Frank Loesser

• Born: June 29, 1910
• Birthplace: New York, New York
• Died: July 26, 1969
• Place of death: New York, New York

American musical-theater composer and lyricist

Loesser was a prolific lyricist and composer who found success on Broadway as well as in film music and in independent song writing. His music is noted for clever lyrics and for the employment of classical musical elements such as fugue and counterpoint.

The Life

Born in New York City into a family of German-Jewish heritage, Frank Henry Loesser (fraynk LEH-sur) had music in his life from the start. His father, Henry Loesser, taught piano, and his older half brother, Arthur Loesser, a renowned pianist, taught at the respected Cleveland Institute of Music in Ohio for many years. Despite the prevalence of musical talent in his family, Loesser was never formally trained. When his father died unexpectedly in 1926, Loesser entered the work force, and he held a variety of jobs, including restaurant reviewer, process server, and city editor for a newspaper. Despite his wide variety of employment, Loesser intended to succeed as a lyricist in Tin Pan Alley. He signed several contracts with music publishers early in his career that were eventually terminated.

In 1936 Universal Studios offered him a six-month contract, and Loesser moved to Hollywood. Although that partnership was not enduring, Paramount Pictures offered Loesser a contract the following year, thus launching his career in film music. He remained with Paramount Pictures until 1949. During his first year in Hollywood, Loesser married Mary Alice Blankenbaker, better known by her stage name, Lynn Garland, whom he had met in New York. They had two children, Susan and John. Lynn became an important partner in Loesser’s business, helping him to demonstrate his songs, to test lyrics, and to cast and produce some of his Broadway musicals. In 1942 Loesser enlisted in the Army, and he spent three years writing songs for the troops and military radio broadcasts, all the while continuing to write for Hollywood.

By the late 1940’s, Loesser was ready to try his hand at Broadway. He found success there as well, and for many years he split his time between California and New York. In 1950 Loesser started his own publishing company, Frank Music Corporation, as a means to control and to publish his own work. Eventually the company grew to support other songwriters, such as Richard Adler, Jerry Ross, and Meredith Willson. Loesser and Lynn divorced in 1956, as he began a new relationship with Jo Sullivan, who was playing a leading role in The Most Happy Fella. He and Jo, who stayed together for the remainder of Loesser’s life, had two children, Hannah and Emily. In 1969 Loesser, an avid smoker, succumbed to lung cancer in New York City.

The Music

Loesser’s work is recognized for its witty lyrics and clever musical devices. Loesser’s first song, “In Love with the Memory of You,” with music by William Schuman, was published in 1931, and that led to a decade-long career as a lyricist. During that time he wrote many songs that rose to the top of the charts to become classics, including “Heart and Soul” and “Two Sleepy People.” In the early 1940’s, Loesser began to compose his own music for his lyrics. Although Loesser did not formally follow in the path of his classically trained family, he could not avoid the influence of classical music in his composing. One of his creations, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” which won an Academy Award in 1948, demonstrates his use of classical conventions. The song is a duet that uses extensive counterpoint between the two voices, an unconventional device in most popular music. When Loesser began to write for Broadway, he brought the same sophisticated style of composition to his scores. His effective, effortless way of merging classical techniques with popular style and outstanding lyrics led to the enduring popularity of Loesser’s music.

“Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.”Although Loesser spent the first decade of his career as a lyricist, he often wrote music to accompany his lyrics to demonstrate them to the publisher or studio until a composer could be chosen to write the final music. In 1942 Loesser, pressed by colleagues and friends, tried his hand at writing music. His first attempt, “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition,” was a huge success, and it encouraged Loesser to continue composing. The song was based on an incident during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and its accessible melodic line as well as its heroic lyrical tale greatly appealed to the public during the time of crisis, as the United States was entering World War II. Although “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” is by far the most noteworthy, it marks the first of many songs that Loesser wrote during World War II in support of the military. Among other popular hits are “What Do You Do in the Infantry?” and “Roger Young.” However, “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” is significant because it marked Loesser’s transition to composer.

Guys and Dolls.Although Loesser brought his first work as a composer to Broadway in 1948 with Where’s Charley?, he made a name for himself in 1950 with the premiere of Guys and Dolls. Based on a book by Damon Runyon, the plot revolves around the lives and love affairs of tinhorn gamblers and members of the Salvation Army. The original production overflowed with talented collaborators: Abe Burrows and Joe Swerling wrote the book, Michael Kidd choreographed, and George S. Kaufman directed.

Musically speaking, Loesser’s score is full of showstoppers, and several of the songs, such as “If I Were a Bell,” have become standards. A notable feature of the score for Guys and Dolls is Loesser’s use of classical-music conventions: He employs counterpoint, a practice almost entirely foreign to the Broadway stage at that time. His “Fugue for Tinhorns,” which opens the musical, is a perfect example of Loesser’s use of complex musical conventions as well as wit. The piece is not a fugue but a simple round form. This musical humor correlates perfectly with the gamblers singing “Fugue for Tinhorns,” because they are pretending to be sophisticated. In this way, Loesser’s music brilliantly aids in the depiction of the personalities of the characters.

