2007152mf=y}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, United StatesSalamanca (city), New York>Salamanca, New York, United States| instrument = | genre = | occupation = Lyricist | years_active = | label = | associated_acts = Jay Livingston| website = }}Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 â€“ February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Livingston wrote the music.Ray Evans papers, 1921-2012, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

Biography

Evans was born to a Jewish familyWEB, Bloom, Nate, The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs, InterfaithFamily, 2006-12-19,www.interfaithfamily.com/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ekLSK5MLIrG&b=297399&ct=3303147, 2006-12-19, WEB, Bloom, Nate, All those Holiday/Christmas Songs: So Many Jewish Songwriters!, Jewish World Review, December 22, 2014,jewishworldreview.com/1214/jewz_xmas.php3, in Salamanca, New York, to Philip and Frances Lipsitz Evans.WEB, NNDB,www.nndb.com/people/516/000205898/, 29 September 2014, He was valedictorian of his high school class, where he played clarinet in the band. The Salamanca High School yearbook from 1931 states: “His original themes and brilliant oral talks are the despair of his classmates. Ray’s quite a humorist, too. At times, his satire is positively killing.“BOOK, The Seneca, 1931, Published by the senior class of Salamanca High School, Salamanca, NY, He received a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1936, writing a senior thesis on “The relation between the central bank, member banks and the money market.“Evans met Jay Livingston while a student at Penn. Together they played in the university’s college dance orchestra, “The Continentals.” During school vacations the orchestra was engaged to play on several international cruises. After graduation the duo continued their partnership, seeking a career as a song-writing team in New York and later Hollywood.BOOK, Whorf, Michael, American Popular Song Lyricists: Oral Histories, 1920s-1960s, 2012, McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC, Their first big break came after auditioning for comedians Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson in 1939. Their song “G’Bye Now” made it into Olsen and Johnson’s Broadway revue Hellzapoppin’. In 1946 Livingston and Evans signed a contract with Paramount Studios in Hollywood.BOOK, Gottlieb, Robert, Kimball, Robert, Reading Lyrics, 2002, Pantheon Books, New York, Livingston and Evans did not hit the top until 1946, when they set the music publishing business on fire with “To Each His Own,” which reached number one on the Billboard charts for three different artists,NEWS, April 24, 1948, Ten tunes in forthcoming films, 22, Long Beach Press Telegram Newspaper Archives,www.newspapers.com/paper/long-beach-press-telegram/26587/, Jan 13, 2023, and occupied the top five positions on the “Most Played On the Air” chart for four different weeks (August 24, 1946, and again on September 7, September 14 and October 5, five versions appeared simultaneously in the Top Ten).MAGAZINE, Records Most Played on the Air,books.google.com/books?id=ARoEAAAAMBAJ, May 14, 2016, Billboard, October 5, 1946, 24, MAGAZINE, Records Most Played on the Air,books.google.com/books?id=ChoEAAAAMBAJ, March 27, 2017, Billboard, September 14, 1946, 26, MAGAZINE, Records Most Played on the Air,books.google.com/books?id=GBoEAAAAMBAJ, March 27, 2017, Billboard, September 7, 1946, 28 and 116, MAGAZINE, Records Most Played on the Air,books.google.com/books?id=ABoEAAAAMBAJ, March 27, 2017, Billboard, August 24, 1946, 27 and 112, “Buttons and Bows” (1947) was their next multi-million seller”, written for the movie The Paleface, with four artists reaching the top ten in 1948, and won the Academy Award for Best Song. They finished off the decade with 1949’s “Mona Lisa”, written for the movie Captain Carey, U.S.A.. It was a chart hit for seven popular and two country artists in 1950, sold a million for Nat King Cole, and won the pair another Best Song Oscar.BOOK, Whitburn, Joel, Joel Whitburn’s Pop Memories 1890-1954, 1986, Record Research Inc, Wisconsin, USA, 0-89820-083-0, 551, registration,archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/551, WEB, The Ray & Wyn Ritchie Evans Foundation {{!, The official website of Ray Evans, American songwriter, Livingston and Evans, Music, Archives, Films |url=http://www.rayevans.org/biography/honors_awards.cfm |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=www.rayevans.org}}Livingston and Evans, both members of ASCAP, won their third Academy AwardWEB,findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20011019/ai_n14430221, Obituary: Jay Livingston, Spencer Leigh, The Independent, 19 October 2001, for the song “Que Sera Sera”, featured in the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Man Who Knew Too Much and sung by Doris Day. Another popular song that he and Livingston wrote for a film was the song “Tammy”, written for the 1957 movie Tammy and the Bachelor. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. Livingston and Evans also wrote popular TV themes for shows including Bonanza and Mr. Ed. Their Christmas song “Silver Bells” intended for the 1951 Bob Hope film The Lemon Drop Kid, has become a Christmas standard.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=ARrfAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA233, America’s Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley, Routledge, Furia, Philip, Lasser, Michael, amp, 2006, 233, 9781135471996, Evans appeared as himself with Livingston in the film Sunset Boulevard in the New Year’s Eve party scene.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}In 1958, the song-writing team was nominated for a Tony Award for the musical Oh, Captain!. Evans also collaborated separately with Michael Feinstein, Henry Mancini, Max Steiner, and Victor Young. The song “Dear Heart” from the 1964 film of the same name was written by Livingston and Evans with Henry Mancini; it was nominated for an Oscar and for the Song of the Year Grammy Award, and was recorded multiple times, charting for Andy Williams, Jack Jones, and Henry Mancini.

