Gordon Jenkins
Encyclopedia
Gordon Hill Jenkins was an American
arranger
, composer and pianist who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements. Jenkins worked with the Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash
, The Weavers
, Frank Sinatra
, Louis Armstrong
, Judy Garland
, Nat King Cole
, Billie Holiday
, and Ella Fitzgerald
, among other singers.
. He began his career doing arrangements for a St. Louis
radio station. He was then hired by Isham Jones
, the director of a dance band known for its ensemble playing, and this gave Jenkins the opportunity to develop his skills in melodic scoring. He also conducted The Show Is On on Broadway
. Jenkins married high school sweetheart Nancy Harkey in 1931 and had three children: Gordon Jr., Susan, and Page. In 1946, he divorced Harkey and married Beverly Mahr, one of the singers in his band. They had a son, Bruce.
After the Jones band broke up in 1936, Jenkins worked as a freelance arranger and songwriter, contributing to sessions by Isham Jones, Paul Whiteman
, Benny Goodman
, Andre Kostelanetz
, Lennie Hayton
, and others. In 1938, Jenkins moved to Hollywood and worked for Paramount Pictures
and NBC
, and then became Dick Haymes
' arranger for four years. In 1944, Jenkins had a hit song with "San Fernando Valley".
In 1945, Jenkins joined Decca Records
. In 1947, he had his first million-seller with "Maybe You'll Be There
" featuring vocalist Charles LaVere and in 1949 had a huge hit with Victor Young
's film theme "My Foolish Heart
", which was also a success for Billy Eckstine
. At the same time, he regularly arranged for and conducted the orchestra for various Decca artists, including Dick Haymes ("Little White Lies
", 1947), Ella Fitzgerald ("Happy Talk
", 1949, "Black Coffee
", 1949, "Baby", 1954), Patty Andrews of the Andrews Sisters ("I Can Dream, Can't I", 1949) and Louis Armstrong ("Blueberry Hill
", 1949 and "When It's Sleepy Time Down South
", 1951).
The liner notes to Verve Records
' 2001 reissue of one of Jenkins' albums with Armstrong, Satchmo In Style, quote Decca's onetime A & R Director, Milt Gabler
, saying that Jenkins "stood up on his little podium so that all the performers could see him conduct. But before he gave a downbeat, Gordon made a speech about how much he loved Louis and how this was the greatest moment in his life. And then he cried."
During this time, Jenkins also began recording and performing under his own name. One of his enduring works while at Decca was a pair of Broadway-style musical vignettes, "Manhattan Tower" and "California" which saw release several times (78s, 45s, and LP) in the '40s and '50s. The two were paired on a very early Decca LP in 1949, and Jenkins was given the Key to New York City by its mayor when Jenkins's orchestra performed the 16-minute suite on The Ed Sullivan Show
in the early '50s. In 1956, he expanded "Manhattan Tower" to almost three times its length, released it (this time on Capitol Records
), and performed it on an hour-long television show. (Both versions of "Manhattan Tower" are currently available on CD.) His "Seven Dreams" included a sequence which was the source for Johnny Cash
's immensely popular recording, "Folsom Prison Blues
". His final long-form work was The Future, which comprised the entire third disk of Frank Sinatra
's 1980 Grammy-nominated Trilogy
album. Although the piece was savaged by critics, Sinatra reportedly loved the semi-biographical work and felt that Jenkins was treated unfairly by the media.
Jenkins headlined New York's Capitol Theater between 1949 and 1951 and the Paramount Theater in 1952. He appeared in Las Vegas
in 1953 and many times thereafter. He worked for NBC as a TV producer from 1955 to 1957, and performed at the Hollywood Bowl
in 1964. By 1949, Jenkins was musical director at Decca, and he signed — despite resistance from Decca's management — the Weavers
, a Greenwich Village
folk ensemble that included Pete Seeger
among its members. The combination of the Weavers' folk music
with Jenkins' orchestral arrangements became immensely popular, to the surprise of everyone involved. Their most notable collaboration was a version of Leadbelly
's "Goodnight Irene" (1950) backed by Jenkins' adaptation of the Israeli folk song, "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena
". Other notable songs they recorded together are "The Roving Kind
", "On Top of Old Smoky
" (1951), and "Wimoweh" (1952).
