Arthur Hamilton

Arthur Hamilton (born Arthur Stern, c. 1926) is an American songwriter, who is best known for writing the song "Cry Me a River", first published in 1953, best known in its recording by Julie London and subsequently recorded numerous times by different artists.

Biography

Arthur "Art" Stern was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of songwriter Jack Stern (1896–1985), and moved as an infant with his family to Hollywood, California. He learned piano as a child, and also studied music theory and counterpoint.

He later changed his name to Arthur Hamilton. In 1949 he wrote an early live television musical for KTTV in Los Angeles, California. He also worked for a music publishing company. In 1953, when under contract to Jack Webb, he contributed three songs to the film Pete Kelly's Blues, including "Sing A Rainbow" and "He Needs Me", sung by Peggy Lee. However, Hamilton's third song, "Cry Me a River", sung by Ella Fitzgerald, was dropped from the film, although Ella did go on to record it later in her career. The song's first release and most famous recording was by actress and singer Julie London in 1955. Her performance of the song in the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It helped to make it a million-selling hit, reaching # 9 in the US Billboard chart and # 22 in the UK. The song, which was also covered by Joe Cocker in 1970, contains the lyric: 'told me love was too plebian, told me you were through with me 'n...'. In 2010, Hamilton attended a recording session at Capitol Records in Los Angeles, where the song was performed by Michael Bublé.

His compositions have been recorded by Dinah Washington, Harry Connick Jr., Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, The Dells (whose version of "Sing a Rainbow" was an international hit in 1969), and others. On many occasions, Hamilton worked exclusively as a lyricist; his long list of collaborators includes such composers as Walter Jurmann, Armando Manzanero, Jerry Fielding, Johnny Mandel, Michel Legrand, David Raksin, Robert Ragland, Riz Ortolani, Terry Trotter, Lori Barth, Barry Mann, Dave Grusin, Walter Scharf, Joe Harnell, Leroy Holmes, Harriet Schock, Ron Anthony, Scottish "Britain's Got Talent" sensation Susan Boyle, and Patrick Williams. Hamilton has also been nominated for an Oscar, two Emmys, and a Golden Globe. He is Member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Music Branch).