1902
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Robert Meredith
Willson was born in Mason City, Iowa to John and Rosalie (Reiniger) Willson.
Meredith was the largest baby ever born in Iowa at the time of his birth,
weighting 14 lbs, 6 ounces. Meredith’s father was a Mason City businessman,
managing a bakery in town. His mother was a musician and Sunday school
teacher. Meredith had a sister, Lucille “Dixie” Willson, who was 12
years older and a brother, John Cedrick “Ced” Willson who was 2 years older.
Dixie became a successful writer of short stories, plays, children’s books,
novels, movie scripts, and even cookbooks. After playing bassoon in
the John Philip Sousa Band, Ced became a civil engineer and a leading expert
in the field of lightweight aggregate and concrete products. |
| 1908 | Meredith started studying piano with his mother.
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1912
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Meredith began playing the flute in the Mason City Municipal Band.
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1917
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Meredith Willson played with an orchestra at Lake Okoboji, Iowa, a
resort town 100 miles west of Mason City, in his first paying job - $13 a
week.
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1918
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Meredith’s sister, Dixie moved to New York City and Meredith went to visit her.
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1919
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Meredith graduated from Mason City High School. Later that same year,
John Philip Sousa’s band performed in Mason City where a member of his band
met and was impressed by the 18-year-old flute player, Meredith Willson.
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1919
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Meredith moved to New York City where he enrolled in the Damrosch
Institute (now Julliard), studying under Georges Barre’re.
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1921
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He joined John Philip Sousa’s Band, playing with them for three years
as first flute. Between seasons he played in the Rivole and Rialto Theater
Orchestras.
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1923
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Willson conducted recording experiments with Lee deForest. These experiments
led to the invention of bringing sound to movies, at that time known as “Talkies”.
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1924
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Meredith Willson left Sousa’s Band to play in the Philharmonic Symphony
Society of New York. (Later known as the New York Philharmonic Orchestra)
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1926
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He played flute in a back-up orchestra on NBC radio and composed musical scores for two movies.
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1929
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Meredith left the New York Philharmonic to conduct the KJR radio orchestra
in Seattle, WA and soon became musical director for KFRC radio in San Francisco.
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1932
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Meredith started a radio show called “Concert in Rhythm” that featured popular dance music.
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1934
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“The Big Ten”, forerunner of “The Lucky Strike Hit Parade,” was created by Meredith Willson.
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1936
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He moved to Hollywood to become musical director for the “Maxwell House Show Boat from Hollywood” show.
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1938
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Meredith became musical director of “Good News Radio Hour” until 1942.
It became the number one radio show in the country at that time.
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1940
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Willson began composing soundtracks for movies starring film greats such as Charlie Chaplin and Bette Davis.
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1941
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“You and I”, recorded by Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra was written
by Meredith and the song became the #1 hit in the country for nine months.
This same year he wrote “Two in Love” which also became a hit song, and was
recorded by Glenn Miller.
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1942
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Willson joined the Army as part of the Armed Forces Radio Service.
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1945
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Meredith joined the George Burns and Gracie Allen show as musical director.
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1946
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“Sparkle Time” was created by Meredith Willson but its name was changed to “Meredith Willson’s Music Room” in 1948.
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1950
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He became musical director for “The Big Show.” This radio extravaganza
featured all of the big names in the entertainment industry. Each show ended
with the same song composed by Willson, “May the Good Lord Bless and Keep
You.” The inspiration for this song came from Willson’s mother, as it was
her parting words to her Sunday school class every week when he was a child.
This song was Willson’s biggest hit and was recorded by stars such as Bing
Crosby, Gene Autry, Frankie Laine, and Tammy Wynette
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1951
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Meredith Willson began working on “The Silver Triangle,” renamed “The
Music Man,” an autobiographical film set in his hometown, Mason City, Iowa.
This famous production won 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best
Actor.
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1957
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“The Music Man” opened at the Shubert Theater in Philadelphia on November
17th and at the Majestic Theater in New York City on December 19th.
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1958
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While “The Music Man” was still going strong on Broadway, Meredith
signed on to write the music for “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.”
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1960
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The musical ,”The Unsinkable Molly Brown”, opened on Broadway on November 3rd.
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1961
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Warner Brothers gained the movie rights to “The Music Man” and began film production.
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1962
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On June 19, 1962 at the Palace Theater in Mason City, Iowa, the movie
“The Music Man” premiered. Meredith Willson and the cast of the movie traveled
to his hometown for the event, which was held in conjunction with the Mason
City Band Festival. “The Music Man” won the Academy Award for Best Musical
Score, and was nominated for Best Picture that same year.
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1964
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Metro Goldwyn Mayer produced the movie version of “The Unsinkable
Molly Brown.” Meredith Willson’s last Broadway musical was “Here’s Love”,
an adaptation of the popular Christmas movie, “Miracle of 34th Street.”
The most famous song from “Here’s Love,” “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like
Christmas,” has become a holiday standard. |
| From 1964 until
his death in 1984, Meredith Willson continued to write and play the music
he so loved. But Meredith is also remembered for his great contributions
to humanity. He was a member of the Big Brothers, an organization that provided
support to fatherless boys, and was a six-time president of the Greater Los
Angeles chapter of Big Brothers. President Kennedy presented Willson with
the National Big Brother Award in recognition of his service to the country's
youth. President Lyndon Johnson appointed Willson to the National Council
of the Humanities. In 1982, the National Academy of Popular Music elected
him to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He received five honorary doctorates.
Willson was posthumously awarded the Iowa Award for lifetime achievement
by Iowa Governor Terry Brandstad and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by
President Ronald Regan. |