Through my life I have enjoyed singing (mostly to myself) and many of my favorite songs were originally sung by the likes of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra and....many of those were written by the one and only Jimmy Van Heusen.
Although his name has been familiar to me, I didn't know much of his background. And unlike some of the other songwriters of the 40s and 50s, Van Heusen has not been as recognized as other guys like Irving Berlin or Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Van Heusen wrote a lot of the songs made famous by Bing Crosby such as "Swinging on a Star" and one of my favorites, the title song to the movie "Going My Way" with Bing and Ingrid Bergman.
After the Bing era, he became pals and was the main tune-smith for Sinatra. Jimmy was quite the womanizer and the quote from Sammy Cahn is that Frank "wanted to be Jimmy Van Heusen, but he couldn't pass the physical." Gotta love that one. Poor Frank!
Compared to many famous composers there isn't too much available on Jimmy Van Heusen. Apparently he was a private man and even though he drafted a biography, it was never released. A great biography by Christopher Coppula called "Swinging on a Star" is out there. There was also a PBS special showcasing his life awhile back...but good luck finding that on Youtube or on DVD.
I have one of his record albums where he plays the piano. It all sounds so effortless. Truly amazing how he came up with so many beautiful melodies.
Since he never had any children, Jimmy's legacy is now under the wings of his nephew, who didn't have anything to do with the music business but is now keeping his memory alive. Very cool and very fascinating. Why didn't I have an uncle who wrote tunes? Not fair!
Jimmys birth name was Chester Babcock. He took his "Van Heusen" moniker from the shirt company, so I guess I'll have to start wearing Van Heusen shirts to support the legacy of yet another one of my idols. I wonder if Jimmy wore Van Heusen shirts!?
