Editing Jule Styne

{{short description|English-American songwriter (1905–1994)}}
{{About|English-American Broadway composer|the co-founder of ''Music Corporation of America''|Jules C. Stein}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2025}}

{{Infobox musical artist
| name                = Jule Styne
| image               = Jule Styne (1961 still).jpg
| image_size          =
| caption             = Styne in 1961
| background          = non_performing_personnel
| birth_name          = Julius Kerwin Stein
| alias               =
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1905|12|31|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [[London]], England
| origin              =
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1994|9|20|1905|12|31}}
| death_place         = [[Manhattan|Manhattan, New York]], U.S.
| instrument          =
| genre               =
| occupation          = [[Song writer]], [[composer]]
| years_active        = 1926–1994
| label               =
| associated_acts     = {{hlist|[[Sammy Cahn]]|[[Leo Robin]]|[[Betty Comden]]|[[Adolph Green]]|[[Stephen Sondheim]]|[[Bob Merrill]]}}
| spouse              = Margaret Styne
| website             =
}}
'''Jule Styne''' ({{IPAc-en|'|dʒ|u:|l|i}} {{respell|JOO|lee}};<ref name="pc3a" /> born '''Julius Kerwin Stein'''; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994)<ref name="AMG">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jule-styne-mn0000304458/biography|title=Jule Styne Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=October 13, 2021}}</ref> was an English-American [[songwriter]] and [[composer]] widely known for a series of [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] [[musical theatre|musicals]], including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became successful films: ''[[Gypsy (1962 film)|Gypsy]],'' ''[[Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)|Gentlemen Prefer Blondes]],'' and ''[[Funny Girl (musical)|Funny Girl]].''

==Early life==
Styne was born to a [[Jewish]] family<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bloom|first=Nate|title=All those Holiday/Christmas Songs: So Many Jewish Songwriters!|publisher=[[Jewish World Review]]|date=December 22, 2014|url=http://jewishworldreview.com/1214/jewz_xmas.php3}}</ref> in [[London]], England.<ref name="AMG"/> His parents, Anna Kertman and Isadore Stein, were emigrants from Ukraine (then part of the [[Russian Empire]]) and ran a small grocery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bwdaAAAAYAAJ&q=Isadore+and+Anna+%5BKertman%5D+Stein|title=Current Biography Yearbook|date=April 29, 1984|publisher=H. W. Wilson Co.|via=Google Books}}</ref> Even before his family left Britain, he did impressions on the stage of well-known singers, including [[Harry Lauder]], who saw him perform and advised him to take up the piano.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Steyn|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Steyn|title=I've Heard That Song Before|work=SteynOnline |publisher=Steyn Online|date=April 29, 2018|url=https://www.steynonline.com/8622/ive-heard-that-song-before|access-date=April 30, 2018}}</ref> At the age of eight, he moved with his family to [[Chicago]], where he began taking [[piano]] lessons. He proved to be a [[Child prodigy|prodigy]] and performed with the Chicago, [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], and [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]] symphonies before he was 10&nbsp;years old.

==Career==
Before Styne attended [[Chicago Musical College]], he had already attracted the attention of another teenager, [[Mike Todd]], later a successful film producer, who commissioned him to write a song for a musical act that he was creating. It was the first of over 1,500 published songs Styne composed in his career. His first hit, "Sunday", was written in 1926.

