John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

. He specialized in

Christmas songs Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject m ...

(although he himself was Jewish and did not celebrate Christmas) and wrote many holiday standards, including "

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...

" (a hit for Gene Autry and others), "

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had s ...

" (a hit for

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

), "

A Holly Jolly Christmas "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (also called "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas") is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and most famously performed by Burl Ives. The song has since become one of the top 25 most-performed "holiday" songs written by ASC ...

" (recorded by the Quinto Sisters and later by

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

), " Silver and Gold" (for Burl Ives), and "

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The song tells of the narrator hearing Christmas bells during the American Civil War, but despairing ...

" (introduced by Bing Crosby). He is also credited with writing "

Run Rudolph Run "Run Rudolph Run" is a Christmas song written by Chuck Berry but credited to Johnny Marks and M. Brodie due to Marks' trademark on the character of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was published by St. Nicholas Music (ASCAP) and was first recorde ...

" (recorded by

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

) but this is due to his trademark of the Rudolph character, rather than any input in the writing of the song.

Personal life

Marks was born in Mount Vernon, New York. A graduate of McBurney School in New York, NY, and Colgate University and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, Marks later studied in Paris. He earned a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and four Battle Stars as an Army Captain in the 26th Special Service Company during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Marks had three children: Michael, Laura (d.2008) and David (d.2009). Marks, who was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, was the great-uncle of economist Steven Levitt. Marks was the nephew of

Marcus M. Marks Marcus M. Marks (March 18, 1858 – August 26, 1934) was an American businessman who was president of the Daylight Saving Association, president of the Clothiers' Association, and Manhattan Borough President from 1914 to 1917. He assisted in es ...

(1858–1934), a business figure who served as Borough President of Manhattan. Johnny Marks's father, Louis B. Marks, was a lighting engineer. His wife, Margaret May Marks, was the sister of Robert L. May who wrote the original story of Rudolph. He lived on West 11th Street in Greenwich Village and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. He died on September 3, 1985, of complications from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

Career

Among Marks' many works is " Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer", which was based on a poem of the same name, written by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May, Rudolph's creator. A

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

based on the story and song first aired in 1964, with Marks composing the score. In addition to his songwriting, he founded St. Nicholas Music in 1949, and served as director of ASCAP from 1957 to 1961. In 1981, he was inducted into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

. Marks appeared as an imposter on the December 11, 1961 episode of the game show '' To Tell The Truth''. Impersonating the owner of a herd of reindeer, he did receive two of the four votes. After the true contestant was revealed, Marks identified himself as the composer of "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer".

Works (incomplete list)

Christmas songs

* Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer – 1949 (inspired by a poem by Robert L. May, Marks's brother-in-law) *I Don't Want a Lot for Christmas - 1950 *When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter – 1952 *The Night Before Christmas Song – 1952 *An Old-Fashioned Christmas – 1952 *Everyone's a Child at Christmas – 1956 *

– 1956 (words by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

, adapted by Marks) *

- 1958 (words and music were written solely by

, Marks received the writing credit due to his trademark of the Rudolph character) *

– 1958 *A Merry, Merry Christmas to You – 1959 *The Santa Claus Parade – 1959 *A Caroling We Go - 1966 *Joyous Christmas - 1969 ;From the 1964 NBC/Rankin-Bass TV Production ''Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer'' *

– 1965 (separate single release), 1964-65** *Jingle, Jingle, Jingle – 1964 *The Most Wonderful Day of the Year – 1964 * Silver and Gold – 1964-65** *We Are Santa's Elves – 1964 *There's Always Tomorrow - 1964 *The Island of Misfit Toys - 1964 *We're a Couple of Misfits - 1964 ** Burl Ives released "A Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Silver and Gold," two songs he sang as his character Sam the Snowman, as singles for the 1965 holiday season, the year after the TV production. ;From the 1975 DePatie-Freling TV Production ''The Tiny Tree''"The Tiny Tree - DePatie-Freling - 1975," YouTube
/ref> *To Love And Be Loved - 1975 *When Autumn Comes - 1975 *Tell It to a Turtle - 1975 *A Caroling We Go - 1966 *A Merry Merry Christmas To You - 1959 *Joyous Christmas - 1969 ;From the 1976 ABC/Rankin-Bass TV Production ''Rudolph's Shiny New Year'' *The Moving Finger Writes – 1976 *Turn Back The Years – 1976 *It's Raining Sunshine – 1976 *What A Wonderful World We Live In - 1976 *Fourth Of July Parade - 1976 *Have A Little Faith In Me - 1976 *Have a Happy New Year - 1976

Other

*Happy New Year Darling – 1946 (with J. Carmen Lombardo) *Address Unknown *Chicken Today and Feathers Tomorrow *Don't Cross Your Fingers, Cross Your Heart *Free *How Long Is Forever? *I Guess There's an End to Everything *Neglected *She'll Always Remember *Summer Holiday *We Speak of You Often *What've You Got to Lose But Your Heart *Who Calls?

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Johnny 1909 births 1985 deaths American lyricists Animation composers Jewish American songwriters Songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American musicians Colgate University alumni Columbia University alumni McBurney School alumni Deaths from diabetes 20th-century American Jews United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army officers