Ned Washington
Encyclopedia
Ned Washington was an American
lyricist
.
from 1940 to 1962. He won the Best Original Music award twice: in 1940 for "When You Wish upon a Star
" in Pinocchio and in 1952 for "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin')" in High Noon
.
Some of Washington's most famous songs include:
Ned Washington is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame
. His grave is located in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
.
Biography
Washington was nominated for eleven Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
from 1940 to 1962. He won the Best Original Music award twice: in 1940 for "When You Wish upon a Star
When You Wish upon a Star
"When You Wish upon a Star" is a song written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for Walt Disney's 1940 adaptation of Pinocchio. The original version of the song was sung by Cliff Edwards in the character of Jiminy Cricket, and is heard over the opening credits and again in the final scene of the...
" in Pinocchio and in 1952 for "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin')" in High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
.
Some of Washington's most famous songs include:
- "Town Without Pity" (music by Dimitri TiomkinDimitri TiomkinDimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin was a Russian-born Hollywood film score composer and conductor. He is considered "one of the giants of Hollywood movie music." Musically trained in Russia, he is best known for his westerns, "where his expansive, muscular style had its greatest impact." Tiomkin...
, 1961) - "RawhideRawhide (song)"Rawhide" is a Western song written by Ned Washington and composed by Dimitri Tiomkin in 1958. It was originally recorded by Frankie Laine...
" (music by Dimitri TiomkinDimitri TiomkinDimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin was a Russian-born Hollywood film score composer and conductor. He is considered "one of the giants of Hollywood movie music." Musically trained in Russia, he is best known for his westerns, "where his expansive, muscular style had its greatest impact." Tiomkin...
, 1958) - "Wild Is the WindWild Is the Wind (song)"Wild Is the Wind" is a song written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington. The track was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis for the 1957 film Wild Is the Wind...
" (music by Dimitri TiomkinDimitri TiomkinDimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin was a Russian-born Hollywood film score composer and conductor. He is considered "one of the giants of Hollywood movie music." Musically trained in Russia, he is best known for his westerns, "where his expansive, muscular style had its greatest impact." Tiomkin...
, 1956) - "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (music by Dimitri TiomkinDimitri TiomkinDimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin was a Russian-born Hollywood film score composer and conductor. He is considered "one of the giants of Hollywood movie music." Musically trained in Russia, he is best known for his westerns, "where his expansive, muscular style had its greatest impact." Tiomkin...
, 1956) - "The 3:10 to YumaThe 3:10 to Yuma (song)"The 3:10 to Yuma" is a folk song written by George Duning and Ned Washington and sung by Frankie Laine as the theme song to the 1957 film 3:10 to Yuma....
" (music by George DuningGeorge DuningGeorge Duning was an American musician and film composer. He was born in Richmond, Indiana and educated in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where his mentor was Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco....
) - "The High and the MightyThe High and the Mighty (song)"The High and the Mighty" is a song by Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin from the movie of the same name.At the start of the film's production late in 1953, veteran film composer and musician Dimitri Tiomkin was commissioned to write the film's Academy Award winning score...
" (music by Dimitri TiomkinDimitri TiomkinDimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin was a Russian-born Hollywood film score composer and conductor. He is considered "one of the giants of Hollywood movie music." Musically trained in Russia, he is best known for his westerns, "where his expansive, muscular style had its greatest impact." Tiomkin...
, 1954) - "My Foolish HeartMy 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...
" (music by Victor YoungVictor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
, 1950) - "Green Dolphin StreetOn Green Dolphin Street (song)"On Green Dolphin Street" is a 1947 popular song composed by Bronislau Kaper with lyrics by Ned Washington. The song, composed for the film Green Dolphin Street, went on to become a jazz standard after being recorded by Miles Davis...
" (music by Bronislau Kaper, 1947) - "Stella by StarlightStella By Starlight"Stella by Starlight" is a jazz standard written by Victor Young and featured in The Uninvited, a 1944 film released by Paramount Pictures. Originally played in the film as an instrumental theme song without lyrics, it was turned over to Ned Washington, who wrote the lyrics for it in 1946...
" (music by Victor YoungVictor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
), 1944) Recorded by Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
on her VerveVerve RecordsVerve 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...
album Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie. - "The Nearness of YouThe Nearness of You"The Nearness of You" is a popular song, written in 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington.The biggest selling 1938 version was recorded by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, with a vocal by Ray Eberle...
" (with Hoagy CarmichaelHoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
, 1938) - "Smoke Rings" (music by H. Eugene Gifford - see Gene GiffordGene GiffordH. Eugene "Gene" Gifford was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and arranger.Gifford was raised in Memphis, Tennessee, and played banjo in high school; following this he played in territory bands, including Watson's Bell Hops and the bands of Bob Foster and Lloyd Williams...
, 1932) - "I'm Getting Sentimental Over YouI'm Getting Sentimental Over You"I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" is a song recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra. The words were written by Ned Washington and the music was written by George Bassman. It was first performed in 1932. The original copyright is dated 1933 and issued to Lawrence Music Publishers, Inc. The...
" (music by George BassmanGeorge BassmanGeorge Bassman was an American composer and arranger.-Biography:Born in New York to a Russian Jewish émigré couple, Bassman was later raised in Boston and began studying music at the Boston Conservatory while still a boy....
, 1932) - "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With YouI Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You"I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You" is a 1932 song composed by Victor Young, with lyrics written by Ned Washington and Bing Crosby, recorded on October 14, 1932 by Bing Crosby in New York. Bing Crosby was accompanied by the ARC Brunswick Studio Orchestra with Lennie Hayton on piano. Two...
" (music by Victor YoungVictor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
, 1932) Recorded by Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
on her PabloPablo RecordsPablo Records was a record label founded by Norman Granz in 1972, some ten years after he had sold his jazz labels to MGM Records....
release Digital III at MontreuxDigital III at MontreuxDigital III at Montreux is a 1979 live album featuring a compilation of performances by Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Joe Pass, and Ray Brown, recorded at the 1979 Montreux Jazz Festival...
. - "Singin' in the BathtubSingin' in the BathtubSinging in the Bathtub is a song written in 1929 by Michael H. Cleary, with lyrics by Herb Magidson and Ned Washington for the film The Show of Shows. The Show of Shows was Warner Bros.' answer to MGM's The Hollywood Revue of 1929, and "Singing in the Bathtub" spoofs Hollywood Revue's song...
" (with Herb MagidsonHerb MagidsonHerbert A. "Herb" Magidson was an American popular lyricist. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway reviews. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934....
; music by Michael H. Cleary, 1929)
Ned Washington is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
. His grave is located in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
.
External links
- Do Not Forsake Me: The Ballad of High Noon and the Rise of the Movie Theme Song (Senses of Cinema)
- High Noon: Score and Song
- Ned Washington at the Songwriters Hall of FameSongwriters Hall of FameThe Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...