After a brief stint with RCA's "X" records,
Jenkins later moved to Capitol Records
where he worked with Frank Sinatra
, notably on the albums Where Are You? (1957) and No One Cares
(1959), and Nat King Cole, with whom he had his greatest successes; Jenkins was responsible for the lush arrangements on the 1957 album Love Is the Thing
(Capitol's first stereo release, which included "When I Fall in Love
", one of Cole's best-known recordings), as well as the albums The Very Thought of You
(1958) and Where Did Everyone Go?
(1963). Jenkins also wrote the music and lyrics for Judy Garland's 1959 album The Letter which also featured vocalist Charles LaVere, and conducted several of Garland's London concerts in the early 1960s.
Whilst most of Jenkins' arrangements at Capitol were in his distinctive string-laden style, he continued to demonstrate more versatility when required, particularly on albums such as A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra
(1957), which opens with a swinging version of Jingle Bells
, and Nat King Cole's album of spirituals, Every Time I Feel The Spirit (1960), which includes several tracks with a pronounced
beat that might almost be described as rock
. He also produced a diverse set of charts for his critically acclaimed 1960 album Gordon Jenkins Presents Marshall Royal
, a jazz-pop crossover project with Count Basie's alto saxophonist which included both strings and a swinging rhythm section.
However, as rock and roll
gained ascendancy in the 1960s, Jenkins' lush string arrangements fell out of favour and he worked only sporadically, though Sinatra, who had left Capitol to start his own label, Reprise Records
, continued to call upon the arranger's services at various intervals over the next two decades, on albums such as All Alone
(1962), the critically acclaimed September of My Years
(1965), for which Jenkins won a Grammy, Sinatra's 1973 comeback album, Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back and She Shot Me Down
(1981) - regarded by many "Sinatraphiles" as the singer's last great work. Jenkins also worked with Harry Nilsson
, arranging and conducting A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night
(1973), an album of jazz standards. The Nilsson sessions, with Jenkins conducting, were recorded on video and later broadcast as a television special by the BBC
.
Although best known as an arranger, Jenkins also wrote well-known several songs including "P.S. I Love You
", "Goodbye
" (Benny Goodman
's sign-off tune), "Blue Prelude", "This Is All I Ask", and "When a Woman Loves a Man
". Jenkins also composed the "Future" suite for Sinatra's 1980 concept album
Trilogy: Past Present Future
.
Toward the end of his life, he was in a near-fatal automobile accident, which left him severely debilitated. But towards the end he rallied himself for work, conducting a full orchestra for a recording session, despite his pain. His daughter Susan proudly related to friends of what that moment meant to her father, and that he was never happier than when he was before a gathering of his fellow musicians. A fitting and beautiful coda to a man dedicated to his art.
.
In November 2005, Gordon's son Bruce (a sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle
) published a biography
of his father titled Goodbye: In Search of Gordon Jenkins. Other living relatives include sons Page and Gordon Jr., daughter Susan, nieces Phoebe Barnum and Leslie Mason, and grandson "Pogi" Tony.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
, composer and pianist who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements. Jenkins worked with the Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, The Weavers
The Weavers
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. They sang traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as blues, gospel music, children's songs, labor songs, and American ballads, and selling millions of records at the height of their...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, and Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, among other singers.
Life
Jenkins was born in Webster Groves, MissouriWebster Groves, Missouri
Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is named after New England politician Daniel Webster....
. He began his career doing arrangements for a St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
radio station. He was then hired by Isham Jones
Isham Jones
Isham Jones was a United States bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter.-Career:Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, to a musical and mining family, and grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, where he started his first band...
, the director of a dance band known for its ensemble playing, and this gave Jenkins the opportunity to develop his skills in melodic scoring. He also conducted The Show Is On on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. Jenkins married high school sweetheart Nancy Harkey in 1931 and had three children: Gordon Jr., Susan, and Page. In 1946, he divorced Harkey and married Beverly Mahr, one of the singers in his band. They had a son, Bruce.
After the Jones band broke up in 1936, Jenkins worked as a freelance arranger and songwriter, contributing to sessions by Isham Jones, Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
, Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, Andre Kostelanetz
Andre Kostelanetz
André Kostelanetz was a popular orchestral music conductor and arranger, one of the pioneers of easy listening music.-Biography:...
