Leonard George Hayton (February 14, 1908 – April 24, 1971) was an American musician, composer, conductor and arranger. Hayton's trademark was a captain's hat, which he always wore at a rakish angle.
Hayton was born in New York City, New York, to a Jewish family. The son of a Manhattan restaurateur, he developed a penchant for the piano when six years old, showing unusual interest in the early classics from the rolls of the family player piano. Although neither of his parents was a tutored musician, both were keen followers of the concert hall. Hayton attended many concerts with them. His parents disliked "Jazz" and it was not until Hayton was 16 that he really discovered it. He left high school to become pianist with the Broadway Hotel Orchestra of Cass Hagen, a boyhood friend.[3]
Career
While playing at the Park Central, Hayton was heard by Paul Whiteman and immediately engaged by him in April 1928 as second pianist, playing piano and celeste as well as acting as a part-time arranger. Whilst with the Paul Whiteman orchestra, he played with musicians such as Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols and Joe Venuti. He also became friendly with Bing Crosby, then a member of The Rhythm Boys. In May 1930, Whiteman had to thin down his orchestra as theatre audiences fell due to the economic problems of the day and because of the impact of radio. Hayton and Eddie Lang were amongst the ten members of the band released.[4] Hayton then joined the Charles Previn Orchestra which had a weekly assignment on radio in the Camel Pleasure Hour.[5]
The chance came to re-join Bing Crosby who by late 1931 had enjoyed tremendous success on record, radio and the stage. Starting in April 1932, Crosby embarked on a tour of Paramount-Publix theatres, working across the country to Hollywood where he was to make the film The Big Broadcast. At each location, he continued to broadcast his radio show until he reached the West Coast. Lennie Hayton and Eddie Lang provided the musical support to Crosby on his theatre appearances and on his radio shows.[6] In Chicago in May 1932, Hayton led an orchestra for his first recordings with the singer.[7] "Cabin in the Cotton", "Love Me Tonight" and "Some of These Days" were all hits.[8] In September 1932, Crosby again went on tour with Hayton accompanying him on piano. In New York on October 25, 1932, Hayton led the orchestra for one of Bing Crosby's most famous recordings, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" which went to the top of the charts of the day. In January 1933, Hayton became the musical director for the Chesterfield radio series "Music That Satisfies" which again featured Crosby and ran for 13 weeks.
Hayton's involvement with Bing Crosby continued and he was made musical director for the singer's film Going Hollywood (1933) which was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production. This was to be the start of a major career for Hayton in Hollywood. He continued to work with Crosby on radio (Bing Crosby Entertains) and record for a while but in 1940 he became a musical director for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and guided it through its prime years as foremost producer of movie musicals. Up until his retirement from the post in 1953, he racked up four Oscar nominations: for the Judy Garland musicals The Harvey Girls (1946) and The Pirate (1948). Hayton won the Academy Award for music for On the Town with Roger Edens in 1950. Lennie Hayton also arranged the music for Singin' in the Rain in 1952. Hayton notched up two more nominations—one in 1968 for the unsuccessful Julie Andrews musical Star! and his last the following year for the Barbra Streisand vehicle Hello, Dolly! co-composed with Lionel Newman, which brought him his second and final Oscar. In 1970, Hayton arranged Frank Sinatra's first attempt at the George Harrison composition "Something".[9] However, Sinatra later began using a Nelson Riddle arrangement of the song in concert performances and, in 1979, he put the Riddle version on record.[citation needed] Hayton composed "Apple Blossoms" with Joe Venuti, Frankie Trumbauer, and Eddie Lang. His other compositions included "Flying Fingers", "The Stage is Set", "Mood Hollywood" with Jimmy Dorsey, and "Midnight Mood". Hayton also co-arranged the Hoagy Carmichael composition "Stardust" with Artie Shaw, for Shaw's recording of it in 1940, for Bluebird Records.[10]
Personal life and death
