Leroy Anderson earned lasting recognition chiefly through works like "The Syncopated Clock" and the seasonal favorite "Sleigh Ride," placing him among the foremost United States creators of light, melodic orchestral pieces. Beyond that, his abilities as conductor and arranger enabled him to produce comic sonic impressions through everyday orchestral instruments and percussion.
Born on June 29, 1908, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Swedish immigrant parents, Anderson received early musical instruction from his mother, who served as church organist. From age 11 onward he pursued piano studies at the New England Conservatory of Music while also taking private double-bass lessons. He enrolled at Harvard in 1925, where he performed on trombone and double bass in the orchestra, participated in the glee club, and served as drum major and arranger for the marching band, several of whose collegiate-song settings remain in use at the university today. After completing his undergraduate degree he remained to obtain a master’s, accepted a teaching position at Radcliffe College, led the Harvard marching band between 1931 and 1935, worked as a freelance organist and bassist, and continued graduate work in German and Scandinavian languages.
In 1935 Anderson resigned his teaching post to devote himself fully to freelance work. The following year the Boston Pops Orchestra invited him to arrange and conduct a medley drawn from his Harvard song settings. Arthur Fiedler was sufficiently impressed to commission an original piece, resulting in "Jazz Pizzicato," which premiered in 1938. Its popularity prompted the companion work "Jazz Legato" and a permanent role for Anderson as the Boston Pops’ arranger and orchestrator. Military service interrupted that association in 1942; during World War II he served in the Scandinavian intelligence division before a transfer to Washington, where he advanced in rank. While stationed at the Pentagon in 1945 he wrote "The Syncopated Clock," which received its premiere, together with "Promenade," from the Boston Pops that same year. After the war Anderson declined a permanent intelligence assignment in Stockholm and returned to music, resuming duties as orchestrator and arranger with the Boston Pops from 1946 to 1950 and establishing residence in Woodbury, Connecticut.
During those years "The Syncopated Clock" gained favor with ensembles nationwide. Anderson’s output increased, yielding 1947’s "Fiddle-Faddle" and the well-received medley of Irish traditional tunes titled "The Irish Suite." He began sketching the music that became "Sleigh Ride" during an especially warm summer in 1946; completed early in 1948, the piece achieved holiday status through its inventive effects—sleigh bells, clopping hooves, cracking whips, and neighing trumpets among them.
Decca Records offered Anderson leadership of his own 55-piece studio orchestra in 1950. His recording of "The Syncopated Clock" was soon chosen by CBS as the theme for its long-running Late Show movie broadcasts, guaranteeing the work’s continued prominence. That year also introduced the whimsical "The Typewriter" and "The Waltzing Cat," both rich in evocative effects. The year 1951 proved still more successful: "Belle of the Ball" and "Plink! Plank! Plunk!" entered the Anderson repertoire, yet "Blue Tango," an exotic number that reached the top of the charts, stood out as one of the first instrumentals to sell a million copies between 1951 and 1952.
Anderson presented his more ambitious classical effort, "Concerto in C for Piano and Orchestra," in Chicago and Cleveland in 1953. He withdrew the score for revision of the opening movement but never completed the planned alterations; his family later released the concerto in its original version. Additional popular works appeared in 1954, among them "Bugler’s Holiday," the effects-driven "Sandpaper Ballet," and "Forgotten Dreams." In 1958 he collaborated with writers and lyricists Walter and Jean Kerr on his sole Broadway musical, Goldilocks.
Anderson recorded for Decca until 1962 and continued conducting and composing—chiefly for the Boston Pops—into the early 1970s. He was featured as guest of honor on a 1972 Pops PBS program dedicated to his music. He died on May 18, 1975. Thirteen years afterward he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. During his peak years orchestras across the country performed his catalog extensively; moreover, Anderson prepared alternate versions of his pieces suited to players of varying abilities, thereby securing their lasting place in orchestral and band literature.
