Alvin LeRoy Holmes (September 22, 1913 – July 27, 1986) was an American songwriter, composer, arranger, orchestra conductor and record producer.
Holmes graduated from Hollywood High School, studied music
at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and the Juilliard School in
New York, before working with a number of bandleaders during the 1930s and
early 1940s. These included Ernst Toch, Vincent Lopez, and Harry James, for
whose band, he wrote "The Mole" and arranged “I Cried for You” and “Crazy Rhythm.”
After serving as a pilot and flying instructor, a lieutenant
in the US Navy during the Second World War, he moved to Hollywood,
where he was
hired by MGM Music Studios as a house arranger and conductor.
In 1950, he relocated to New York and continued as a record
producer for MGM, and later moved to United Artists. During his time with MGM
he formed a recording orchestra that produced a series of albums that sold
well. Holmes also backed numerous vocalists, including Judy Garland, Art Lund, Helen
Forrest, Dinah Shore and Nelson Eddy.
In 1954 made what is possibly his best known recording, a
version of the theme to the film The High and the Mighty. It sold over one
million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The song is known for its
distinctive accompanying whistling, which was provided by Fred Lowery. His
other popular-song and instrumental compositions include "Prince
Charming", "Sahara", "One Stop Boogie",
"Pennsylvania Turnpike", "B-19", and "The New
Dixieland Parade".
Holmes provided the orchestration for Tommy Edwards epic
1958 hit "It's All In The Game", and tried rock and R&B with his
backing to the Impalas "Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)". Holmes also
wrote the theme song to the television series International Detective.
He moved to United Artists Records in the early 1960s, where
he contributed to many compilations of movie themes, released albums under his
own name, Most notable of these were a solid collection of Morricone tunes from
spaghetti Westerns, For a Few Dollars More, and several LPs featuring some
wonderful soft pop
arrangements of movie themes, including the space age pop
favorite, "Mah-nah Mah-nah."
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| Holes with Connie Francis |
Whilst at UA he backed a succession of singers, notably
Connie Francis, Gloria Lynne, Shirley Bassey and Puerto Rican singers like Tito
RodrÃguez and Chucho Avellanet. In addition, he produced albums for a number of
United Artists acts, including the Briarwood Singers. He also worked on the
music for the 1977 film The Chicken Chronicles.
Holmes died from heart problems at Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center in Los Angeles, California at the age of 72.
(Mainly edited from Wikipedia)