, Lennie Hayton
Lennie Hayton
Leonard George "Lennie" Hayton was an American Jewish composer, conductor and arranger. His trademark was the wearing of a captain’s hat, which he always wore at a rakish angle....
, and others. In 1938, Jenkins moved to Hollywood and worked for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, and then became Dick Haymes
Dick Haymes
Richard Benjamin "Dick" Haymes was an Argentine actor and one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, who was an actor, television host, and songwriter....
' arranger for four years. In 1944, Jenkins had a hit song with "San Fernando Valley".
In 1945, Jenkins joined Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. In 1947, he had his first million-seller with "Maybe You'll Be There
Maybe You'll Be There
"Maybe You'll Be There" is a popular song composed by Rube Bloom, with lyrics written by Sammy Gallop. The song was published in 1947.The recording by Gordon Jenkins was released by Decca Records as catalog number 24403. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on June 11, 1948 and...
" featuring vocalist Charles LaVere and in 1949 had a huge hit with Victor Young
Victor Young
Victor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
's film theme "My Foolish Heart
My Foolish Heart (song)
"My Foolish Heart" is a popular song that was published in 1949.The music was written by Victor Young and the lyrics by Ned Washington. The song was introduced by the singer Martha Mears in the 1949 film of the same name. The song failed to escape critics' general laceration of the film...
", which was also a success for Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
. At the same time, he regularly arranged for and conducted the orchestra for various Decca artists, including Dick Haymes ("Little White Lies
Little White Lies
"Little White Lies" is a popular song.It was written by Walter Donaldson. The song was published in 1930. It was recorded on July 25, 1930 by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians with vocal by Clare Hanlon and The Waring Girls...
", 1947), Ella Fitzgerald ("Happy Talk
Happy Talk (song)
In June 1982, The Damned's guitarist Captain Sensible scored an unlikely #1 single on the UK singles chart for two weeks with his version of the song, featuring backing vocals by the band Dolly Mixture.-Cover Version:...
", 1949, "Black Coffee
Black Coffee (1948 song)
"Black Coffee" is a song. The music was written by Sonny Burke, the lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. The song was published in 1948. Sarah Vaughan charted with this song in 1949 on Columbia. Peggy Lee first released her version in 1953...
", 1949, "Baby", 1954), Patty Andrews of the Andrews Sisters ("I Can Dream, Can't I", 1949) and Louis Armstrong ("Blueberry Hill
Blueberry Hill (song)
"Blueberry Hill" is a popular song published in 1940 best remembered for its 1950s rock n' roll version by Fats Domino. The music was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Al Lewis. It was recorded six times in 1940...
", 1949 and "When It's Sleepy Time Down South
When It's Sleepy Time Down South
"When It's Sleepy Time Down South", also known as "Sleepy Time Down South", is a 1931 jazz song written by Clarence Muse, Leon René and Otis René. It was sung in the movie Safe in Hell by Nina Mae McKinney, and became the theme song of Louis Armstrong, who recorded it almost a hundred times during...
", 1951).
The liner notes to Verve Records
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
' 2001 reissue of one of Jenkins' albums with Armstrong, Satchmo In Style, quote Decca's onetime A & R Director, Milt Gabler
Milt Gabler
Milton Gabler was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century.-Early life:...
, saying that Jenkins "stood up on his little podium so that all the performers could see him conduct. But before he gave a downbeat, Gordon made a speech about how much he loved Louis and how this was the greatest moment in his life. And then he cried."
During this time, Jenkins also began recording and performing under his own name. One of his enduring works while at Decca was a pair of Broadway-style musical vignettes, "Manhattan Tower" and "California" which saw release several times (78s, 45s, and LP) in the '40s and '50s. The two were paired on a very early Decca LP in 1949, and Jenkins was given the Key to New York City by its mayor when Jenkins's orchestra performed the 16-minute suite on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
in the early '50s. In 1956, he expanded "Manhattan Tower" to almost three times its length, released it (this time on Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
), and performed it on an hour-long television show. (Both versions of "Manhattan Tower" are currently available on CD.) His "Seven Dreams" included a sequence which was the source for Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
's immensely popular recording, "Folsom Prison Blues
Folsom Prison Blues
"Folsom Prison Blues" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career...