Legacy and death

Evans is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.WEB,www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C218, Ray Evans, Songwritershalloffame.org, 2014-08-02,www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C218," title="web.archive.org/web/20141113151854www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C218,">web.archive.org/web/20141113151854www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C218, 2014-11-13, dead, He and Livingston have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.WEB, Hollywood Walk of Fame,www.walkoffame.com/livingston-and-evans, 29 September 2014, 4 February 2014,www.walkoffame.com/livingston-and-evans," title="web.archive.org/web/20140204042924www.walkoffame.com/livingston-and-evans,">web.archive.org/web/20140204042924www.walkoffame.com/livingston-and-evans, dead, He died at age 92 in Los Angeles, California, on the 42nd anniversary of the death of Nat King Cole, who had made “Mona Lisa” so famous.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6370925.stm, Que Sera composer Ray Evans dies, BBC News, 2007-02-17, 2007-02-17, He was married for nearly 56 years to actress, writer, and playwright Wyn Ritchie Evans.WEB, Wyn Ritchie Evans: Performer, Wife of Ray Evans (obituary),variety.com/2003/scene/people-news/wyn-ritchie-evans-1117884783/, Variety, 17 April 2003, 29 September 2014, His legacy is maintained and developed by the Ray and Wyn Ritchie Evans Foundation in Culver City, California. The Ray Evans Seneca Theater in his hometown of Salamanca, NY is named after him.

Works

{{Library resources box|by=yes|viaf=117336967}}Ray Evans wrote more than 700 songs for screen, stage, and television. Most were composed with writing partner Jay Livingston.The Ray and Wyn Ritchie Evans Foundation Official Website.

Works on Screen{| class“wikitable collapsible collapsed” style@width: 80%”

Are You Happy In Your Work?
Love Came Between Us
Where Can You Be? {edih}

| 1944| Swing Hostess| Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC)

I’ll Eat My Hat
I’ve Got An Invitation
Let’s Capture This Moment
Music To My Ears
Say It With Love
Swing Hostess
The Highway Polka {edih}

| 1944| Why Girls Leave Home| Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC)

Call Me
The Cat and The Canary
What Am I Sayin’? {edih}

| 1945| Crime, Inc.| Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC)

I’m Guilty
Lonely Little Camera Girl {edih}

A Coach and Four
Warm As Wine
We’ll Drink Every Drop In The Shop {edih}

| 1946| My Favorite Brunette| Paramount Pictures

Beside You
My Favorite Brunette {edih}

Dream Girl
Drunk With Love {edih}

At The Nickelodeon
I Shoulda Quit When I Was Ahead
I Think of You
Indiana Dinner
Miss Julie July
Wonderin’ When {edih}

| 1948| Sorrowful Jones| Paramount Pictures

Havin’ A Wonderful Wish (Time You Were Here)
Rock-a-Bye Bangtail {edih}

Buttons and Bows
Meetcha ‘Round The Corner {edih}

| 1949| Bride of Vengeance| Paramount Pictures

Give My Love
Give Thy Love
The Wine of Old Giuseppe {edih}

Dear Wife
Havin’ A Wonderful Wish (Time You Were Here)
My Own True Love {edih}

| 1949My Friend Irma (film)>My Friend Irma| Paramount Pictures

Here’s To Love
Just For Fun
My Friend Irma
My Own, My Only, My All {edih}

Buttons and Bows
The Paramount Don’t Want Me Blues {edih}

| 1949The Great Lover (1949 film)>The Great Lover| Paramount Pictures

A Thousand Violins
Lucky Us {edih}

Fancy Pants
Home Cookin’ {edih}

Baby, Obey Me!
I’ll Always Love You (Day After Day)
Singing a Vagabond Song
The Fiddle and Gittar Band {edih}

