Livingston & Evans: The Last Of The Great Songwriters From The Golden-Age Of Hollywood

1956 saw Livingston & Evans called upon to write songs by two of the major film companies; first, WB Pictures needed a WWII south-seas influenced song for a film titled MISTER ROBERTS, starring Henry Fonda, James Cagney, Jack Lemmon, and William Powell. The song Livingston & Evans and Napoleon A. Tuiteleleapaga came up with was “Let Me Hear You Whisper”. This song is published by Jay Livingston Music, Inc. and this version is recorded by Jo Stafford.

Let Me Hear You Whisper / Jo Stafford

Livingston & Evans next assignment came from Universal International Pictures for a title theme for the now classic Sci-Fi film THE MOLE PEOPLE starring John Agar, Hugh Beaumont, and Cynthia Patrick. You might wonder, how could anyone write a song with the title “The Mole People”? Well, take a listen to how Livingston & Evans took this very unusual assignment and turned it into one of their most requested songs. This version of “The Mole People” is recorded by Michael Feinstein. Jay Livingston Music, Inc. publishes this title.

The Mole People / Michael Feinstein

1957 turned out to be a very successful year for Livingston & Evans. Jay & Ray were called upon by three different film studios to supply material for their productions. First up was Paramount. The film, OMAR KHAYYAM, needed a couple of songs to cement the love story between Cornel Wilde’s character and Debra Paget’s. The songs Livingston & Evans came up with were “Loves of Omar Khayyam” and “Tell My Love”. Both songs are published by Famous Music.

The second film assignment was from WB Pictures. The film, THE JAMES DEAN STORY was a documentary film based on the iconic life and death of James Dean. The poignant song that Livingston & Evans created for James Dean was “Let Me Be Loved”. This is the classic Chet Baker version. Jay Livingston Music, Inc. publishes this song.

Let Me Be Loved / Chet Baker

The third assignment for Livingston & Evans in 1957 came from Universal International Pictures for a small film titled TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR, starring Debbie Reynolds, Leslie Nielsen, and Walter Brennan. Once again Livingston & Evans were called upon to write a title song to help promote the film. In this case the song “Tammy”, as recorded by Debbie Reynolds, became such a huge success that the film, having initially failed at the box-office, was re-released and became so successful two sequels were produced and released around the Tammy character.

The song “Tammy” became the top selling song of 1957 and became Debbie Reynolds’ signature song. “Tammy” became Livingston & Evans 6th Academy Award nominated song. “Tammy” is published by Jay Livingston Music, Inc.

Stay tuned to find out how Jay Livingston & Ray Evans made their way to Hollywood to become “The Last Of The Great Songwriters From The Golden-Age of Hollywood.”