In 1929, Styne was playing with the [[Ben Pollack]] band.<ref name="Boggs">{{YouTube|id=R1KJSlbpFOA |title="Songwriters Jule Styne, Martin Charnin, Charles Strouse, Walter Bishop, Sr."}}</ref>

Styne was a vocal coach for [[20th Century Fox]] until [[Darryl F. Zanuck]] fired him because vocal coaching was "a luxury, and we're cutting out those luxuries." Zanuck told him he should write songs because "that's forever." Styne established his own dance band, which got him noticed in Hollywood, where he was championed by [[Frank Sinatra]] and began a collaboration with lyricist [[Sammy Cahn]]. He and Cahn wrote many songs for the movies, including "It's Been a Long, Long Time" (No. 1 for three weeks for [[Harry James]] and His Orchestra in 1945), "Five Minutes More", and the [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-winning [[Three Coins in the Fountain (song)|title song]] for ''[[Three Coins in the Fountain (film)|Three Coins in the Fountain]]'' (1954). Ten of his songs were Oscar-nominated, many of them written with Cahn, including "[[I've Heard That Song Before]]" (No. 1 for 13 weeks for Harry James and His Orchestra in 1943), "[[I'll Walk Alone]]", "[[It's Magic]]" (a No. 2 hit for [[Doris Day]] in 1948), and "[[I Fall In Love Too Easily]]". He collaborated with [[Leo Robin]] on the score for the 1955 musical film ''[[My Sister Eileen]].''

In 1947, Styne wrote his first score for a [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical, ''[[High Button Shoes]],'' with Cahn, and over the next several decades wrote the scores for many Broadway shows, most notably ''[[Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)|Gentlemen Prefer Blondes]],'' ''[[Peter Pan (1954 musical)|Peter Pan]]'' (additional music), ''[[Bells Are Ringing (musical)|Bells Are Ringing]],'' ''[[Gypsy: A Musical Fable|Gypsy]],'' ''[[Do Re Mi (musical)|Do Re Mi]],'' ''[[Funny Girl (musical)|Funny Girl]],'' ''[[Lorelei (musical)|Lorelei]],'' ''[[Sugar (musical)|Sugar]]'' (with a story based on the movie ''[[Some Like It Hot]],'' but all new music), and the Tony-winning ''[[Hallelujah, Baby!]].''

Styne wrote original music for the short-lived themed [[amusement park]] [[Freedomland U.S.A.]] that opened on June 19, 1960.

His collaborators included [[Sammy Cahn]], [[Leo Robin]], [[Betty Comden]] and [[Adolph Green]], [[Stephen Sondheim]], [[Bob Hilliard]], and [[Bob Merrill]].  
 
He wrote career-altering Broadway scores for a wide variety of major stars, including [[Phil Silvers]], [[Carol Channing]], [[Mary Martin]], [[Judy Holliday]], [[Ethel Merman]], and an up-and-coming [[Barbra Streisand]].

He was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' for British television in 1978 when he was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews]] in New York's Time Square.

==Personal life and death==
Styne married Englishwoman Margaret Brown (born in [[Torquay]]) and they remained married until his death. Styne died of heart failure in New York City at the age of 88.<ref name="nytobit">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/21/obituaries/jule-styne-bountiful-creator-of-song-favorites-dies-at-88.html |title=Jule Styne, Bountiful Creator of Song Favorites, Dies at 88 |first=Eleanor |last=Blau |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 21, 1994}}</ref> His archive{{spnd}}including original hand-written compositions, letters, and production materials{{spnd}}is housed at the [[Harry Ransom Center]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadid=01167|title=Jule Styne: An Inventory of His Collection at the Harry Ransom Center|website=Norman.hrc.utexas.edu|access-date=April 27, 2017}}</ref>

Margaret Styne oversaw Styne's estate until she died on February 20, 2022.<ref>[https://playbill.com/article/margaret-styne-widow-of-jule-styne-has-passed-away] PLaybill article on Margaret Styne</ref>

==Awards==
Styne was elected to the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]] in 1972<ref>{{Shof |id=73 |name=Jule Styne}}</ref> and the [[American Theatre Hall of Fame]] in 1981,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/03/theater/26-elected-theater-hall-fame-26-broadway-voted-into-theater-hall-fame.html |title=26 Elected to the Theater Hall of Fame; 26 From Broadway Voted into Theater Hall of Fame |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 3, 1981}}</ref> and he was a recipient of a [[Drama Desk Special Award]] and the [[Kennedy Center Honors]] in 1990. Additionally, Styne won the 1955 Oscar for Best Music, Original Song for "[[Three Coins in the Fountain (song)|Three Coins in the Fountain]]", and "Hallelujah, Baby!" won the 1968 Tony Award for Best Original Score.

