Jimmy Van Heusen Collection of Musical Works and ... - Calisphere

Descriptive Summary
Title: Jimmy Van Heusen Collection of Musical Works and Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1853-1994, bulk 1939-1972
Collection number: 127-M
Creator: Van Heusen, Jimmy 1913-1990
Extent: 166 boxes
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Performing Arts Special Collections
Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
Abstract: Collection consists of American song composer Jimmy Van Heusen's papers and materials, both business and
personal. Items include an extensive collection of unpublished music manuscripts and song lyrics, published sheet music,
correspondence, personal papers, and business documents. Many materials relate to his interactions with Johnny Burke,
Sammy Cahn, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and others, and to his publishing companies Burke & Van Heusen, Inc. and Van
Heusen Music Corporation. Also includes sound and audiovisual materials, including his personal LP collection, unpublished
home recordings, and home movies. Photographic material includes both press and personal prints, some negatives, and
color slides. Other items include performance scripts, altered lyrics, biographic materials, professionally assembled
scrapbooks, and other published materials from his personal collection. In addition to his musical career, the collection
highlights his interests in horses and flying, and his domestic life with wife Josephine Van Heusen.
Physical location: Collection is stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please
contact UCLA Performing Arts Special Collections for paging information.
Language of Material: Collection materials in English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Property rights in the physical objects belong to the UCLA Music Library. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by
the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish if the Music Library does not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Jimmy Van Heusen Collection of Musical Works and Papers, 127-M, Performing Arts Special
Collections , University of California, Los Angeles.
Acquisition Information
Josephine Van Heusen; gift; 1994.
Biography
Jimmy Van Heusen (1913 – 1990) was an American song composer for radio, films, television, and the stage best known for
several enduring standards made popular by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Van Heusen was born in Syracuse, NY on
January 26, 1913 as Edward Chester Babcock; his parents were Arthur and Ida May Babcock, and his brother, Wilbur. He
acquired his professional name "Jimmy Van Heusen" (borrowed from the Phillips-Van Heusen shirt company) at the age of
16 when he became a radio pianist, singer, and announcer. Jimmy Van Heusen became his primary identity, often more
formally as "James Van Heusen," although he was still known to a few intimates as "Chester." He would also compose a
small number of songs under the pseudonym "Arthur Williams."
Van Heusen studied piano from the age of eight. After his early dismissal from Cazenovia Seminary, he studied music with
Howard Lyman at Syracuse University between 1930 and 1932. The following year, he replaced Harold Arlen as composer
at the Cotton Club in Harlem and subsequently found work as a pianist and song plugger for Tin Pan Alley. In 1938, Van
Heusen had his first hit ("It's the Dreamer in Me") with Jimmy Dorsey, and followed this with other successful collaborations
with Johnny Mercer and Eddie DeLange. In 1939, he partnered with lyricist Johnny Burke and moved to Hollywood, CA,
where the pair wrote songs for many of Bing Crosby's best-known films. During World War II, Van Heusen put his budding
aviation skills to use as a test pilot for Lockheed warplanes. His second great songwriting partnership was with lyricist
Sammy Cahn. Between 1955 and 1969 the pair collaborated on songs for movies and television, many of them for Frank
Sinatra who was Van Heusen's close friend. Van Heusen continued to compose into the 1970s, building on a career that
included four Academy Awards—"Swinging on a Star" (1944, with Burke), "All the Way" (1957, with Cahn), "High Hopes"
(1959, with Cahn), and "Call Me Irresponsible" (1963, with Cahn)—and one Emmy Award—"Love and Marriage" (1955, with
Cahn).
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