Robert Saul Musel (13 August 1909 – 8 September 1999), sometimes credited as Bob Musel, was an American journalist and lyricist, who was based in London for much of his life. As well as covering European stories for the United Press news agency for several decades, becoming "celebrated in his profession for the quality of his writing and the breadth of his experience," he wrote the lyrics to several successful popular songs.

Biography

Born in New York City, he joined United Press at the age of 15, and worked for the company for 58 years. In his early years he covered stories on Broadway, and in 1927, when based in Trenton, New Jersey, he covered the kidnapping and death of Charles Lindbergh's son. Musel claimed to have been the inspiration for a character in the play ''Hold the Front Page'' by

Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A successful journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplay ...

. Musel also worked for a while as a scriptwriter in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. Obituary by Greg Jensen
Retrieved 18 March 2013 During World War II he was assigned to the US Ninth Air Force, and stayed in London after the end of the war as the office's senior editor. In 1947, " Tell Me Marianne", Musel's adaptation of the 1924 tango "A media luz", topped the UK sheet music charts. He reported on the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, writing: "Golden trumpets stilled the tumult of modern London today, and the world's largest city rolled back the centuries to hear Elizabeth II proclaimed Queen." In 1953, he became a consultant to

Broadcast Music, Inc. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 milli ...

(BMI) in London. Having started writing song lyrics while in his teens, he wrote the words for a number of popular songs, including "

Poppa Piccolino "Poppa Piccolino" was a song recorded by Diana Decker which reached number 2 on the UK singles chart in December 1953. It was the only UK hit single for this British-based American-born singer and actress. It was later also recorded by Petula Clark, ...

", originally an Italian song which became a no.2 pop hit in the UK for Diana Decker in 1953, and " Band of Gold", an international chart hit for Don Cherry in 1956. Nigel Hunter, "Publishing Vet Musel Dies", ''Billboard'', 25 September 1999, p.76
Retrieved 18 March 2013 Reportedly, he coined the nickname "Elvis the Pelvis" for Elvis Presley. In 1993, BMI established an annual award in his name for the year's most-performed song, and he remained a consultant to the organisation until his death. He died in London of cancer at the age of 90, after having suffered a stroke several years previously.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musel, Robert 1909 births 1999 deaths American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American lyricists 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers