Leroy Bernard Shield (October 2, 1893 – January 9, 1962) was an American film score and radiocomposer. He is best known for the themes and incidental music he wrote for the classic Hal Roach comedy short films of the 1930s, including the Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy series.
Shield was a native of Waseca, Minnesota. Around 1922, he became a staff musician for the Victor Talking Machine Company (which later became RCA Victor), where he composed and conducted on-air music, and provided piano accompaniment on hundreds of popular and USF (US domestic foreign language) Victor recordings. He also worked part-time for the Hal Roach film studio, composing countless background themes that became associated with such Roach comedy stars as Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang, ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd, and Charley Chase. "The Good Old Days", Shield's composition for the 1930 Our Gang short Teacher's Pet, became the series's theme song, "Let's Go" was the theme used for shorts by The Boy Friends, and his 1930 song "Beautiful Lady" was used as the theme song for the Pitts and Todd films.[1]
On September 25, 1930, Shield recorded his only commercial recordings, "Sing Song Girl" (vocal by James Blackstone) and "Song Of The Big Trail" (vocal by Bud Jamison), issued as Victor 22548.
Later career and death
A series of miscommunications led to Shield's requests for scoring assignments from the Roach organization being repeatedly declined after 1936; the work went instead to Marvin Hatley. Shield continued to work for NBC in various musical capacities, including composition and conducting. He also wrote two tone poems, Gloucester and The Great Bell, and the classical Union Pacific Suite.[2]
After touring with Toscanini during the early 1950s, Shield retired in 1955.[3] He died on January 9, 1962, in Vero Beach, Florida.
Legacy
In 1992, the Dutch band The Beau Hunks transcribed and recorded Shield's music from the Hal Roach comedies. The recordings drew praise from cartoonist R. Crumb, who rendered a portrait of Shield for the CD cover, and led to a renewed appreciation of the composer's work. In late 2016, producer and pianist Alessandro Simonetto published a CD, Leroy Shield: The Laurel & Hardy Piano Music (AEVEA/OnClassical AE16024) with music from the original manuscripts and publications, and some piano transcriptions of Shield's music.
References
^Mitchell, Glenn (1995). The Laurel & Hardy Encyclopedia. London: Bath Press. p. 186. ISBN0-7134-7711-3.
^Schreuders, Piet (1994), The Beau Hunks Play The Original Little Rascals Music (CD booklet notes), Koch International L.P.
leroy, shield, leroy, bernard, shield, october, 1893, january, 1962, american, film, score, radio, composer, best, known, themes, incidental, music, wrote, classic, roach, comedy, short, films, 1930s, including, gang, laurel, hardy, series, leroy, bernard, shi. Leroy Bernard Shield October 2 1893 January 9 1962 was an American film score and radio composer He is best known for the themes and incidental music he wrote for the classic Hal Roach comedy short films of the 1930s including the Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy series Leroy Bernard ShieldLeroy Shield as director of music for NBCBackground informationAlso known asRoy Shield Roy Shields Leroy ShieldsBorn 1893 10 02 October 2 1893Waseca MinnesotaDiedJanuary 9 1962 1962 01 09 aged 68 Vero Beach FloridaGenresFilm score show tunesOccupation s SongwritercomposerconductorLabelsRCA Victor National Broadcasting Company Contents 1 Career 2 Later career and death 3 Legacy 4 References 5 Listen to 6 External linksCareer EditShield was a native of Waseca Minnesota Around 1922 he became a staff musician for the Victor Talking Machine Company which later became RCA Victor where he composed and conducted on air music and provided piano accompaniment on hundreds of popular and USF US domestic foreign language Victor recordings He also worked part time for the Hal Roach film studio composing countless background themes that became associated with such Roach comedy stars as Laurel and Hardy Our Gang ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd and Charley Chase The Good Old Days Shield s composition for the 1930 Our Gang short Teacher s Pet became the series s theme song Let s Go was the theme used for shorts by The Boy Friends and his 1930 song Beautiful Lady was used as the theme song for the Pitts and Todd films 1 On September 25 1930 Shield recorded his only commercial recordings Sing Song Girl vocal by James Blackstone and Song Of The Big Trail vocal by Bud Jamison issued as Victor 22548 Later career and death EditA series of miscommunications led to Shield s requests for scoring assignments from the Roach organization being repeatedly declined after 1936 the work went instead to Marvin Hatley Shield continued to work for NBC in various musical capacities including composition and conducting He also wrote two tone poems Gloucester and The Great Bell and the classical Union Pacific Suite 2 After touring with Toscanini during the early 1950s Shield retired in 1955 3 He died on January 9 1962 in Vero Beach Florida Legacy EditIn 1992 the Dutch band The Beau Hunks transcribed and recorded Shield s music from the Hal Roach comedies The recordings drew praise from cartoonist R Crumb who rendered a portrait of Shield for the CD cover and led to a renewed appreciation of the composer s work In late 2016 producer and pianist Alessandro Simonetto published a CD Leroy Shield The Laurel amp Hardy Piano Music AEVEA OnClassical AE16024 with music from the original manuscripts and publications and some piano transcriptions of Shield s music References Edit Mitchell Glenn 1995 The Laurel amp Hardy Encyclopedia London Bath Press p 186 ISBN 0 7134 7711 3 Schreuders Piet 1994 The Beau Hunks Play The Original Little Rascals Music CD booklet notes Koch International L P Leroy Shield Chronologies BiographyListen to EditLeroy Shield clips and concertsExternal links EditLeroy Shield Composer LeRoy Shield recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings Leroy Shield at IMDb This article about an American musician is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Leroy Shield amp oldid 1146776668, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
