Biography
Jay Livingston, a songwriter active in the post-war period, collected three Academy Awards for Best Song across the 1940s and 1950s alongside lyricist Ray Evans. A native of Pennsylvania, he trained in classical piano during childhood and later pursued studies in composition and orchestration at the University of Pennsylvania. While leading a dance band there as an extracurricular pursuit, he first encountered Evans. Following their 1937 graduation, the two relocated to New York, where they achieved an initial success with the 1941 song “G’bye Now,” commissioned for Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson’s Hellzapoppin’. After completing several years of service in the U.S. Army, Livingston and Evans settled in Hollywood in 1944 under a Paramount contract. Between 1946 and 1956 they supplied material for one hundred films, among them the Oscar recipients “Buttons and Bows” from the 1948 picture The Paleface, “Mona Lisa” from 1951’s Captain Carey of the U.S.A., and “Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” from the 1957 release The Man Who Knew Too Much.
During the 1950s the pair shifted to freelance work across multiple studios and increasingly favored full scores—such as those for The Lemon Drop Kid, which introduced the seasonal standard “Silver Bells,” and My Friend Irma—over standalone numbers. In 1961 they created the music for the Broadway production Let It Ride!. Both songwriters were later elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
During the 1950s the pair shifted to freelance work across multiple studios and increasingly favored full scores—such as those for The Lemon Drop Kid, which introduced the seasonal standard “Silver Bells,” and My Friend Irma—over standalone numbers. In 1961 they created the music for the Broadway production Let It Ride!. Both songwriters were later elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.