Bob Merrill

Bob Merrill (May 17, 1921 – February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He was the second most successful songwriter of the 1950s on the UK Singles Chart.

Merrill was born Henry Robert Merrill Levan in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in a Jewish family and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the Army during World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a dialogue director for Columbia Pictures. He began his songwriting career writing tunes for Dorothy Shay. One of his first major hits was a country song co-written by Moon Mullican in 1950 entitled "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry", and the 1950 novelty song "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake", co-written with Al Hoffman and Clem Watts, and initially recorded by Eileen Barton.

The other eight songs which round out the Top Ten for which he is most well-known include

Guy Mitchell recorded many of Merrill's songs including "Sparrow in the Tree Top", "She Wears Red Feathers", and "My Truly, Truly Fair".

Merrill made his Broadway debut in 1957 with New Girl in Town, a musical adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie. His greatest theatrical success was the Barbra Streisand vehicle Funny Girl, which introduced the standard "People" and "Don't Rain on My Parade". When the stage show was adapted for the screen, he and songwriting partner Jule Styne were asked to write a title tune, which eventually garnered them both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Song. Producer David Merrick employed Merrill to write additional songs for the musical Hello, Dolly. Merrill contributed two songs, "Motherhood March" and "Elegance", and some additional lyrics to Jerry Herman's "It Takes a Woman". Merrill did not accept billing or credit for his additions to the score. He is also the lyricist of the theme song "Loss Of Love", excerpt from the 1970 Italian drama film Sunflower and composed by Henry Mancini.

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