Composer, Orchestra Conductor. He was a talented music arranger and wrote for some of the top bands of the 1930s and 1940s. Over a fifteen-year period, he served as musical director for several record labels - first MGM, then Columbia, and then RCA. He provided arrangements for many of RCA's top singers, including Eddie Fisher, the Ames Brothers, Perry Como, and Eddy Arnold, and he released instrumental and choral albums under his own name from 1950 through his retirement in the late 1960s.
After his college years at Mount St. Mary's, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music. During the 1930s, he taught both in public institutions and privately and was a sideman in the reed section for territory bands in the Northeast, particularly that of Nye Mayhew, long a fixture at New York's Hotel Pennsylvania. In the late 1930s, he was with the Larry Clinton Orchestra and then with Jack Jenney, where he was credited with the arrangement of Jenney's version of "Stardust," one of the best-remembered renditions of Hoagy Carmichael's classic. In the 1940s, Winterhalter was an arranger for a variety of bands including those of Count Basie, Will Bradley, Vaughn Monroe, both Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Raymond Scott, and Claude Thornhill. By the late 1940s, he began to work with vocalists, including Billy Eckstine at MGM Records and Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark at Columbia. In 1950, he went to RCA Victor (Percy Faith assumed his duties at Columbia) as chief arranger and conductor into the 1960s.
The first charted records under his own name came in 1949 at Columbia; "Jealous Heart" with a vocal by Johnny Thompson (Col #38593) and "Blue Christmas" (Col #38635) both made the Top Ten that year. In early 1950, his last three records for the Columbia also charted - a cover of the Teresa Brewer hit "Music! Music! Music!" with a vocal by The Five Gems (Col #38704) and two film themes, a cover of Anton Karas' "Third Man Theme" featuring Tony Mottola (Col #38706) and "My Foolish Heart" (Col #38697). The first RCA Victor release under his name was "Count Every Star" (RCA #3697), a Top Ten seller that remained on the charts for five months; it was followed by "I Wanna Be Loved" featuring the Fontaine Sisters (RCA #3772). Don Cornell was featured on "I Need You So" that September on RCA #3884.
Hugo Winterhalter, now the top arranger and conductor for RCA Victor, worked with a number of top vocalists with the label, including Eddie Fisher, who launched a series of major hits with "Thinking Of You" in October of 1950. Hugo also arranged for Fran Warren, Robert Merrill, Jan Peerce, and RCA Victor's biggest star, Perry Como. Hugo arranged and conducted Como's 1953 hits "Wild Horses," "Say You're Mine Again," "You Alone," and "Wanted," stepping in for Perry's usual arrangers Mitchell Ayres and Russ Case.
The tune "Mister Touchdown USA" provided Winterhalter with a chart hit in the Top Ten during the fall of 1950, and this was followed by a reprise of "Blue Christmas" from the year before. In early 1951, Stuart Wade did the vocal on the folk tune "Across the Wide Missouri" on RCA #4017. During that summer, former Freddy Martin vocalist and future TV host Merv Griffin vocalized on a cover of Guy Mitchell's "Belle Belle My Liberty Belle" (RCA #4217), and Hugo closed the year with his lush orchestration of "Beyond The Blue Horizon" from the film "Monte Carlo."
1952 began with a revival of "Blue December" (RCA #4412), followed by Johnny Parker's cover of Louis Armstrong's "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" from the film "The Strip," along with the Winterhalter version of Leroy Anderson's "Blue Tango" on RCA #4518. (Though the Anderson original stayed on the charts for a record nine and a half months, Hugo's version was popular enough to remain on the charts for over four months and got as high as number six in the USA.) Three more instrumentals finished out 1952 for Hugo Winterhalter - "Vanessa," a Top Ten hit on RCA #4691, and "Blue Violins" and "Fandango" on RCA #4997 both charted at the end of the year.
For 1953, "The Magic Touch" (RCA #5209) and "The Velvet Glove" featuring fellow-arranger Henri Rene on musette (RCA #5405) were Winterhalter highlights. He and Eddie Fisher had a big year with Top Ten hits "Even Now," "Downhearted," "With These Hands," "Many Times," and the number-one sellers "I'm Walking Behind You" and "Oh My Papa."