Chores
I’d Like To Baby You
Life Is A Beautiful Thing
Marshmallow Moon
My Beloved
Purt’ Nigh, But Not Plumb
Saturday Night In Punkin Crick
Soda Shop
Step Right Up
Still Water
The Spider and the Fly
Why Should I Believe In Love?
Will You Be At Home In Heaven? {edih}

Bonne Nuit
Here Comes The Groom
Misto Cristofo Columbo
Your Own Little House {edih}

Friendly Finance Company
It’s A Priv’lege To Live In Brooklyn {edih}

Honey, Oh, My Honey
Love Her!
Love Him!
Thanks To You {edih}

| 1951| Son of Paleface| Paramount Pictures

California Rose
What A Dirty Shame
Wing-Ding Tonight {edih}

It Doesn’t Cost A Dime To Dream
Silver Bells
They Obviously Want Me To Sing {edih}

All About Love
Right or Wrong
The Military Policeman {edih}

| 1952| The Stars Are Singing| Paramount Pictures

Haven’t Got A Worry
I Do! I Do! I Do!
I Don’t See What You See In Me
Lovely Weather For Ducks
My Heart Is Home
My Kind of Day
Woof {edih}

All My Love
My Love, My Life
You and Me Together {edih}

| 1953Here Come the Girls (1953 film)>Here Come The Girls| Paramount Pictures

Ali Baba
Don’t Take My Heart
Girls!
Heavenly Days
Here Come The Girls
It’s Torment
Never So Beautiful
See The Circus
When You Love Someone
Ya Got Class! {edih}

| 1953Red Garters (film)>Red Garters| Paramount Pictures

A Dime and a Dollar
Bad News
Brave Man
Ginger Pete
Good Intentions
Lady Killer
Let Me Love You
Man and Woman
Meet A Happy Guy
Red Garters
The Robin Randall Song
This Is Greater Than I Thought
Vaquero! {edih}

Holy Cow
Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)
We’ll Love Again {edih}

French Heels
Tammy {edih}

Tell My Love
The Loves of Omar Khayyam {edih}

Almost In Your Arms
Bing! Bang! Bong! {edih}

36-24-36
If You’re Willing to Be Mine
Love Is A Private Affair
The Same Old Army
Warm and Willing {edih}

All Hands On Deck
I Got It Made
Little Friend
Somewhere There’s Home
There’s No One Like You
You Mean Everything To Me {edih}

Free
How Shall We Begin?
Love Is Mardis Gras
Moonlight In Mexico
More and More Amor
Take Your Time
That’s Loneliness
Those Bad Old Days
Three Dollar Bill {edih}

| 1962| Krazy Kat| King Features-Paramount

Kolin Kelly
Krazy Kat
Mrs. Kwakk-Kwakk
Offissa Pup }}

Maybe September
The Glass Mountain {edih}

Works on Stage{| class“wikitable collapsible collapsed” style@width: 80%”

Bounce
G’bye Now
My Heart’s On Ice
My Heartzapoppin’
The Window Wiper Song {edih}

Gee, It’s Gonna Be Wonderful
Give The Little Girls A Great Big Hand
I Love Lydia
I Was Waiting for You
I Wouldn’t Have Had To
Let Me Put It This Way
LeÃ§on de danse
My Most Delectable Dream
One Last Fling
Riviera
The Order of the Garter
Viva La Buck
Viva La Duel {edih}

| 1954| Oh, Captain!| Alvin Theatre

A Very Proper Town
All Over Again
All The Time
Anywhere But Here
Captain Henry St. James
Double Standard
Femininity
Give It All You Got
Hey, Madame
I’ve Been There (And I’m Back)
It’s Never Quite The Same
Life Does A Man A Favor
Love Is Hell
Oh Captain Prologue
Oh Captain! (Overture)
Surprise
The Morning Music of Montmartre
Three Paradises
We’re Not Children
You Don’t Know Him
You’re So Right For Me }}