Hayton's first marriage was to Helen Maude Gifford, also named Bubs Gelderman, who died in 1943. Lennie Hayton met Lena Horne when both were under contract to MGM and married her in December 1947 in Paris.[11] Throughout the marriage, Hayton also acted as Horne's music director. Facing the stresses and pressures of an interracial relationship, which was still relatively rare in that time period,[12] Hayton and Horne had a tumultuous marriage. She later admitted in a 1980 Ebony interview she had married Hayton primarily to advance her career, and cross the "color-line" in show business, but had learned to love him very much.[13] Horne and Hayton were separated for most of the 1960s. Always a heavy drinker and smoker,[14] Hayton died of a heart attack while separated from Horne, in Palm Springs, California in 1971.[15] He was buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.[16]
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Lennie Hayton news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Leonard George Hayton February 14 1908 April 24 1971 was an American musician composer conductor and arranger Hayton s trademark was a captain s hat which he always wore at a rakish angle Lennie HaytonLennie Hayton circa 1947BornLeonard George Hayton 1908 02 14 February 14 1908 1 New York City U S 2 DiedApril 24 1971 1971 04 24 aged 63 Palm Springs California U S Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood CaliforniaNationalityAmericanOccupationsMusicianarrangercomposerconductorYears active1928 1970Spouse s Helen M Gifford m 1935 died 1943 wbr Lena Horne m 1947 wbr Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life and death 4 Awards 4 1 Academy Awards 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditHayton was born in New York City New York to a Jewish family The son of a Manhattan restaurateur he developed a penchant for the piano when six years old showing unusual interest in the early classics from the rolls of the family player piano Although neither of his parents was a tutored musician both were keen followers of the concert hall Hayton attended many concerts with them His parents disliked Jazz and it was not until Hayton was 16 that he really discovered it He left high school to become pianist with the Broadway Hotel Orchestra of Cass Hagen a boyhood friend 3 Career EditWhile playing at the Park Central Hayton was heard by Paul Whiteman and immediately engaged by him in April 1928 as second pianist playing piano and celeste as well as acting as a part time arranger Whilst with the Paul Whiteman orchestra he played with musicians such as Frankie Trumbauer Bix Beiderbecke Red Nichols and Joe Venuti He also became friendly with Bing Crosby then a member of The Rhythm Boys In May 1930 Whiteman had to thin down his orchestra as theatre audiences fell due to the economic problems of the day and because of the impact of radio Hayton and Eddie Lang were amongst the ten members of the band released 4 Hayton then joined the Charles Previn Orchestra which had a weekly assignment on radio in the Camel Pleasure Hour 5 The chance came to re join Bing Crosby who by late 1931 had enjoyed tremendous success on record radio and the stage Starting in April 1932 Crosby embarked on a tour of Paramount Publix theatres working across the country to Hollywood where he was to make the film The Big Broadcast At each location he continued to broadcast his radio show until he reached the West Coast Lennie Hayton and Eddie Lang provided the musical support to Crosby on his theatre appearances and on his radio shows 6 In Chicago in May 1932 Hayton led an orchestra for his first recordings with the singer 7 Cabin in the Cotton Love Me Tonight and Some of These Days were all hits 8 In September 1932 Crosby again went on tour with Hayton accompanying him on piano In New York on October 25 1932 Hayton led the orchestra for one of Bing Crosby s most famous recordings Brother Can You Spare a Dime which went to the top of the charts of the day In January 1933 Hayton became the musical director for the Chesterfield radio series Music That Satisfies which again featured Crosby and ran for 13 weeks Hayton s involvement with Bing Crosby continued and he was made musical director for the singer s film Going Hollywood 1933 which was a Metro Goldwyn Mayer production This was to be the start of a major career for Hayton in Hollywood He continued to work with Crosby on radio Bing Crosby Entertains and record for a while