Buddy Kaye

Jules Leonard "Buddy" Kaye (January 3, 1918 – November 21, 2002) was an American songwriter, lyricist, arranger, producer, and author. His songs were recorded by top performers, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, The McGuire Sisters, Glenn Miller, Sammy Kaye, Perry Como, Elvis Presley, Charles Aznavour, Tony Bennett, Cliff Richard, Pat Boone, Harry Belafonte, Bobby Darin, Little Richard, Barry Manilow, Karen Carpenter, Diana Krall, and Dusty Springfield. He scored number-one hits on the Billboard charts in 1945 with "Till The End Of Time", recorded by Perry Como, and in 1949 with "'A' You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song)", recorded by Como and The Fontane Sisters. Among his most recognizable tunes in pop culture are the theme songs to the Famous Studios theatrical cartoons Little Lulu and Little Audrey; the international hit song "Speedy Gonzales", recorded by Pat Boone; and the co-written theme song to the television series I Dream of Jeannie. In 1976, he won a Grammy Award for best children's album for his production of The Little Prince, narrated by Richard Burton.

As an author he had four published books, including: The Wisdom of Baltasar Gracian (Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster), Method Songwriting (St. Martin's Press), The Gift of Acabar - co-authored with Og Mandino (Lippincott, Bantam Books, Penguin, Random House) and "'A' You're Adorable" (Candlewick Press).

Kaye completed the book and lyrics to When Garbo Talks!, his final work, in 2002. The stage musical had its world premiere at International City Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, October 15, 2010. In 2015, seventy years after first being recorded by Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan released a cover version of “Full Moon and Empty Arms” on his Shadows in the Night album of Sinatra standards and praised Buddy Kaye in his MusiCares Person of the Year speech as one of the great songwriters who may not be well known in these times but deserves recognition.

In celebration of the centennial birthdate of Buddy Kaye, January 3, 2018, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized the achievements and success of Golden Circle member Buddy Kaye referring to him in a published article as “A lyricist for the ages". On April 29, 2018, in Brooklyn, NY, the James Madison Alumni Association added Buddy Kaye to the Madison Wall of Distinction.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 3, 1918 (New York City), Died November 21, 2002 (Rancho Mirage)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1940 - 1949

Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist, songwriter

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor PBS-049982 10-in. 8/6/1940 Dinner for the duchess Wingy Manone Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-054691 10-in. 8/7/1940 Shades of twilight Terry Allen ; Bluebird Orchestra ; Larry Clinton Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Victor BS-071682 10-in. 1/27/1942 Do you miss your sweetheart? (Like your sweetheart misses you?) Alvino Rey Orchestra ; Yvonne King Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal ensemble lyricist  
Victor BS-071850 10-in. 2/13/1942 Do you miss your sweetheart (Like your sweetheart misses you) Carl Denny ; Hal McIntyre Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist  
Victor BS-075087 10-in. 6/12/1942 Midsummer matinee Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo songwriter  
Victor D5VB-0464 10-in. 7/3/1945 Till the end of time Russ Case ; Perry Como Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble lyricist  
Victor D5VB-0773 10-in. 5/24/1945 I'll be walking with my honey (soon, soon, soon) Nancy Norman ; Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye ; Billy Williams [1913-2001] Female-male vocal duet, with jazz/dance band lyricist  
Victor D6VB-1313 10-in. 3/1/1946 Don't be a baby, baby Clam Bake Group (Tommy Dorsey) ; Tommy Dorsey ; Sy Oliver Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band lyricist  
Victor D6VB-2023 10-in. 2/7/1946 I wanna know you better than I do Freddy Martin Orchestra ; Clyde Rogers Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble lyricist  
Victor D6VB-2140 10-in. 9/5/1946 Heaven knows when Freddy Martin Orchestra ; Clyde Rogers Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band songwriter  
Victor D6VB-3379 10-in. 12/6/1946 I'll close my eyes Johnny Desmond ; Page Cavanaugh Trio Male vocal solo, with piano, bass, and guitar lyricist  
Victor D7VB-1179 10-in. 11/20/1947 The things you left in my heart Nancy Evans ; Wayne King Orchestra Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band songwriter  
Victor D7VB-1310 10-in. 7/24/1947 Too good to be true Tony Martin Male vocal solo, with vocal chorus and orchestra lyricist  
Victor D7VB-1390 10-in. 10/17/1947 The treasure of Sierra Madre Freddy Martin Orchestra ; Martin Men ; Stuart Wade Male vocal solo, with male vocal ensemble and jazz/dance band lyricist  
Victor D7VB-1484 10-in. 8/6/1947 Chickasaw limited William Johnson ; Musical Notes (Bill Johnson) Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance quintet lyricist  
Victor D7VB-1950 10-in. 10/29/1947 The letter I'm mailing to you Panhandle Punchers ; Texas Jim Robertson Male vocal solo, with string band lyricist  
Victor D7VB-2200 10-in. 11/18/1947 Little Lulu Helen Carroll ; Russ Case Orchestra ; The Satisfiers Female vocal solo, with vocal group and jazz/dance band songwriter  
Victor D7VB-2757 10-in. 12/28/1947 Tell me, Marianne Jean Sablon ; Toots Camarata Orchestra Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble lyricist  
Victor D7VB-2927 10" 12/22/1947 Thoughtless Larry Green ; Larry Green Orchestra Vocal trio, with jazz/dance band lyricist  
Victor D7FB-2945 10-in. 12/23/1947 Pedro piper Campos Trio ; Irving Fields ; Betty Harris ; The Three-O-Niners Piano solo, with female vocal solo, mixed vocal quartet, and instrumental ensemble lyricist  
Victor D9VB-0152 10-in. 1/26/1949 Kitty Irving Fields Trio Jazz/dance ensemble, with female-male vocal duet songwriter  
Victor D9VB-0218 10-in. 3/1/1949 'A' - you're adorable Perry Como ; Fontane Sisters ; Mitchell Ayres Orchestra Male vocal solo, with female vocal group and instrumental ensemble songwriter  
Victor D9VB-0562 10-in. 3/30/1949 Don't take my word, take my heart Jed Dees ; Spade Cooley Band Male vocal solo, with vocal group and instrumental ensemble songwriter  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Kaye, Buddy," accessed November 9, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/100017.

Kaye, Buddy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/100017.

"Kaye, Buddy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/100017

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