Representative Albums: "Welcome Matt Dennis!," "Plays and Sings Matt Dennis," "She Dances Overhead: The Songs of Rodgers and Hart"
Representative Songs: "My Blue Heaven," "Angel Eyes," "My Melancholy Baby"
Biography
Songwriter, pianis, and singer Matt Dennis composed hit pop songs for Tommy Dorsey's band and Frank Sinatra during the 1940s and 1950s. Born into a vaudeville family in Seattle, in 1914, Dennis learned how to play the piano at a young age, leading to a job with Horace Heidt while Dennis was still in his teens. He eventually moved to Hollywood, where he worked in clubs accompanying singers such as Martha Tilton, Merry Macs, and the Pied Pipers. Dennis was still with the Pipers when they joined up with Tommy Dorsey, and served as arranger, composer, and coach for Dorsey. During his service in WWII, Dennis did radio work and arranged music for Glenn Miller's AAF Orchestra, among others. Dennis' chief collaborator was lyricist Tom Adair, and his best-known tunes include "Will You Still Be Mine?," "Let's Get Away from It All," "Everything Happens to Me" (1941), and "Angel Eyes" (1953), but he also penned "We Belong Together," "We've Reached the Point of No Return," and "You Can Believe Me." Dennis also did a series of recordings for the Glendale, RCA, Jubilee, and Kapp labels. He later worked on television, radio, and as a nightclub entertainer into the 1960s. ~ Joslyn Layne, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: The Bigamist, Divorce: The Musical
First Major Screen Credit: The Bigamist (1953)
Biography
A big band-era pianist, composer, and singer who also appeared onscreen in the late '40s and 1950s, Matt Dennis' association with Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers eventually lead to a fruitful association with such musical icons as Tommy Dorsey and later Frank Sinatra. A Seattle native, Dennis' collaborations with Dorsey and Sinatra resulted in such memorably hummable tunes as "Will You Still Be Mine" and "The Night We Clled It a Day." A consummate entertainer, Dennis entertained troops as a singer and arranger during World War II in addition to penning the often-used "Angel Eyes." Introduced to future wife Virginia Maxey while recording his debut album in 1953, the two would later work together while touring as a duet and performing Dennis' tunes. On June 21, 2002, Matt Dennis died of pneumonia in Riverside, CA. He was 88. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
He was born in Seattle, Washington. His mother was a violinist and his father a singer, and the family was in vaudeville, so he was early exposed to music. In 1933 he joined Horace Heidt's orchestra as a vocalist and pianist. Later on, he formed his own band, with Dick Haymes as vocalist. He became vocal coach, arranger, and accompanist for Martha Tilton, and worked with a new vocal group, the Stafford Sisters.Jo Stafford, one of the sisters, joined the Tommy Dorsey band in 1940 and persuaded Dorsey to hire Dennis as arranger and composer. Dennis wrote prolifically, with fourteen of his songs recorded by the Dorsey band in one year alone, including "Everything Happens to Me," an early hit for Frank Sinatra.
After three and a half years in the United States Air Force in World War II, Dennis returned to music writing and arranging, getting a boost from his old friend Dick Haymes, who hired him to be the music director for his radio program. With lyricistTom Adair he wrote songs for Haymes' program.
Dennis made six albums most of which are out of print; however his 1953 song "Angel Eyes" (with lyricist Earl Brent) has become a frequently recorded jazz standard; less frequently recorded, but notably by Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins is "Will You Still Be Mine".
