Legendary Composer Leroy Anderson Remembered

The music of this legendary composer and gifted musician is inextricably linked with American popular culture. Universally regarded as one of the fathers of classical orchestral "pops," Anderson's commercial and critical acclaim was recognized worldwide and even extended to fellow artists, with renowned John Williams describing him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music."

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Swedish parents, Leroy Anderson was given his first piano lessons by his mother, who was a church organist. Anderson began studying piano formally at the New England Conservatory of Music at the age of seven. In 1925 Anderson entered Harvard University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1929, he studied with Georges Enesco and Walter Piston for a Master of Arts in Music in 1930.

An accomplished musician, Anderson stayed in the Boston area as director and arranger for the Harvard band, as well as a bass player in dance bands, church organist and choirmaster before he began arranging for Arthur Fiedler's Boston Pops Orchestra in the mid-1930s. Fiedler encouraged Anderson to write his own pieces for the Pops. In 1938, Anderson complied, and wrote "Jazz Pizzicato" and "Jazz Legato" - both became immediate successes.

Decca Records signed Anderson to conduct and record his own music. In 1951, Anderson's "Blue Tango" became the first instrumental recording ever to sell one million copies. His most famous pieces are probably "Sleigh Ride" and "The Syncopated Clock", both of which are instantly recognizable to millions of people. CBS selected "Syncopated Clock" as the theme song for The Late Show, the WCBS late-night movie. Mitchell Parish added words to "Syncopated Clock", and later wrote lyrics for other Anderson tunes, including "Sleigh Ride", which was not written as a Christmas piece, but as a work that describes a winter event. From 1952 to 1961, Anderson's composition "Plink, Plank, Plunk!" was used as the theme for the CBS panel show I've Got A Secret.

Anderson would go on to write over 75 compositions, spanning a 40 year career. For his contribution to the recording industry, Anderson was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was also posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1988

Leroy Anderson died in Woodbury, Connecticut, in 1975, and is survived by his wife, Eleanor, and children Jane Anderson Vercelli, Rolf Anderson and Kurt Anderson; grandchildren Anders Vercelli, Lars Vercelli and Ivan Anderson.