==Songs==
A selection of the many songs that Styne wrote:
* "[[The Christmas Waltz]]"
* "[[Conchita Marquita Lolita Pepita Rosita Juanita Lopez]]"
* "[[Don't Rain on My Parade]]" (from ''[[Funny Girl (musical)|Funny Girl]]'')
* "[[Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend]]" (from ''[[Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)|Gentlemen Prefer Blondes]]'')
* "[[Everything's Coming Up Roses]]" (from ''[[Gypsy: A Musical Fable|Gypsy]]'')
* "[[Every Street's a Boulevard in Old New York]]" (from ''[[Hazel Flagg]]'')
* "Fiddle Dee Dee"
* "[[Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry]]"
* "How Do You Speak to an Angel"
* "[[I Don't Want to Walk Without You]]"
* "[[I Fall in Love Too Easily]]" (from ''[[Anchors Aweigh (film)|Anchors Aweigh]]'')
* "I Still Get Jealous" (High Button Shoes)
* "[[I'll Walk Alone]]"
* "[[It's Been a Long, Long Time]]"
* "[[It's Magic]]" (from ''[[Romance on the High Seas]]'')
* "[[It's You or No One]]"
* "[[I've Heard That Song Before]]"{{sfn|Gilliland|1994|loc=tape 1, side A}}
* "[[Just in Time (song)|Just in Time]]" (from ''[[Bells Are Ringing (musical)|Bells Are Ringing]]'')
* "Let Me Entertain You" (from ''Gypsy'')
* "[[Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!]]"<ref name=pc3a>{{Pop Chronicles 40s|3|A}}</ref>
* "Long Before I Knew You"
* "[[Do Re Mi (musical)#Make Someone Happy|Make Someone Happy]]" (from ''[[Do Re Mi (musical)|Do Re Mi]]'')
* "Money Burns a Hole in My Pocket" (from ''[[Living It Up]]'')
* "Neverland"
* "Papa, Won’t You Dance with Me?"
* "[[The Party's Over (1956 song)|The Party's Over]]" (from ''[[Bells Are Ringing (musical)|Bells Are Ringing]]'')
* "[[People (1964 song)|People]]" (from ''[[Funny Girl (musical)|Funny Girl]]'')
* "[[Pico and Sepulveda]]"
* "[[Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)]]" sung by [[Frank Sinatra]]
* "Small World", from ''Gypsy'', which became a moderate hit when sung by [[Johnny Mathis]] in 1959
* "[[Sunday (Chester Conn song)|Sunday]]" with [[Nathan "Ned" Miller|Ned Miller]]
* "[[The Things We Did Last Summer]]"
* "[[Time After Time (1947 song)|Time After Time]]" (from ''[[It Happened in Brooklyn]]'')
* "[[Three Coins in the Fountain (song)|Three Coins in the Fountain]]", Oscar-winning song from the [[Three Coins in the Fountain (film)|film of the same name]]
* "[[Together (Wherever We Go)]]" (from ''Gypsy'')
* "Winter Was Warm" (from ''[[Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol]]'')

