Jimmie Haskell

Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman, November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for a variety of popular singers and motion pictures.

Haskell was born in Brooklyn, New York. He entered the musical business through being hired to do arrangements with Imperial Records. He became the arranger of choice for Ricky Nelson and arranged such hits as "There's Nothing I Can Say" (1964). In the late 1960s and early 1970s Haskell was the arranger of choice for The Grass Roots. He also provided horn and string arrangements for Blondie's 1980 album Autoamerican.

He entered the motion picture soundtrack industry in 1960 as an uncredited orchestrator for Dimitri Tiomkin's The Alamo and composed his first score the following year Love in a Goldfish Bowl. His composition The Silly Song became the theme song of American television's The Hollywood Squares.

In addition to composing and arranging, Haskell would often act as conductor and selected the musicians used.

Haskell was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Special (Dramatic Underscore) for See How She Runs (1978) and has received two other nominations. He was awarded Grammies for his arrangements of Ode to Billie Joe recorded by Bobbie Gentry, Bridge Over Troubled Water recorded by Simon and Garfunkel, and If You Leave Me Now recorded by Chicago.

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