ''Rabbits'') is a 1972 American science fiction horror film directed by William F. Claxton and produced by A. C. Lyles. Based upon Russell Braddon's 1964 science fiction novel '' The Year of the Angry Rabbi ...

'' (1972) *'' Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry'' (1974) * ''

When the North Wind Blows ''When the North Wind Blows'' is a 1974 American film written and directed by Stewart Raffill. It gave a rare lead role to Henry Brandon. It was also known as ''The Snow Tiger''.Which was shot in New Mexico. Cast * Henry Brandon as Avakum *Herber ...

'' (1974) *''

Death Game ''Death Game'' (also known as ''The Seducers'') is a 1977 American psychological thriller film directed by Peter S. Traynor, and starring Sondra Locke, Seymour Cassel, and Colleen Camp. The film follows an affluent San Francisco businessman who ...

'' (1977) *'' Joyride'' (1977) * '' Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell'' (1978) *'' A Christmas to Remember'' (1978) *''

The Jericho Mile ''The Jericho Mile'' is a 1979 Emmy Award-winning United States made for TV crime film, directed by Michael Mann. The film won five awards, including three Emmy Awards. The story is set at Folsom Prison, where the film was shot on location in the ...

'' (1979) *'' Guyana: Crime of the Century'' (1979) *''

Goldie and the Boxer ''Goldie and the Boxer'' is a made-for-television film starring O. J. Simpson. The production was broadcast on the NBC television network on December 30, 1979. While being panned by critics, it was a solid ratings hit and led to a sequel, ''Goldi ...

'' (1979) *'' Mirror, Mirror'' (1979) *''

The Jayne Mansfield Story ''The Jayne Mansfield Story'' is a 1980 American made-for-television biographical drama film directed by Dick Lowry starring Loni Anderson as the actress, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as her bodybuilder husband, based on the life of Jayne Mansfield. ...

'' (1980) *'' Hard Country'' (1981) *'' Jake Spanner, Private Eye'' (1989)

Television scores

* ''

'' (1965) (composer) * ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...

'' (1966) (composer) * ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...

'' (1968) (composer) * ''

The Doris Day Show ''The Doris Day Show'' is an American sitcom which was originally broadcast on CBS from September 1968 until March 1973, remaining on the air for five seasons and 128 episodes. The series is remembered for its multiple format and cast chang ...

'' (1969) (composer) * ''

Curiosity Shop ''Curiosity Shop'' is an American children's educational television program produced by ABC. The show was executive produced by veteran Looney Tunes director/animator Chuck Jones, sponsored by the Kellogg's cereal company and created as a comme ...

'' (1971) * ''

Land of the Lost Land of the Lost may refer to: * Land of the Lost (1974 TV series), ''Land of the Lost'' (1974 TV series), the original 1974 children's television series * Land of the Lost (1991 TV series), ''Land of the Lost'' (1991 TV series), the 1991 remake of ...

'' (1974) (composer) * ''

Cathy ''Cathy'' is an American gag-a-day comic strip, drawn by Cathy Guisewite from 1976 until 2010. The comic follows Cathy, a woman who struggles through the "four basic guilt groups" of life—food, love, family, and work. The strip gently pokes f ...

'' (1987) (composer) * ''

Silent Möbius is a twelve-volume manga series created by manga artist Kia Asamiya. Both anime versions have been licensed by Bandai Entertainment. It is heavily influenced by the film ''Blade Runner'' and is centered on the lives of a dedicated group o ...

'' (1998) (main composer with Suzie Katayama and Kenichi Sudo)

References

External links

Official web site

*

"Rockin' in the Orbit (Space Satellite)" - 1957 (Jimmie Haskell and Orchestra) Imperial Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haskell, Jimmie 1926 births 2016 deaths American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American film score composers 20th-century American Jews Easy listening musicians Light music composers Musicians from Brooklyn American music arrangers Classical musicians from New York (state) American male film score composers 21st-century American Jews