". His final long-form work was The Future, which comprised the entire third disk of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's 1980 Grammy-nominated Trilogy
Trilogy: Past Present Future
Trilogy: Past Present Future is a 1980 triple album by the American singer Frank Sinatra. This album produced the last of Sinatra's many signature numbers, "Theme from New York, New York."...
album. Although the piece was savaged by critics, Sinatra reportedly loved the semi-biographical work and felt that Jenkins was treated unfairly by the media.
Jenkins headlined New York's Capitol Theater between 1949 and 1951 and the Paramount Theater in 1952. He appeared in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
in 1953 and many times thereafter. He worked for NBC as a TV producer from 1955 to 1957, and performed at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
in 1964. By 1949, Jenkins was musical director at Decca, and he signed — despite resistance from Decca's management — the Weavers
The Weavers
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. They sang traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as blues, gospel music, children's songs, labor songs, and American ballads, and selling millions of records at the height of their...
, a Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
folk ensemble that included Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
among its members. The combination of the Weavers' folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
with Jenkins' orchestral arrangements became immensely popular, to the surprise of everyone involved. Their most notable collaboration was a version of Leadbelly
Leadbelly
Huddie William Ledbetter was an iconic American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....
's "Goodnight Irene" (1950) backed by Jenkins' adaptation of the Israeli folk song, "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena
Tzena, Tzena, Tzena
"Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" is a song, originally written in Hebrew by Issachar Miron , a Polish emigrant to what was then The British Mandate of Palestine but is now Israel, and Jehiel Hagges .-History and development:...
". Other notable songs they recorded together are "The Roving Kind
The Roving Kind (song)
The Roving Kind was a popular song adapted in 1950 from a British folksong "The Pirate Ship" by Jessie Cavanaugh and Arnold Stanton. The best known version was recorded by Guy Mitchell in 1950, in which it reached #4 on Billboard in December 1950...
", "On Top of Old Smoky
On Top of Old Smoky
"On Top of Old Smoky" is a traditional folk song and a well-known ballad of the United States which, as recorded by The Weavers, reached the pop music charts in 1951....
" (1951), and "Wimoweh" (1952).
After a brief stint with RCA's "X" records,
Jenkins later moved to Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
where he worked with Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, notably on the albums Where Are You? (1957) and No One Cares
No One Cares
No One Cares is a 1959 album by Frank Sinatra.The album can be seen as a sequel to the Sinatra's earlier album Where Are You?, which was also arranged by Gordon Jenkins. The album was released in 1959 in both stereo and mono versions, each containing 11 songs...
(1959), and Nat King Cole, with whom he had his greatest successes; Jenkins was responsible for the lush arrangements on the 1957 album Love Is the Thing
Love Is the Thing
Love Is the Thing is a 1957 album released by American jazz vocalist Nat King Cole. It is the first of four collaborations between Cole and influential arranger Gordon Jenkins. Launching the charting single "Stardust", which peaked at #79, the album reached #1 on Billboard's "Pop Albums" chart and...
(Capitol's first stereo release, which included "When I Fall in Love
When I Fall in Love (song)
"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young and Edward Heyman . It was introduced in the film One Minute to Zero. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it, though the original hit version was by Doris Day.Doris Day's recording was made on June 5, 1952...
", one of Cole's best-known recordings), as well as the albums The Very Thought of You
The Very Thought of You
"The Very Thought of You" is a pop standard published in 1934, with music and lyrics by Ray Noble. In addition to Noble's own hit recording of the song with his orchestra, featuring the vocals of Al Bowlly, there was also a popular version recorded that same year by Bing Crosby. A decade later, the...
(1958) and Where Did Everyone Go?
Where Did Everyone Go?
Where Did Everyone Go? is a 1963 studio album by Nat King Cole, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. This was the third and final album that Cole and Jenkins recorded together, following Love Is the Thing and The Very Thought of You ....
(1963). Jenkins also wrote the music and lyrics for Judy Garland's 1959 album The Letter which also featured vocalist Charles LaVere, and conducted several of Garland's London concerts in the early 1960s.
Whilst most of Jenkins' arrangements at Capitol were in his distinctive string-laden style, he continued to demonstrate more versatility when required, particularly on albums such as A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra is a Christmas album by American singer Frank Sinatra, originally released by Capitol Records in 1957.This was Sinatra's first full-length Christmas album...