but in 1940 he became a musical director for Metro Goldwyn Mayer and guided it through its prime years as foremost producer of movie musicals Up until his retirement from the post in 1953 he racked up four Oscar nominations for the Judy Garland musicals The Harvey Girls 1946 and The Pirate 1948 Hayton won the Academy Award for music for On the Town with Roger Edens in 1950 Lennie Hayton also arranged the music for Singin in the Rain in 1952 Hayton notched up two more nominations one in 1968 for the unsuccessful Julie Andrews musical Star and his last the following year for the Barbra Streisand vehicle Hello Dolly co composed with Lionel Newman which brought him his second and final Oscar In 1970 Hayton arranged Frank Sinatra s first attempt at the George Harrison composition Something 9 However Sinatra later began using a Nelson Riddle arrangement of the song in concert performances and in 1979 he put the Riddle version on record citation needed Hayton composed Apple Blossoms with Joe Venuti Frankie Trumbauer and Eddie Lang His other compositions included Flying Fingers The Stage is Set Mood Hollywood with Jimmy Dorsey and Midnight Mood Hayton also co arranged the Hoagy Carmichael composition Stardust with Artie Shaw for Shaw s recording of it in 1940 for Bluebird Records 10 Personal life and death EditHayton s first marriage was to Helen Maude Gifford also named Bubs Gelderman who died in 1943 Lennie Hayton met Lena Horne when both were under contract to MGM and married her in December 1947 in Paris 11 Throughout the marriage Hayton also acted as Horne s music director Facing the stresses and pressures of an interracial relationship which was still relatively rare in that time period 12 Hayton and Horne had a tumultuous marriage She later admitted in a 1980 Ebony interview she had married Hayton primarily to advance her career and cross the color line in show business but had learned to love him very much 13 Horne and Hayton were separated for most of the 1960s Always a heavy drinker and smoker 14 Hayton died of a heart attack while separated from Horne in Palm Springs California in 1971 15 He was buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood California 16 Awards EditAcademy Awards Edit Year Film Award Result1946 The Harvey Girls Academy Award for Best Original Score Scoring of a Musical Picture Nominated1948 The Pirate Academy Award for Best Original Score Scoring of a Musical Picture Nominated1949 On the Town Academy Award for Best Original Score Scoring of a Musical Picture Won1952 Singin in the Rain Academy Award for Best Original Score Scoring of a Musical Picture Nominated1968 Star Academy Award for Best Original Score of a Musical Picture original or adaptation Nominated1969 Hello Dolly Academy Award for Best Original Score of a Musical Picture original or adaptation WonReferences Edit Solid Lennie Hayton Archived from the original on 2010 10 17 Retrieved 2010 08 22 Scott Yanow 1971 04 24 Lennie Hayton Biography amp History AllMusic Retrieved 2017 04 11 Broadcast Weekly February 19 1933 7 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Rayno Don 2003 Paul Whiteman Pioneer in American Music Volume 1 1890 1930 Lanham Maryland The Scarecrow Press p 249 ISBN 0 8108 4579 2 Evans Philp R amp Linda K 1998 Bix The Leon Bix Beiderbecke Story Bakersfield CA Prelike Press p 506 ISBN 0 9665448 0 3 Macfarlane Malcolm Bing Crosby Day by Day BING magazine Retrieved February 2 2016 A Bing Crosby Discography A Bing Crosby Discography Retrieved February 2 2016 Whitburn Joel 1986 Pop Memories 1890 1954 Wisconsin Record Research Inc p 104 ISBN 0 89820 083 0 Martin Marshall Frank Sinatra the British Connections Silverclover free online co uk Retrieved 2017 04 11 Artie Shaw Stardust Jazz com Jazz Music Jazz Artists Jazz News Archived from the original on 2009 03 06 Retrieved 2010 08 13 Lena Horne Telegraph Retrieved 2017 04 11 Digital Videos Episodes TV Series VH1 2017 03 14 Retrieved 2017 04 11 Ebony Ebony Johnson Publishing Company 44 May 1980 ISSN 0012 9011 Gavin James 2009 Stormy Weather The Life Of Lena Horne New York Atria p 276 ISBN 978 0 7432 7143 1 stormy weather Gavin pp 383 384 Wilson Scott 2016 Resting Places The Burial Sites of More Than 14 000 Famous Persons 3rd ed McFarland p 352 ISBN 9781476625997 External links EditLennie Hayton at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lennie Hayton amp oldid 1118547511, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
