Anastasia Delores Rohde Libbey (1 November 1919 ''–'' 4 July 1988) was a versatile American composer who studied with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

and wrote classical music as well as popular hit songs like "

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

". She published her music under the name Dee Libbey and the pseudonym Q'Adrianne Rohde. Libbey was born in Deland, Florida, to Anastasia Delores Shumate and Clifford Kahrwald Rohde. She won awards for playing xylophone in high school, then studied music at

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university in DeLand, Florida, United States. Established in 1883 as DeLand Academy, it was later renamed John B. Stetson University in honor of John B. Stetson. The university's main campus in DeLand spans 175 ...

; the

American Conservatory The Fontainebleau Schools were founded in 1921, and consist of two schools: ''The American Conservatory'', and the ''School of Fine Arts at Fontainebleau''. History When the American Expeditionary Forces entered the First World War, the command ...

in Fontainebleau, France, and Chicago; and privately with several teachers. She sang tenor in at least one church choir. Her teachers included Nadia Boulanger, Dr. William Duckwitz, the xylophonist John Heney, and

Leo Sowerby Leo Salkeld Sowerby (1 May 1895 – 7 July 1968) was an American composer and church musician. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1946 and was often called the “Dean of American church music” in the early to mid-20th century. His many s ...

. She married Edwin B. Libbey and they had one son. Libbey belonged to the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

(ASCAP), and won an ASCAP award in 1961. "Mango" and some of her other songs were recorded by

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccin ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Marion Ryan Marion Ryan (4 February 1931 – 15 January 1999) was a British singer in the 1950s in the early years of British Independent Television. She was once called "the Marilyn Monroe of popular song". Early life Born in Middlesbrough, North Ridi ...

, and

Ringo Shiina , known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer, songwriter and musician. She is also the founder and lead vocalist of the band Tokyo Jihen. She describes herself as "". She was ranked number 36 in a list of Japan's top 100 musicians compiled ...

. As Q'Adrianne Rohde, Libbey copyrighted a drawing in 1973 called ''The'' ''Unity Eagle''. Her works were recorded by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and published by G. Schirmer Inc. and Lawson Gould Music Publishers. Her compositions include:

Ballet

*''Bee Learns to Dance'' (piano and cello) *''Set Free''

Band

*''Percussive Positive''

Chamber

*''Essence'' (piano) *''Moving Tides'' (harp) *''Orange Moon'' (flute and piano)

Operetta

*''Gretchen's Dream'' (for children)

Orchestra

*''Impressions of Leaking Faucet'' (tone poem) *''Introspect'' (symphony in one movement) *''Lost Forest'' (tone poem)

Play

*Cry Out, Tragic Ode

Vocal

*"Chinchilla" *''Cry Out'' (chorus) *"Give Honor to God" *" Mangos" (lyrics by

Sid Wayne Sid Wayne (January 26, 1923 – December 26, 1991) was an American songwriter, lyricist and composer, who wrote a number of well-known songs from the 1950s to the 1980s. Almost every Elvis Presley film contained one or more works written by W ...

) *"Silver Bird" (with

Charles Tobias Charles Tobias (August 15, 1898 – July 7, 1970) was an American songwriter. He was sometimes credited as Charley Tobias. Biography Born in New York City, United States, Tobias grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts with brothers Harry Tobias and ...

) *''Tolling Bells'' (chorus) *''Wee Little Boy'' (women's chorus) *"Wild Horses Run Free"

External links

Hear Rosemary Clooney sing "Mangos" by Dee Libbey and Sid Wayne

Hear Nat King Cole sing "Silver Bird" by Dee Libbey and Charles Tobias
h1>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Libbey, Dee American women composers American classical composers American songwriters 1919 births 1988 deaths People from DeLand, Florida Pseudonyms Pseudonymous artists Stetson University alumni