Michael Barr (January 2, 1927 in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

– May 19, 2009 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

), was an American composer of traditional pop and showtunes, who in collaboration with lyricist Dion McGregor, wrote "Try Your Wings" for cabaret singer/pianist

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusic/ref> Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City o ...

. "Try Your Wings" was also recorded and performed for many years by

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band app ...

and was featured in the 2003 film ''My Life Without Me'', starring Sara Polly and Mark Rufallo. Together, Barr and McGregor also wrote "Where Is The Wonder", which was recorded by

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

and featured on her 1965 TV special "My Name Is Barbra". Barr was also known for having tape-recorded Dion McGregor's surprisingly lucid and humorous "somniloquies", or sleep-talks, in which Dion would narrate complete stories with beginning, middle and end. These can be heard via recordings released originally by Decca Records and later, by Torpor Vigil Industries, the first of which is "The Further Somniloquies of Dion McGregor". John Zorn's

Tzadik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The ...

label also released a CD—a sequel to the LP, called ''Dion McGregor Dreams Again''. The liner notes by compilation co-ordinator Phil Milstein describe details of the meeting of Michael Barr and Dion McGregor and of how these extraordinary recordings came to be. Barr was working on a movie-musical version of ''The Dream World Of Dion McGregor'' which was originally released as an LP through Decca Records in January, 1964. The movie adaptation includes, in addition to the somniliquies songs which comment on them, most of which were written by Mr. Barr and Dion McGregor. There was also a documentary in the works by Markham Street Films at the time of his death. Other songs by Michael Barr included "Kicks", recorded in 1956 by June Christy and Billy May for Capitol Records. "Hello Love", with lyrics by McGregor and recorded by Blossom Dearie on Verve Records in 1960, "Sawdust Dreams", and "Be My Next" were early unreleased recordings by

Joel Grey Joel Grey (born Joel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical '' Cabaret'' on Broadway as well as in the 1972 fi ...

, The "Hate Song", was originally performed the Upstairs At The Downstairs nightclub in New York City, by Ceil Cabot and

Bill Hinnant William Hinnant (born John F. Hinnant; August 28, 1935 – February 17, 1978) was an American actor. His younger brother is actor and comedian Skip Hinnant. Biography Hinnant was born John F. Hinnant in Chincoteague Island, Virginia. He a ...

with William Roy at the piano. It was recorded on MGM Records. "Leaving By Dawn", a commercial torchy version of the earlier "Dion At Dawn", which, in turn, is a rewrite of "Blue Town", and the Gershwinesque "Make Do", which was recorded by Gayle La Rone on her premiere CD, "The Best Is Yet To Come", has lyrics by Patrick "Bas" Ramsey. In later life Michael experienced continually failing health brought on by diabetes. He was 82 at the time of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Michael Preston American male composers Songwriters from Indiana 2009 deaths 1927 births 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters