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Norman Luboff
Norman Luboff (May 14, 1917 – September 22, 1987) was an American choir director, music arranger, and music publisher. Luboff was the founder and conductor of the Norman Luboff Choir, one of the leading choral groups of the 1950s and '60s. He won a Grammy Award in 1961 for Best Performance by a Chorus, and the holiday albums Songs of Christmas (1956) and Christmas with the Norman Luboff Choir (1964) were bestsellers for many years. In addition to recording, Luboff arranged and conducted for radio, television, and film. He also founded Walton Music, a choral music publisher.
Norman Kador Luboff was born on May 14, 1917 to a working class family in Chicago, Illinois. His music experience began at home, where Luboff, his older brother Avy, and their parents entertained themselves with group singing. He took piano lessons, and participated in his school choir and orchestra. He graduated from high school in 1935.
Luboff entered a music competition and won a scholarship to Central YMCA College, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in music in 1939. It was there that he became friends with Ray Charles, who like Luboff would go on to a distinguished career as a choir director. After graduation, he continued his studies at the University of Chicago and the American Conservatory of Music, including with noted composer Leo Sowerby. In addition to tutoring, Luboff picked up singing jobs to make ends meet, including as a caroler at Marshall Field's department store during the holidays. He was part of a quartet with his friend Ray Charles, professor Rus Wood, and future singing cowgirl Dale Evans that sang on Chicago radio stations. When he couldn't afford tuition, he sometimes audited classes to further his education.
Luboff served in the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II. After his military service ended in the spring of 1943, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in music.
In New York City, Ray Charles helped Luboff get an audition with Lyn Murray, an important contractor for singers in the city. He quickly found work singing baritone on various radio programs, including Your Hit Parade. It was there that, in addition to singing, he began to serve as the backup choral director. By 1945, Luboff had quit singing and was writing arrangements and conducting choirs full time.
Luboff moved to Los Angeles in 1948 to become the choral director for The Railroad Hour, a new radio program starring Gordon MacRae. The success of the show led to offers to conduct choirs for Hollywood films. The first film he worked on was Lullaby of Broadway starring Doris Day, released in 1951. Luboff went on to work on more than 80 motion pictures. He provided arrangements for films including The Jazz Singer (1952), The Desert Song (1953), and Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958), and served as a vocal coach for actors like Kirk Douglas in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954). He also composed and arranged for television shows like the Bell Telephone Hour, the Dinah Shore Show, and Ford Star Jubilee.
Doris Day also recorded a companion album for Lullaby of Broadway, with Luboff again arranging and conducting the choir as he had for the film, credited as "The Norman Luboff Choir". This began a decade-long relationship with Columbia Records, providing choral accompaniment to Columbia recording artists such as Frankie Laine, Jo Stafford, Paul Weston & his Orchestra, and Frank Sinatra. The Norman Luboff Choir accompanied Jimmy Boyd on his 1952 No. 1 hit "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". They also accompanied Bing Crosby on his 1955–1962 series of Christmas Eve radio specials on CBS and the accompanying album for Decca Records, A Christmas Sing with Bing Around the World (1956). Though not credited on the original release, they contributed to three songs on Harry Belafonte's RCA Victor album Calypso (1956), the first LP to sell one million copies.
The Norman Luboff Choir began to release recordings under their own name in 1952, when they produced the 7" EP Christmas Carols. An expanded 10" LP version with the same title was released the following year, along with an album of children's lullabies titled Sweet Dreams. Their first full-length (12") album was Easy to Remember in 1954. They went on to record dozens of albums over the next fifteen years. Luboff won a Grammy for Best Performance by a Chorus at the 3rd Annual Grammy Awards for the 1960 album Songs of the Cowboy, beating out his old friend Ray Charles, who was nominated in the same category for Deep Night by the Ray Charles Singers. On February 8, 1960, Luboff was awarded a star for Recording on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1620 Vine St.
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Norman Luboff
Norman Luboff (May 14, 1917 – September 22, 1987) was an American choir director, music arranger, and music publisher. Luboff was the founder and conductor of the Norman Luboff Choir, one of the leading choral groups of the 1950s and '60s. He won a Grammy Award in 1961 for Best Performance by a Chorus, and the holiday albums Songs of Christmas (1956) and Christmas with the Norman Luboff Choir (1964) were bestsellers for many years. In addition to recording, Luboff arranged and conducted for radio, television, and film. He also founded Walton Music, a choral music publisher.
Norman Kador Luboff was born on May 14, 1917 to a working class family in Chicago, Illinois. His music experience began at home, where Luboff, his older brother Avy, and their parents entertained themselves with group singing. He took piano lessons, and participated in his school choir and orchestra. He graduated from high school in 1935.
Luboff entered a music competition and won a scholarship to Central YMCA College, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in music in 1939. It was there that he became friends with Ray Charles, who like Luboff would go on to a distinguished career as a choir director. After graduation, he continued his studies at the University of Chicago and the American Conservatory of Music, including with noted composer Leo Sowerby. In addition to tutoring, Luboff picked up singing jobs to make ends meet, including as a caroler at Marshall Field's department store during the holidays. He was part of a quartet with his friend Ray Charles, professor Rus Wood, and future singing cowgirl Dale Evans that sang on Chicago radio stations. When he couldn't afford tuition, he sometimes audited classes to further his education.
Luboff served in the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II. After his military service ended in the spring of 1943, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in music.
In New York City, Ray Charles helped Luboff get an audition with Lyn Murray, an important contractor for singers in the city. He quickly found work singing baritone on various radio programs, including Your Hit Parade. It was there that, in addition to singing, he began to serve as the backup choral director. By 1945, Luboff had quit singing and was writing arrangements and conducting choirs full time.
Luboff moved to Los Angeles in 1948 to become the choral director for The Railroad Hour, a new radio program starring Gordon MacRae. The success of the show led to offers to conduct choirs for Hollywood films. The first film he worked on was Lullaby of Broadway starring Doris Day, released in 1951. Luboff went on to work on more than 80 motion pictures. He provided arrangements for films including The Jazz Singer (1952), The Desert Song (1953), and Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958), and served as a vocal coach for actors like Kirk Douglas in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954). He also composed and arranged for television shows like the Bell Telephone Hour, the Dinah Shore Show, and Ford Star Jubilee.
Doris Day also recorded a companion album for Lullaby of Broadway, with Luboff again arranging and conducting the choir as he had for the film, credited as "The Norman Luboff Choir". This began a decade-long relationship with Columbia Records, providing choral accompaniment to Columbia recording artists such as Frankie Laine, Jo Stafford, Paul Weston & his Orchestra, and Frank Sinatra. The Norman Luboff Choir accompanied Jimmy Boyd on his 1952 No. 1 hit "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". They also accompanied Bing Crosby on his 1955–1962 series of Christmas Eve radio specials on CBS and the accompanying album for Decca Records, A Christmas Sing with Bing Around the World (1956). Though not credited on the original release, they contributed to three songs on Harry Belafonte's RCA Victor album Calypso (1956), the first LP to sell one million copies.
The Norman Luboff Choir began to release recordings under their own name in 1952, when they produced the 7" EP Christmas Carols. An expanded 10" LP version with the same title was released the following year, along with an album of children's lullabies titled Sweet Dreams. Their first full-length (12") album was Easy to Remember in 1954. They went on to record dozens of albums over the next fifteen years. Luboff won a Grammy for Best Performance by a Chorus at the 3rd Annual Grammy Awards for the 1960 album Songs of the Cowboy, beating out his old friend Ray Charles, who was nominated in the same category for Deep Night by the Ray Charles Singers. On February 8, 1960, Luboff was awarded a star for Recording on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1620 Vine St.