When Guys and Dolls premiered at the Forty-sixth Street Theatre, it received unanimously positive reviews, and it claimed the 1951 Tony Award for Best Musical. It continues to be a cherished piece of musical theater, performed frequently by college and amateur theaters. It enjoyed two Broadway revivals, in 1976 and 1992.

The Most Happy Fella.This musical was one of the crowning achievements of Loesser’s life and work. Beginning in 1952, he labored on the project for four years, writing the book, music, and lyrics. Loesser adapted the book from a play by Sidney Howard. While there are still humorous moments in The Most Happy Fella, it is essentially a drama about the genuine love that grows between Tony and his mail-order bride, Rosabella, despite their human flaws and mistakes.

Over the years, critics have been tempted to refer to The Most Happy Fella as an operatic work since a great majority of the dialogue is sung, not spoken, though Loesser was insistent that it is a musical. The score contains a mixture of catchy show tunes such as “Standing on the Corner” and of Italian, operatic-sounding music such as “Rosabella.” When the musical premiered in 1956, some criticized its operatic sound and the juxtaposition of that sound to the standard Broadway style. Loesser’s use of various styles once again aided in the depiction of his characters. Not surprisingly, the use of counterpoint can be found in the score as well as in songs such as “Abbondanza” and the reprise of “I Like Ev’rybody.” How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.Based on a guide to the business world by Shepherd Mead, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was Loesser’s most successful Broadway production, enjoying more than fourteen hundred performances after its premiere in 1961. Once again, Burrows was involved, in directing and in writing the book. Bob Fosse was in charge of the musical staging, and his stylized movement was an essential element of the success of the show. The plot follows the endeavors of the young J. Pierrepont Finch as he attempts to rise to the top of the World Wide Wicket Company.

In comparison with his other Broadway productions, Loesser’s score produced few songs that became popular hits independent of the musical. Humor and satire are truly the focus of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Loesser used his mastery of musical humor to enhance the production rather than draw attention to the music itself. The production won several Tony Awards, including for Best Musical, and in 1962 it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Musical Legacy

During his lifetime, Loesser wrote the lyrics and music to hundreds of songs. While many of his songs for film have endured, he made his greatest contribution to the Broadway stage. His work introduced a more complex artistic style that shaped the development of the Broadway musical. By challenging the standard compositional approaches of Broadway, Loesser opened the door for later composers to further expand and develop the genre.

Principal Works

musical theater (music and lyrics): Where’s Charley?, 1948 (libretto by George Abbott); Guys and Dolls, 1950 (libretto by Abe Burrows and Joe Swerling); The Most Happy Fella, 1956 (libretto by Frank Loesser); Greenwillow, 1960 (libretto by Loesser); How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, 1961 (libretto by Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert); Perfectly Frank, 1980 (libretto by Kenny Solms).

songs: “In Love With the Memory of You,” 1931; “Heart and Soul,” 1938; “Two Sleepy People,” 1938; “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition,” 1942; “Roger Young,” 1943; “What Do You Do in the Infantry?,” 1943; “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” 1949.

Bibliography

Block, Geoffrey. “Guys and Dolls and The Most Happy Fella: The Great Loesser.” In Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Block presents a thorough examination of the history and music of Guys and Dolls and The Most Happy Fella.

Ewen, David. “Frank Loesser.” In American Musical Theater: A Guide to More than Three Hundred Productions of the American Musical Theater from the Black Crook (1866) to the Present, with Plot, Production History, Stars, Songs, Composers, Librettists, and Lyricists. New York: Henry Holt, 1958. Ewen overviews the professional life of Loesser, with a focus on his contributions to musical theater.

Flinn, Denny Martin. “Music.” In Musical! A Grand Tour: The Rise, Glory, and Fall of an American Institution. New York: Schirmer Books, 1997. Presents a brief description of the Broadway productions of Loesser, with an emphasis on factual information and some analysis.

Green, Stanley. “Frank Loesser, Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, Meredith Willson.” In The World of Musical Comedy: The Story of the American Musical Stage as Told Through the Careers of Its Foremost Composers and Lyricists. 3d ed. London: A. S. Barnes, 1974. Green describes the career of Loesser and other songwriters that he nurtured through his publishing company.

Loesser, Susan. A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life. New York: Donald I. Fine, 1993. From her unique perspective, Loesser’s eldest daughter reflects on his personal and professional life.

Riis, Thomas L. Frank Loesser. Foreword by Geoffrey Block. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2008. Riis provides an examination of Loesser’s career with a focus on his Broadway compositions. Includes a crucial closing chapter that details Loesser’s legacy.