He is best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the hit musical The Music Man, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1958. The cast recording of The Music Man won the first Grammy Award given for best cast album. Willson also is remembered for his work on films, the Burns and Allen radio program, among other radio shows, and was nominated for two Academy Awards
Early life
Born Robert Meredith Reiniger in Mason City, Iowa, Willson attended Frank Damrosch's Institute of Musical Art (later The Juilliard School) in New York City. A flute and piccolo player, Willson was a member of John Philip Sousa's band (1921–1923) and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini (1924–1929). Willson then moved to San Francisco, California as the concert director for KFRC, and then as a musical director for the NBC radio network in Hollywood.[1]
His work for films included writing the music for Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940) and William Wyler's The Little Foxes (1941), both of which garnered him Academy Award nominations. During World War II, he worked for the United States' Armed Forces Radio Service. His work with the AFRS teamed him with George Burns, Gracie Allen and Bill Goodwin. He would work with all three as the bandleader, and a regular character, on the Burns and Allen radio program. He played a shy man, always trying to get advice on women. His character was dizzy as well, basically a male version of Gracie Allen.
Returning to network radio after WWII, he created the Talking People, a choral group that spoke in unison while delivering radio commercials. He also became the musical director for The Big Show, a respected comedy-variety program hosted by stage legend Tallulah Bankhead and featuring some of the world's most respected entertainers. Willson himself became part of one of the show's very few running gags, beginning replies to Bankhead's comments or questions with, "Well, sir, Miss Bankhead...." Willson wrote the song, "May The Good Lord Bless And Keep You" for the show. Tallulah spoke the lyrics over the music at the end of each show. For a few years in the early 1950s, Willson was a regular panelist on the Goodson-Todman game show "The Name's the Same."
Broadway shows
Willson's most famous work, The Music Man, premiered on Broadway in 1957 and was adapted twice for film (in 1962 and 2003). He referred to the show as "an Iowan's attempt to pay tribute to his home state." It took Willson some eight years and thirty revisions to complete the musical, for which he wrote more than forty songs. The cast recording of The Music Man won the first Grammy Award for Best Original Cast Album (Broadway or TV) ever issued.
His second musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, ran on Broadway for 532 performances from 1960 to 1962 and was made into a 1964 motion picture starring Debbie Reynolds. His third musical to reach Broadway was an adaptation of the film Miracle On 34th Street, called Here's Love (1963). His fourth, last, and least successful musical was 1491, which told the story of Columbus's attempts to finance his famous voyage. It was produced by the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Association but never made it to Broadway.
Other work
His Symphony No. 1 In F Minor, A Symphony Of San Francisco, and Symphony No. 2 In E Minor, Missions Of California, were recorded in 1999 by William T. Stromberg conducting the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra.
Willson penned a number of very well-known songs, such as "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Gary Indiana," "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas," "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You" and "Till There Was You," which was a hit for the Beatles in 1963. He also wrote the University of Iowa's fight song and Iowa State University's "For I for S Forever". He honored The Salvation Army with a musical tribute entitled "Banners and Bonnets." He also wrote the fight song for his hometown high school "Mason City Go!"
Another oddity in Willson's body of work is "Chicken Fat." In the 1960s, this was the theme song in school gymnasiums across the nation as part of President John F. Kennedy's youth fitness program. It was time to get the country's youth into shape, and Willson's song had youngsters moving through basic exercises at a frenetic pace: push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, torso twists, running in place, pogo springs, and plenty of marching. With an energetic lead vocal by Robert Preston, orchestral marching band, and full chorus, it was likely recorded during sessions for the Music Man motion picture.
In general, it was recognized that Willson wrote surprisingly well-crafted, complex, and subtle music that classical music fans could appreciate, with intricate and sometimes startling counterpoint, well-crafted melody, and subtle orchestration, all while still appealing to mass audiences.
Legacy
Willson wrote two autobiographies: "And There I Stood With My Piccolo" (1948) and "But He Doesn't Know the Territory" (1959).