In 1954 "Latin Lady" (RCA #5655) charted in March, then "The Little Shoemaker" and "The Magic Tango" (RCA #5769) were solid Top Ten sellers. (The credits on the label list "Hugo Winterhalter's Orchestra, Chorus, and Friend" ... the "friend" was a very recognizable Eddie Fisher.) The last charted record by Hugo for the year was "Land Of Dreams," featuring the piano stylings of Eddie Heywood, and the film theme "Song Of The Barefoot Contessa" (RCA #5888).
In late 1953 RCA Victor Records signed The Ames Brothers from Decca's subsidiary label Coral and immediately assigned Hugo Winterhalter to supervise, arrange, and conduct the sessions, the very first one resulting in the huge hit "You You You," a million-seller that topped the charts and remained there for an incredible thirty-one weeks. "The Man With The Banjo" was another big success and, in 1954, "The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane" hit number one with over one million records.
In 1955, he conducted for Eddy Arnold on "Cattle Call," another million seller. Shifting gears and styles, Hugo produced "The Rock And Roll Waltz" featuring Kay Starr, a million-seller.
In 1956, with piano stylist Eddie Heywood once again on "Canadian Sunset," one of the great orchestral sounds of the Fifties, racked up over one million records sold.
During the late fifties and early sixties, a number of albums that captured the style and musical sound of Hugo Winterhalter were "Always" (LPM #1179), "The Eyes Of Love" (LPM #1338), "Wish You Were Here" (LPM #1904), and "South Of The Border" (LPM #2271).
After ending his long tenure at RCA Victor in 1963, he spent a short time at Kapp Records and did some freelance composing and arranging.
Hugo Winterhalter passed away in 1973. As with the story of Percy Faith, Hugo left a long legacy of musical treasures. Unlike Faith, his greatest work was in support of some of the top vocalists of the Fifties, such as Eddie Fisher, Perry Como, and The Ames Brothers. Hugo Winterhalter's defining moment in the world of American pop music was 1956's "Canadian Sunset" with composer Eddie Heywood on piano. And combined with all his other accomplishments, Hugo Winterhalter provided the sound of a time when the music was certainly the message.
After his college years at Mount St. Mary's, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music. During the 1930s, he taught both in public institutions and privately and was a sideman in the reed section for territory bands in the Northeast, particularly that of Nye Mayhew, long a fixture at New York's Hotel Pennsylvania. In the late 1930s, he was with the Larry Clinton Orchestra and then with Jack Jenney, where he was credited with the arrangement of Jenney's version of "Stardust," one of the best-remembered renditions of Hoagy Carmichael's classic. In the 1940s, Winterhalter was an arranger for a variety of bands including those of Count Basie, Will Bradley, Vaughn Monroe, both Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Raymond Scott, and Claude Thornhill. By the late 1940s, he began to work with vocalists, including Billy Eckstine at MGM Records and Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark at Columbia. In 1950, he went to RCA Victor (Percy Faith assumed his duties at Columbia) as chief arranger and conductor into the 1960s.
The first charted records under his own name came in 1949 at Columbia; "Jealous Heart" with a vocal by Johnny Thompson (Col #38593) and "Blue Christmas" (Col #38635) both made the Top Ten that year. In early 1950, his last three records for the Columbia also charted - a cover of the Teresa Brewer hit "Music! Music! Music!" with a vocal by The Five Gems (Col #38704) and two film themes, a cover of Anton Karas' "Third Man Theme" featuring Tony Mottola (Col #38706) and "My Foolish Heart" (Col #38697). The first RCA Victor release under his name was "Count Every Star" (RCA #3697), a Top Ten seller that remained on the charts for five months; it was followed by "I Wanna Be Loved" featuring the Fontaine Sisters (RCA #3772). Don Cornell was featured on "I Need You So" that September on RCA #3884.
Hugo Winterhalter, now the top arranger and conductor for RCA Victor, worked with a number of top vocalists with the label, including Eddie Fisher, who launched a series of major hits with "Thinking Of You" in October of 1950. Hugo also arranged for Fran Warren, Robert Merrill, Jan Peerce, and RCA Victor's biggest star, Perry Como. Hugo arranged and conducted Como's 1953 hits "Wild Horses," "Say You're Mine Again," "You Alone," and "Wanted," stepping in for Perry's usual arrangers Mitchell Ayres and Russ Case.
The tune "Mister Touchdown USA" provided Winterhalter with a chart hit in the Top Ten during the fall of 1950, and this was followed by a reprise of "Blue Christmas" from the year before. In early 1951, Stuart Wade did the vocal on the folk tune "Across the Wide Missouri" on RCA #4017. During that summer, former Freddy Martin vocalist and future TV host Merv Griffin vocalized on a cover of Guy Mitchell's "Belle Belle My Liberty Belle" (RCA #4217), and Hugo closed the year with his lush orchestration of "Beyond The Blue Horizon" from the film "Monte Carlo."
1952 began with a revival of "Blue December" (RCA #4412), followed by Johnny Parker's cover of Louis Armstrong's "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" from the film "The Strip," along with the Winterhalter version of Leroy Anderson's "Blue Tango" on RCA #4518. (Though the Anderson original stayed on the charts for a record nine and a half months, Hugo's version was popular enough to remain on the charts for over four months and got as high as number six in the USA.) Three more instrumentals finished out 1952 for Hugo Winterhalter - "Vanessa," a Top Ten hit on RCA #4691, and "Blue Violins" and "Fandango" on RCA #4997 both charted at the end of the year.
For 1953, "The Magic Touch" (RCA #5209) and "The Velvet Glove" featuring fellow-arranger Henri Rene on musette (RCA #5405) were Winterhalter highlights. He and Eddie Fisher had a big year with Top Ten hits "Even Now," "Downhearted," "With These Hands," "Many Times," and the number-one sellers "I'm Walking Behind You" and "Oh My Papa."
In 1954 "Latin Lady" (RCA #5655) charted in March, then "The Little Shoemaker" and "The Magic Tango" (RCA #5769) were solid Top Ten sellers. (The credits on the label list "Hugo Winterhalter's Orchestra, Chorus, and Friend" ... the "friend" was a very recognizable Eddie Fisher.) The last charted record by Hugo for the year was "Land Of Dreams," featuring the piano stylings of Eddie Heywood, and the film theme "Song Of The Barefoot Contessa" (RCA #5888).
In late 1953 RCA Victor Records signed The Ames Brothers from Decca's subsidiary label Coral and immediately assigned Hugo Winterhalter to supervise, arrange, and conduct the sessions, the very first one resulting in the huge hit "You You You," a million-seller that topped the charts and remained there for an incredible thirty-one weeks. "The Man With The Banjo" was another big success and, in 1954, "The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane" hit number one with over one million records.
In 1955, he conducted for Eddy Arnold on "Cattle Call," another million seller. Shifting gears and styles, Hugo produced "The Rock And Roll Waltz" featuring Kay Starr, a million-seller.
In 1956, with piano stylist Eddie Heywood once again on "Canadian Sunset," one of the great orchestral sounds of the Fifties, racked up over one million records sold.
During the late fifties and early sixties, a number of albums that captured the style and musical sound of Hugo Winterhalter were "Always" (LPM #1179), "The Eyes Of Love" (LPM #1338), "Wish You Were Here" (LPM #1904), and "South Of The Border" (LPM #2271).
After ending his long tenure at RCA Victor in 1963, he spent a short time at Kapp Records and did some freelance composing and arranging.
Hugo Winterhalter passed away in 1973. As with the story of Percy Faith, Hugo left a long legacy of musical treasures. Unlike Faith, his greatest work was in support of some of the top vocalists of the Fifties, such as Eddie Fisher, Perry Como, and The Ames Brothers. Hugo Winterhalter's defining moment in the world of American pop music was 1956's "Canadian Sunset" with composer Eddie Heywood on piano. And combined with all his other accomplishments, Hugo Winterhalter provided the sound of a time when the music was certainly the message.
Composer, Orchestra Conductor. He was a talented music arranger and wrote for some of the top bands of the 1930s and 1940s. Over a fifteen-year period, he served as musical director for several record labels - first MGM, then Columbia, and then RCA. He provided arrangements for many of RCA's top singers, including Eddie Fisher, the Ames Brothers, Perry Como, and Eddy Arnold, and he released instrumental and choral albums under his own name from 1950 through his retirement in the late 1960s.
After his college years at Mount St. Mary's, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music. During the 1930s, he taught both in public institutions and privately and was a sideman in the reed section for territory bands in the Northeast, particularly that of Nye Mayhew, long a fixture at New York's Hotel Pennsylvania. In the late 1930s, he was with the Larry Clinton Orchestra and then with Jack Jenney, where he was credited with the arrangement of Jenney's version of "Stardust," one of the best-remembered renditions of Hoagy Carmichael's classic. In the 1940s, Winterhalter was an arranger for a variety of bands including those of Count Basie, Will Bradley, Vaughn Monroe, both Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Raymond Scott, and Claude Thornhill. By the late 1940s, he began to work with vocalists, including Billy Eckstine at MGM Records and Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark at Columbia. In 1950, he went to RCA Victor (Percy Faith assumed his duties at Columbia) as chief arranger and conductor into the 1960s.