(1957), which opens with a swinging version of Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
, and Nat King Cole's album of spirituals, Every Time I Feel The Spirit (1960), which includes several tracks with a pronounced
beat that might almost be described as rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. He also produced a diverse set of charts for his critically acclaimed 1960 album Gordon Jenkins Presents Marshall Royal
Marshall Royal
Marshall Royal was an American clarinettist and alto saxophonist best known for his work with Count Basie, with whose band he played for nearly twenty years....
, a jazz-pop crossover project with Count Basie's alto saxophonist which included both strings and a swinging rhythm section.
However, as rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
gained ascendancy in the 1960s, Jenkins' lush string arrangements fell out of favour and he worked only sporadically, though Sinatra, who had left Capitol to start his own label, Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
, continued to call upon the arranger's services at various intervals over the next two decades, on albums such as All Alone
All Alone (album)
All Alone is an album by Frank Sinatra, released in 1962.Originally, All Alone was going to be called Come Waltz With Me. Although the title and the accompanying specially written title song were dropped before the album's release, the record remained a stately collection of waltzes, arranged and...
(1962), the critically acclaimed September of My Years
September of My Years
September of My Years is a 1965 studio album by the American singer Frank Sinatra, arranged by Gordon Jenkins.Sinatra was to turn 50 years old in December 1965, and the release of this album along with A Man and His Music and Strangers in the Night marked a surge of popularity in Sinatra's music...
(1965), for which Jenkins won a Grammy, Sinatra's 1973 comeback album, Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back and She Shot Me Down
She Shot Me Down
She Shot Me Down is a 1981 album by Frank Sinatra. This was the final album Sinatra recorded for the record label he founded, Reprise Records and generally considered an artistic triumph that evokes the best of Sinatra during this stage of his career...
(1981) - regarded by many "Sinatraphiles" as the singer's last great work. Jenkins also worked with Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
, arranging and conducting A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night
A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night
A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night is an album of classic 20th-century standards sung by Harry Nilsson. The album was arranged by Sinatra arranger Gordon Jenkins, and produced by Derek Taylor....
(1973), an album of jazz standards. The Nilsson sessions, with Jenkins conducting, were recorded on video and later broadcast as a television special by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
Although best known as an arranger, Jenkins also wrote well-known several songs including "P.S. I Love You
P.S. I Love You (1934 song)
"P.S. I Love You" is a popular song. The music was written by Gordon Jenkins, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1934.The original hit version in the 1930s was recorded by Rudy Vallée. It was revived in the 1950s by The Hilltoppers and in the 1960s by The Vogues, and again in...
", "Goodbye
Goodbye (Gordon Jenkins song)
Goodbye is a song written by American composer and arranger Gordon Jenkins, published in 1935. It became well known as the closing theme song of the Benny Goodman orchestra....
" (Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
's sign-off tune), "Blue Prelude", "This Is All I Ask", and "When a Woman Loves a Man
When a Woman Loves a Man
"When a Woman Loves a Man" is a song composed by Bernie Hanighen and Gordon Jenkins with lyrics by Johnny Mercer in 1938.-Notable recordings:*Tony Bennett - Tony Bennett on Holiday...
". Jenkins also composed the "Future" suite for Sinatra's 1980 concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
Trilogy: Past Present Future
Trilogy: Past Present Future
Trilogy: Past Present Future is a 1980 triple album by the American singer Frank Sinatra. This album produced the last of Sinatra's many signature numbers, "Theme from New York, New York."...
.
Toward the end of his life, he was in a near-fatal automobile accident, which left him severely debilitated. But towards the end he rallied himself for work, conducting a full orchestra for a recording session, despite his pain. His daughter Susan proudly related to friends of what that moment meant to her father, and that he was never happier than when he was before a gathering of his fellow musicians. A fitting and beautiful coda to a man dedicated to his art.
Death
Jenkins died in Malibu, California in 1984 at age 73 of Lou Gehrig's diseaseAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
.
In November 2005, Gordon's son Bruce (a sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
) published a biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of his father titled Goodbye: In Search of Gordon Jenkins. Other living relatives include sons Page and Gordon Jr., daughter Susan, nieces Phoebe Barnum and Leslie Mason, and grandson "Pogi" Tony.