| 1954| That’s Life| Los Angeles Revue

Chihuahua Choo-Choo
Clink, Clank, Clunk
The Livin’ Lovin’ Doll {edih}

| 1961Let It Ride (musical)>Let It Ride| Eugene O’Neill Theater

Broads Ain’t People
Ev’rything Beautiful
Happy Birthday Erwin!
He Needs You
Hey Jimmy Joe John Jim Jack
His Own Little Island
I Wouldn’t Have Had To
I Wouldn’t Settle for Less
I’ll Learn Ya
If Flutterby Wins
It Just Didn’t Happen That Way
Just An Honest Mistake
Let It Ride!
Love, Let Me Know
Run! Run! Run!
The Best Undressed Girl In Town
The Nicest Thing
There’s Something About A Horse
Who’s Doing What To Erwin?
You’re The Nicest Thing {edih}

| 1976| Kentucky Lucky| Unproduced

Any Other Way
Country Mornin’ Young
East To Asheville, South To Atlanta
Firin’ Up The Seminole Express
Kentucky Lucky
Put It In A Box
The Female He-Male Hoedown Song
The Single Girl
This Is Home {edih}

| 1979Sugar Babies (musical)>Sugar Babies| Mark Hellinger Theatre

Sugar Baby Bounce
Warm and Willing {edih}

| 1984| The Italian Look| Unproduced

Afternoon In Athens
All About Women
Cara Mia
It’s In To Be In
Just As You Are
Kind O’ Nice
Look-A-Here Joe
See Ya, Love Ya
The Four Generals
The Garbage Disposal
The Italian Look (Finale)
Viva La Difference {edih}

| 1984| West of East| Unproduced

Almost In Love
Broken Promises
That’s What I’m Afraid Of
The Day After Tomorrow
West of East
What Am I Afraid Of
Wild West Showing {edih}

| 1987| The Red Parasol| Unproduced

Bon! Bon! Bon!
It Just Didn’t Happen That Way
Tango For Lechers
The Natives Are Restless Tonight
The Red Parasol
The Story
Yes {edih}

| 1987| What Fools These Mortals Be| Unproduced

Brotherhood
It’s A Miracle
Let’s Be Lovers
Let’s Paint The Whole World With Love
Love Is Blind
Lysander Loves Hermia, Helena Loves Demetrius
Unfair! {edih}

| 1988| The Odyssey of Runyon Jones| Valley Music Theater

Don’t Brother Me
I Gave You A River
I Got A Plan
Law and Order
Old Gypsy Man
Pootsy
The Book of Regulations
The Odyssey of Runyon Jones
What Is A Dog?
What Is A Robot? {edih}

| 1990| The Passions of Perichole| Unproduced

As The Bird Flies
But I Miss Him
For The Man I Love
I Need Your Love
I’ll Make Every Moment Me
Mother Earth
Soul Music
That’s Where I Belong
The Battle Hymn of Him And Her
The Poor Proud People of Peru
The World Belongs To Me
What Can I Do That’s New
What Has She Got {edih}

Works on Television{| class“wikitable collapsible collapsed” style@width: 80%”

Back Home
I’ve Had Enough
Nobody Cares
Satins and Spurs
The Little Rock Roll
Whoop Diddy Ay
Wildcat Smathers
You’re So Right For Me {edih}

| 1956| The Dinah Shore Chevy Show| NBC| Anniversary Rose| 1958| Peter Gunn| NBC

Bye, Bye
Dreamsville
Straight To Baby {edih}

| 1959| Bonanza| NBC

Bonanza
My Sons, My Sons {edih}

I Heard
One Hand Tied Behind My Back {edih}

| 1960| Mister Ed| CBS

Anonymous
Fiddle Foot
Mister Ed {edih}

References

External links

{{IMDb name|id=0263143|name=Ray Evans}}
The Ray and Wyn Ritchie Evans Foundation Official Website
Ray Evans papers, 1921-2012, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.
Obituary, The Guardian, February 20, 2007
news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2287022.ece" title="web.archive.org/web/20070222092812news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2287022.ece">Obituary, The Independent, February 20, 2007
Obituary{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, The Telegraph, February 20, 2007
Obituary, The New York Times, February 17, 2007
Ray Evans Interview NAMM Oral History Library (1995)
Livingston and Evans Official Site

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