Willson and his wife lived for years in the Mandeville Canyon section of Brentwood, California. In the 1960s, Willson was fondly remembered by friends and neighbors as a warm and gregarious host who loved nothing more than to play the piano and sing at parties. Willson often gave out autographed copies of his record album, Meredith Willson Sings Songs from The Music Man.
His alma mater, Juilliard, dedicated its first and only residence hall to Willson. He was a member of the National Honorary Band Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi.
Seventy-six Trombones
Meredith Willson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seventy-six trombones led the big parade
With a hundred and ten cornets close at hand.
They were followed by rows and rows of the finest virtuo-
Sos, the cream of ev'ry famous band.
Seventy-six trombones caught the morning sun
With a hundred and ten cornets right behind
Springing up like weeds
There were horns of ev'ry shape and kind.
There were copper bottom tympani in horse platoons
Thundering, thundering all along the way.
Double bell euphoniums and big bassoons,
Each bassoon having it's big, fat say!
There were fifty mounted cannon in the battery
Thundering, thundering louder than before
Clarinets of ev'ry size
And trumpeters who'd improvise
A full octave higher than the score!
In Meredith Willson's song "Seventy-six Trombones," the singer Harold describes a parade with seventy-six trombones leading the way, followed by a hundred and ten cornets and rows of virtuosos. The procession also includes more than a thousand reeds and horns, such as copper bottom tympani, double bell euphoniums, and big bassoons, each making their distinct sound. The parade is also accompanied by fifty mounted cannons in the battery, thundering along the way, and clarinets of every size. The trumpeters even improvise and play a full octave higher than the score.
The song is an ode to the joy of music and the power of a marching band, capturing the excitement and grandeur of a parade. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the instruments involved and the passion of the musicians playing them. It celebrates the beauty of music and how it can bring people together in a shared experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Seventy-six trombones led the big parade
The parade was lead by seventy-six trombones
With a hundred and ten cornets close at hand.
There were 110 cornets right behind the trombones
They were followed by rows and rows of the finest virtuosos, the cream of ev'ry famous band.
The virtuosos were of the highest quality, hailing from the best bands
Seventy-six trombones caught the morning sun
The morning sun shone brightly on the seventy-six trombones
With a hundred and ten cornets right behind
The cornets followed close behind the trombones
There were more than a thousand reeds Springing up like weeds
There were many reeds, appearing everywhere like weeds
There were horns of ev'ry shape and kind.
There were many different types of horns
There were copper bottom tympani in horse platoons Thundering, thundering all along the way.
The horse platoons had copper bottom tympani that made a deafening sound throughout the parade
Double bell euphoniums and big bassoons, Each bassoon having it's big, fat say!
Double bell euphoniums and big bassoons made an appearance, with each bassoon having its moment to shine
There were fifty mounted cannon in the battery Thundering, thundering louder than before
Fifty mounted cannons were part of the battery, and their sound grew louder as they marched on
Clarinets of ev'ry size And trumpeters who'd improvise A full octave higher than the score!
Clarinets of different sizes were played, and trumpeters improvised by playing a full octave higher than written in the score
Contributed by Eliana W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@susanbensch1981
OH thi is lovely, I had not heard this in years! This arrangement is a wonderful homage to marching bands!
@antofagastino1442
Maravillosa música, con la Radio Portales en el recuerdo ¡¡¡¡¡¡ WOOWWWWWW
@joseblanco521
Maravilloso.
Me recuerda la cortina de la Radio Portales.
Era la cortina noticiosa.
Saludos desde Santiago de Chile.
@vitoko0702
El verdadero HIMNO de la Radio Portales 🇨🇱🇨🇱🇨🇱🇨🇱
@ultimatesteve9647
Trombone player here... I can tell you that 2:18 is definitely not a piece of cake!
@aaronl_94
the dude in the middle's face shows that lol.
@TucsonBillD
Actually, Anderson mixed Willson’s main theme with some additional marches by the March King, John Philip Sousa who should also be credited with this.
@youluzheng9324
Bravo!
@carlosfuentes3440
radio Portales...unidos para unir a Chile!!!!
@fuzzypony
It’s Willson