The first charted records under his own name came in 1949 at Columbia; "Jealous Heart" with a vocal by Johnny Thompson (Col #38593) and "Blue Christmas" (Col #38635) both made the Top Ten that year. In early 1950, his last three records for the Columbia also charted - a cover of the Teresa Brewer hit "Music! Music! Music!" with a vocal by The Five Gems (Col #38704) and two film themes, a cover of Anton Karas' "Third Man Theme" featuring Tony Mottola (Col #38706) and "My Foolish Heart" (Col #38697). The first RCA Victor release under his name was "Count Every Star" (RCA #3697), a Top Ten seller that remained on the charts for five months; it was followed by "I Wanna Be Loved" featuring the Fontaine Sisters (RCA #3772). Don Cornell was featured on "I Need You So" that September on RCA #3884.
Hugo Winterhalter, now the top arranger and conductor for RCA Victor, worked with a number of top vocalists with the label, including Eddie Fisher, who launched a series of major hits with "Thinking Of You" in October of 1950. Hugo also arranged for Fran Warren, Robert Merrill, Jan Peerce, and RCA Victor's biggest star, Perry Como. Hugo arranged and conducted Como's 1953 hits "Wild Horses," "Say You're Mine Again," "You Alone," and "Wanted," stepping in for Perry's usual arrangers Mitchell Ayres and Russ Case.
The tune "Mister Touchdown USA" provided Winterhalter with a chart hit in the Top Ten during the fall of 1950, and this was followed by a reprise of "Blue Christmas" from the year before. In early 1951, Stuart Wade did the vocal on the folk tune "Across the Wide Missouri" on RCA #4017. During that summer, former Freddy Martin vocalist and future TV host Merv Griffin vocalized on a cover of Guy Mitchell's "Belle Belle My Liberty Belle" (RCA #4217), and Hugo closed the year with his lush orchestration of "Beyond The Blue Horizon" from the film "Monte Carlo."
1952 began with a revival of "Blue December" (RCA #4412), followed by Johnny Parker's cover of Louis Armstrong's "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" from the film "The Strip," along with the Winterhalter version of Leroy Anderson's "Blue Tango" on RCA #4518. (Though the Anderson original stayed on the charts for a record nine and a half months, Hugo's version was popular enough to remain on the charts for over four months and got as high as number six in the USA.) Three more instrumentals finished out 1952 for Hugo Winterhalter - "Vanessa," a Top Ten hit on RCA #4691, and "Blue Violins" and "Fandango" on RCA #4997 both charted at the end of the year.
For 1953, "The Magic Touch" (RCA #5209) and "The Velvet Glove" featuring fellow-arranger Henri Rene on musette (RCA #5405) were Winterhalter highlights. He and Eddie Fisher had a big year with Top Ten hits "Even Now," "Downhearted," "With These Hands," "Many Times," and the number-one sellers "I'm Walking Behind You" and "Oh My Papa."
In 1954 "Latin Lady" (RCA #5655) charted in March, then "The Little Shoemaker" and "The Magic Tango" (RCA #5769) were solid Top Ten sellers. (The credits on the label list "Hugo Winterhalter's Orchestra, Chorus, and Friend" ... the "friend" was a very recognizable Eddie Fisher.) The last charted record by Hugo for the year was "Land Of Dreams," featuring the piano stylings of Eddie Heywood, and the film theme "Song Of The Barefoot Contessa" (RCA #5888).
In late 1953 RCA Victor Records signed The Ames Brothers from Decca's subsidiary label Coral and immediately assigned Hugo Winterhalter to supervise, arrange, and conduct the sessions, the very first one resulting in the huge hit "You You You," a million-seller that topped the charts and remained there for an incredible thirty-one weeks. "The Man With The Banjo" was another big success and, in 1954, "The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane" hit number one with over one million records.
In 1955, he conducted for Eddy Arnold on "Cattle Call," another million seller. Shifting gears and styles, Hugo produced "The Rock And Roll Waltz" featuring Kay Starr, a million-seller.
