Sol Marcus (October 1, 1912 – February 5, 1976) was an American songwriter and pianist. Born in New York, he began working as a songwriter with Bennie Benjamin and Eddie Seiler (1911–1952) in the mid-1930s.Sol Marcus, ''Discogs.com''
retrieved 4 April 2017 He had his first writing successes with " I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" (1941), co-written with Benjamin, Seiler, and

Eddie Durham Edward Durham (August 19, 1906 – March 6, 1987) was an American jazz guitarist, trombonist, composer, and arranger. He was one of the pioneers of the electric guitar in jazz. The orchestras of Bennie Moten, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie ...

, and "

When the Lights Go On Again (All Over the World) "When the Lights Go On Again (All Over the World)" is a popular song composed during World War II. It was written by Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus and Eddie Seiler. The first recording, by Vaughn Monroe, reached number one on the charts in 1943. ...

" (1942), co-written with Benjamin and Seiler. Later in the 1940s, he had further success with "

Till Then image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

" (1945), a hit for the

Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...

co-written with Seiler and

Guy Wood Guy B. Wood (24 July 1911 – 23 February 2001) was a musician and songwriter born in Manchester, England. Wood started his career in music playing saxophone in dance bands in England. He moved to the United States in the 1930s, where he worked f ...

; and "Ask Anyone Who Knows", written with Seiler and Al Kaufman for

The Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely a ...

. Songs written by Sol Marcus, ''MusicVF.com''
Retrieved 4 April 2017 Don Tyler, ''Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era'', McFarland, 2007, p.437
/ref> He re-established a writing partnership with Bennie Benjamin in the mid-1950s. They wrote "Fabulous Character" for Sarah Vaughan, and " Lonely Man" for

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 ...

. In 1964, Marcus and Benjamin wrote "

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus for the American singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone, who recorded the first version in 1964. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" has been co ...

" with

Horace Ott Horace Ott (born April 15, 1933) is an American jazz and R&B composer, arranger, record producer, conductor and pianist, noted for his work since the late 1950s with a wide variety of artists including The Shirelles, Don Covay, Nina Simone, Ho ...

, whose songwriting credit was taken by his wife Gloria Caldwell because Ott, as a BMI member, was not permitted to work with

ASCAP 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, broadca ...

members such as Marcus and Benjamin. Benjamin Franklin V, "Horace Ott", in ''Jazz & Blues Musicians of South Carolina'', Univ of South Carolina Press, 2008, pp.86-95
/ref> The song was first recorded by

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blue ...

, and was later a hit for

The Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound an ...

Santa Esmeralda Santa Esmeralda is a French-American disco group formed in the 1970s. The group had hits with its remake of the 1960s hits "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "House of the Rising Sun". Santa Esmeralda featured original lead singer Leroy Gómez ...

, and

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

. Marcus died in 1976 in

Linden, New Jersey Linden is a city in southeastern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area, located about southwest of Manhattan and bordering Staten Island, a borough of New York City, across the Arthur Kil ...

References

1912 births 1976 deaths Songwriters from New York (state) {{US-songwriter-stub