Chester Conn (''né'' Master Chester Cohn; April 14, 1894 – April 4, 1973) was an American composer of

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

and music publisher.

Early life and career

Chester was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

to David Cohn and Minnie ''(née'' Newman; 1871–1946). At an early age, Chester was raised by his mother, who had become a widow sometime before 1900. In 1918, Cohn was working for Broadway Music Corp in New York. In 1922, Cohn was working for

Leo Feist, Inc. Leopold Feist (January 3, 1869, New York City or Mount Verson, New York – June 21, 1930, Mount Vernon, New York) was a pioneer in the popular music publishing business. In 1897, Feist founded and ran a music publishing firm bearing his name. In ...

, in its Chicago office. In 1937, Conn co-founded the New York music publishing of Bregman, Vocco & Conn, Inc. ("BVC"). The other name partners were Jack Bregman ''(né'' Joseph Bregman; 1901–1967) and Rocco Vocco (1887–1960). Chester Conn's only child, a son, Jack D. Conn (1926–1966), had been an executive at BVC. Given that Bregman, Vocco, and Jack Conn all predeceased Chester, Chester sold the firm in May 1967 to

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

for 4.5 million dollars in cash. He died in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial ...

Selected works

Conn's best-known song is the

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

Sunday Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...

" (

Jule Styne Jule Styne ( ; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer widely known for a series of Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musicals, including several famous frequ ...

, Ned Miller,

Benny Krueger Bennie Krueger (July 17, 1898 – April 29, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist. After a short stint with Ross Gorman's band, Krueger's joined the Acme Sextette in New York, which included Miff Mole on trombone, Ernie Holst on violin, and ...

, lyrics; ©1926). '' The Jazz Discography Online,'' as of June 2017, lists 497 recording sessions for "Sunday" – from 1926 to 2015. Other songs include "My Suppressed Desire" ( Ned Miller, lyrics; ©1928), " Outside of Heaven" ( Sammy Gallop, lyrics; ©1952), "Just Like Before" (co-composed with Bill Huston and Sammy Gallop; ©1953), "I Don't Think You Love Me Anymore" ( Sammy Gallop, lyrics; ©1953), "Make Her Mine" ( Sammy Gallop, lyrics; ©1954), "Forgive My Heart" ( Sammy Gallop, lyrics; ©1955), " Night Lights" ( Sammy Gallop, co-composer; ©1956), "It's None of My Affair" ( Sam Gallop, lyrics; ©1957), "Time To Go Home" ( Sam Gallop, lyrics; ©1958), "Blue Waltz (La Valse Bleue)" (1960), "Anything I Do" (co-composed with George Douglas; ©1965), "Oh Well", and "Because You Lied."

Other works

* "What'll You Do?" : Chester Cohn (words) : Ernie Erdman (music) : Broadway Music Corp., New York
© 22 November 1921; E523162
* "You Don't Like It, Not Much" : Ned Miller : Art Kahn : Chester Cohn :

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

© 25 June 1927; E665996
: (band arrangement by Onofrio Sciacca) * "Why Should I Cry Over You" : Chester Conn (w&m) : Ned Miller (w&m) :

© 14 April 1922; E534774

© 19 May 1922; 538621

© 7 July 1922; E542251
: (arrangement by Frank Edward Barry; 1883–1937 – staff arranger for Leo Feist)
© 11 September 1922; E543788
: (arrangement by Frank Edward Barry)
© 15 November 1922; E552081
: (arrangement for ukulele by William J. Smith)
© 18 December 1922; E554461
: (arrangement for male voices by Alfred John Doyle, Sr.; 1874–1929) :
Sheet music, in pdf
(public domain), courtesy

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

* "Crying for You" : Chester Cohn (music) : Ned Miller (words) :

, New York
© 22 November 1922; E549890

© 9 July 1923; E563681Alt. link
: © 24 November 1923; 555430 : * "Don't Mind the Rain" : Ned Miller (w&m) : Chester Cohn (w&m)' :

, New York
© 3 December 1923; E577690
:
Sheet music, in pdf
(public domain), courtesy

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

* "The Talk of the Town" :

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (G ...

(words) : Chester Conn (music) :

: © 17 December 1929; EU14672 : © 31 December 1929; EP12355 : * "So Close to Me" :

Wayne King Harold Wayne King (February 16, 1901 – July 16, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader with a long association with both NBC and CBS. He was referred to as "the Waltz King" because much of his most popular music involved w ...

(w&m) : Jerry Castillo (w&m) : Chester Cohn (w&m) :

© 15 September 1931; EP25135
* "Sicilian Tarantella" (American song title) : "Fischiettando" (Italian song title) : G. Balsamo (Italian composer) : Ned Miller (words) : Chester Conn (words) : Triangle Music Corp.,

© 16 May 1949; EP36995
: * "I'll Never Know Why" : Sammy Gallop (words) : Chester Conn (music) : Bregman, Vocco & Conn, Inc.
© 9 February 1951; EP52754
: * "Will o' the Wisp Romance" : Sammy Gallop (words) : Chester Conn (music) : Triangle Music Corp.,

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many vocalists at Capitol Records, including ...

(w&m) : Sammy Gallop (w&m) : Chester Conn (w&m) : Bregman, Vocco & Conn, Inc.
3 March 1960; EU616719
* "The Right Thing To Say" : Sammy Gallop (words) : Chester Conn (music) : Bregman, Vocco & Conn, Inc.
© 15 February 1962; EU706926
:

Performers of Conn's work

The performers who have recorded Conn's songs include

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 ...

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

Eddie Fisher Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, '' The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress E ...

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretati ...

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing t ...

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

, and

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

Death

Chester Conn died of a heart attack April 4, 1973, while living in

, aged 78. He was stricken at the

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...

. Conn was survived by his wife, Grace ''(née'' Grace Belle Goodman; 1885–1978), whom he married May 1, 1921, in Chicago. He was also survived as daughter-in-law, Ella Conn ''(née'' Raffaella Nardino; 1928–2010), and a grandson, Brian Conn (born 1961). Ella Conn (Chester's daughter-in-law) was an aunt to Gary Nardino (1935-1998), a notable Hollywood TV and film director, producer, and industry executive.

References

General references

"Sunday,"
by Sandra Burlingame (editor), '

Notes

Original copyrights

'' Catalog of Copyright Entries'',

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, Copyright Office

Other inline citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conn, Chester 1894 births 1973 deaths American male composers American composers American lyricists American music publishers (people) 20th-century American male musicians