===Credits===
* ''[[Ice Capades]] of 1943'' (1942) – Styne contributed one song
* ''[[Glad to See You!]]'' (1944) – closed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during tryout
* ''[[High Button Shoes]]'' (1947)
* ''[[Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)|Gentlemen Prefer Blondes]]'' (1949)
* ''[[Michael Todd's Peep Show]]'' (1950) – Styne contributed 2 numbers
* ''[[Two on the Aisle]]'' (1951)
* ''[[Hazel Flagg]]'' (1953)
* ''[[Peter Pan (1954 musical)|Peter Pan]]'' (1954) (additional music)
* ''[[My Sister Eileen (1955 film)|My Sister Eileen]]'' (1955)
* ''[[Bells Are Ringing (musical)|Bells Are Ringing]]'' (1956)
* ''[[Say, Darling]]'' (1958)
* ''[[A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green]]'' (1958)
* ''[[First Impressions (musical)|First Impressions]]'' (1959) (produced by)
* ''[[Gypsy: A Musical Fable|Gypsy]]'' (1959)
* ''[[Do Re Mi (musical)|Do Re Mi]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Subways Are for Sleeping]]'' (1961)
* ''[[Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol]]'' (1962)
* ''[[Arturo Ui]]'' (1963) – Styne contributed incidental music to this [[Bertolt Brecht]] play
* ''[[Funny Girl (musical)|Funny Girl]]'' (1964)
* ''[[Wonderworld (musical)|Wonderworld]]'' (1964) – lyrics by Styne's son, Stanley
* ''[[Fade Out – Fade In]]'' (1964)
* ''[[Something More!]]'' (1964) – directed by Styne
* ''[[The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood]]'' (1965)
* ''[[Hallelujah, Baby!]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Darling of the Day (musical)|Darling of the Day]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Look to the Lilies]]'' (1970)
* ''[[The Night the Animals Talked]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Prettybelle]]'' (1971) – closed in Boston
* ''[[Sugar (musical)|Sugar]]'' (1972) (revised as ''Some Like It Hot: The Musical'' for a 2002–03 national US tour starring [[Tony Curtis]] as Osgood Fielding, Jr.)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://owendaly.com/jeff/SLIH/press/index.html |title=Some Like It Hot: The Musical |access-date=October 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030703003909/http://owendaly.com/jeff/SLIH/press/index.html |archive-date=July 3, 2003 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
* ''[[Lorelei (musical)|Lorelei]]'' (1974) – essentially a sequel/revival of ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes''
* ''Hellzapoppin'!'' (1976) – closed in Baltimore during pre-Broadway tryout
* ''[[Side by Side by Sondheim]]'' (1976)
* ''[[Bar Mitzvah Boy (musical)|Bar Mitzvah Boy]]'' (1978)
* ''[[One Night Stand (musical)|One Night Stand]]'' (1980) – closed during preview period
* ''[[Pieces of Eight (1985 musical)|Pieces of Eight]]'' (1985)
* ''[[The Red Shoes (musical)|The Red Shoes]]'' (1993)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Suskin, Steven (1986). ''Show Tunes 1905-1985: The Songs, Shows and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers'', New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1986.
* Suskin, Steven (2009). ''The Sound of Broadway Music'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
* Taylor, Theodore. ''Jule: The Story of Composer Jule Styne'', New York: Random House, 1979.

==External links==
* {{Official website|www.julestyne.com}}
* [http://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadid=01167 Jule Styne Papers] at the [[Harry Ransom Center]], [[University of Texas at Austin]]
* {{IBDB name|12466}}
* {{iobdb name|20038}}
* {{IMDb name|0006312}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071225220222/http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3811&source_type=A Jule Styne] at the [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|Kennedy Center]]

{{Jule Styne}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Jule Styne
| list =
{{AcademyAwardBestOriginalSong 1951–1960}}
{{Kennedy Center Honorees 1990s}}
{{TonyAward MusicalScore 1947–1975}}
}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Styne, Jule}}
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century classical musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century English musicians]]
[[Category:American musical theatre composers]]
[[Category:American male musical theatre composers]]
[[Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songwriters]]
[[Category:Broadway composers and lyricists]]
[[Category:English emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:English Jews]]
[[Category:English musical theatre composers]]
[[Category:English male songwriters]]
[[Category:English people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Jewish American classical musicians]]
[[Category:Jewish American songwriters]]
[[Category:Kennedy Center honorees]]
[[Category:Musicians from London]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]