Orchestrations for Nat King Cole
- 1957 Love Is the ThingLove Is the ThingLove Is the Thing is a 1957 album released by American jazz vocalist Nat King Cole. It is the first of four collaborations between Cole and influential arranger Gordon Jenkins. Launching the charting single "Stardust", which peaked at #79, the album reached #1 on Billboard's "Pop Albums" chart and...
- 1958 The Very Thought of YouThe Very Thought of You (album)The Very Thought of You is an album by Canadian jazz singer and voice actress Emilie-Claire Barlow. It was released in 2007, and was nominated for the "Vocal Jazz Album of the Year" at the Juno Awards of 2008.-Track listing:-Personnel:...
- 1960 Everytime I Feel the SpiritEverytime I Feel the SpiritEverytime I Feel the Spirit is a 1959 studio album by Nat King Cole, of Negro spirituals, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. Cole is accompanied by the First Church of Deliverance Choir of Chicago, Illinois...
- 1963 Where Did Everyone Go?Where Did Everyone Go?Where Did Everyone Go? is a 1963 studio album by Nat King Cole, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. This was the third and final album that Cole and Jenkins recorded together, following Love Is the Thing and The Very Thought of You ....
Capitol albums
- 1957 A Jolly Christmas From Frank SinatraA Jolly Christmas from Frank SinatraA Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra is a Christmas album by American singer Frank Sinatra, originally released by Capitol Records in 1957.This was Sinatra's first full-length Christmas album...
- 1957 Where Are You?
- 1959 No One CaresNo One CaresNo One Cares is a 1959 album by Frank Sinatra.The album can be seen as a sequel to the Sinatra's earlier album Where Are You?, which was also arranged by Gordon Jenkins. The album was released in 1959 in both stereo and mono versions, each containing 11 songs...
Reprise albums
- 1962 All AloneAll Alone (album)All Alone is an album by Frank Sinatra, released in 1962.Originally, All Alone was going to be called Come Waltz With Me. Although the title and the accompanying specially written title song were dropped before the album's release, the record remained a stately collection of waltzes, arranged and...
- 1965 September of My YearsSeptember of My YearsSeptember of My Years is a 1965 studio album by the American singer Frank Sinatra, arranged by Gordon Jenkins.Sinatra was to turn 50 years old in December 1965, and the release of this album along with A Man and His Music and Strangers in the Night marked a surge of popularity in Sinatra's music...
- 1973 Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back
- 1980 "Future" suite - Trilogy: Past Present FutureTrilogy: Past Present FutureTrilogy: Past Present Future is a 1980 triple album by the American singer Frank Sinatra. This album produced the last of Sinatra's many signature numbers, "Theme from New York, New York."...
- 1981 She Shot Me DownShe Shot Me DownShe Shot Me Down is a 1981 album by Frank Sinatra. This was the final album Sinatra recorded for the record label he founded, Reprise Records and generally considered an artistic triumph that evokes the best of Sinatra during this stage of his career...
Orchestrations for other artists
- 1955 Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
- Miss Ella Fitzgerald & Mr Gordon Jenkins Invite You to Listen and RelaxMiss Ella Fitzgerald & Mr Gordon Jenkins Invite You to Listen and RelaxMiss Ella Fitzgerald & Mr Gordon Jenkins Invite You to Listen and Relax is a collection of material recorded by Ella Fitzgerald between 1949 and 1954, all tracks were arranged by Gordon Jenkins. All tracks were previously only available on 78rpm singles... - 1957 Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
- AloneAlone (Judy Garland album)Alone is a 1957 studio album by Judy Garland, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. - Track listing :# "By Myself" – 2:38# "Little Girl Blue" – 3:41... - 1959 Judy Garland - The Letter
- 1965 Jimmy DuranteJimmy DuranteJames Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
- Jimmy Durante's Way of Life...Jimmy Durante's Way of Life...Jimmy Durante's Way of Life... is a 1965 studio album by Jimmy Durante, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. -Track listing:# "A Way of Life" – 3:06# "My Wish" – 2:24... - 1973 Harry NilssonHarry NilssonHarry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
- A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the NightA Little Touch of Schmilsson in the NightA Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night is an album of classic 20th-century standards sung by Harry Nilsson. The album was arranged by Sinatra arranger Gordon Jenkins, and produced by Derek Taylor....
External links
- Discography (at VH1)
- Profile