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Leroy Anderson

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Composer

The Resume

    (June 29, 1908-May 18, 1975)
    Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
    Wrote many light classical pieces, usually for the Boston Pops Orchestra
    Wrote the songs ‘The Syncopated Clock’ (1945), ‘Sleigh Ride’ (1948), ‘A Trumpeter’s Lullaby’ (1949), ‘The Typewriter’ (1950) and ‘Blue Tango’ (1951)
    Wrote music for the Broadway musical ‘Goldilocks’ (1958)
    Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1998)

Why he might be annoying:

    The inspiration for his Christmas standard ‘Sleigh Ride’ hit him during an August heat wave.
    Shortly after debuting his Piano Concerto in C (1953), he withdrew the piece in order to revise it, but never got around to making the changes.
    Several of his compositions were recycled into TV theme songs: ‘Plink, Plank, Plunk’ became the theme for ‘I’ve Got a Secret,’ ‘Syncopated Clock’ for WCBS-TV’s ‘The Late Show,’ and ‘Forgotten Dreams’ for WABC-TV’s Eyewitness News.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    He wrote, arranged and conducted the class song for his high school graduation – and had done the same for the two previous classes as well.
    He was fluent in English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic.
    He served as a translator and interpreter with US counter-intelligence during World War II.
    He enjoyed woodworking as a hobby and built his own desk.
    His recording of ‘Blue Tango’ was the first instrumental single to sell a million records (1952).
    John Williams said, ‘Though we have performed his works countless times over the years at the Boston Pops, his music remains forever as young and fresh as the very first day on which it was composed.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 78.57% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying