- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMelvin James Oliver
- Born into a musical family, Sy Oliver was an arranger, composer, trumpet player and occasional vocalist. He worked for the Jimmie Lunceford band from 1933-39, and is credited with creating that band's distinct sound. From 1939-42 he worked for Tommy Dorsey's band. He is considered to be one of the main contributors to the sound of "swing" in the late 1930s and 1940s.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bob Kosovsky <bkosovsky@nypl.org>
- June 26, 1950, he leads his orchestra for the American version of the French songs "La Vie en Rose" and "C'est si Bon". "La Vie en Rose" was written by Louiguy (music) and Édith Piaf (lyrics) in 1946 and "C'est si Bon" was written by Henri Betti (music) and André Hornez (lyrics) in 1947. The English lyrics of "La Vie en Rose" were written by Mack David and the English lyrics of "C'est si Bon" were written by Jerry Seelen. The recording took place in New York and the songs were sung by Louis Armstrong.
- Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 2000.
- In 1954 he was hired as Musical Director for the newly formed Bell Records.
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