In 1956, with piano stylist Eddie Heywood once again on "Canadian Sunset," one of the great orchestral sounds of the Fifties, racked up over one million records sold.
During the late fifties and early sixties, a number of albums that captured the style and musical sound of Hugo Winterhalter were "Always" (LPM #1179), "The Eyes Of Love" (LPM #1338), "Wish You Were Here" (LPM #1904), and "South Of The Border" (LPM #2271).
After ending his long tenure at RCA Victor in 1963, he spent a short time at Kapp Records and did some freelance composing and arranging.
Hugo Winterhalter passed away in 1973. As with the story of Percy Faith, Hugo left a long legacy of musical treasures. Unlike Faith, his greatest work was in support of some of the top vocalists of the Fifties, such as Eddie Fisher, Perry Como, and The Ames Brothers. Hugo Winterhalter's defining moment in the world of American pop music was 1956's "Canadian Sunset" with composer Eddie Heywood on piano. And combined with all his other accomplishments, Hugo Winterhalter provided the sound of a time when the music was certainly the message.
After his college years at Mount St. Mary's, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music. During the 1930s, he taught both in public institutions and privately and was a sideman in the reed section for territory bands in the Northeast, particularly that of Nye Mayhew, long a fixture at New York's Hotel Pennsylvania. In the late 1930s, he was with the Larry Clinton Orchestra and then with Jack Jenney, where he was credited with the arrangement of Jenney's version of "Stardust," one of the best-remembered renditions of Hoagy Carmichael's classic. In the 1940s, Winterhalter was an arranger for a variety of bands including those of Count Basie, Will Bradley, Vaughn Monroe, both Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Raymond Scott, and Claude Thornhill. By the late 1940s, he began to work with vocalists, including Billy Eckstine at MGM Records and Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark at Columbia. In 1950, he went to RCA Victor (Percy Faith assumed his duties at Columbia) as chief arranger and conductor into the 1960s.
The first charted records under his own name came in 1949 at Columbia; "Jealous Heart" with a vocal by Johnny Thompson (Col #38593) and "Blue Christmas" (Col #38635) both made the Top Ten that year. In early 1950, his last three records for the Columbia also charted - a cover of the Teresa Brewer hit "Music! Music! Music!" with a vocal by The Five Gems (Col #38704) and two film themes, a cover of Anton Karas' "Third Man Theme" featuring Tony Mottola (Col #38706) and "My Foolish Heart" (Col #38697). The first RCA Victor release under his name was "Count Every Star" (RCA #3697), a Top Ten seller that remained on the charts for five months; it was followed by "I Wanna Be Loved" featuring the Fontaine Sisters (RCA #3772). Don Cornell was featured on "I Need You So" that September on RCA #3884.
Hugo Winterhalter, now the top arranger and conductor for RCA Victor, worked with a number of top vocalists with the label, including Eddie Fisher, who launched a series of major hits with "Thinking Of You" in October of 1950. Hugo also arranged for Fran Warren, Robert Merrill, Jan Peerce, and RCA Victor's biggest star, Perry Como. Hugo arranged and conducted Como's 1953 hits "Wild Horses," "Say You're Mine Again," "You Alone," and "Wanted," stepping in for Perry's usual arrangers Mitchell Ayres and Russ Case.
The tune "Mister Touchdown USA" provided Winterhalter with a chart hit in the Top Ten during the fall of 1950, and this was followed by a reprise of "Blue Christmas" from the year before. In early 1951, Stuart Wade did the vocal on the folk tune "Across the Wide Missouri" on RCA #4017. During that summer, former Freddy Martin vocalist and future TV host Merv Griffin vocalized on a cover of Guy Mitchell's "Belle Belle My Liberty Belle" (RCA #4217), and Hugo closed the year with his lush orchestration of "Beyond The Blue Horizon" from the film "Monte Carlo."
1952 began with a revival of "Blue December" (RCA #4412), followed by Johnny Parker's cover of Louis Armstrong's "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" from the film "The Strip," along with the Winterhalter version of Leroy Anderson's "Blue Tango" on RCA #4518. (Though the Anderson original stayed on the charts for a record nine and a half months, Hugo's version was popular enough to remain on the charts for over four months and got as high as number six in the USA.) Three more instrumentals finished out 1952 for Hugo Winterhalter - "Vanessa," a Top Ten hit on RCA #4691, and "Blue Violins" and "Fandango" on RCA #4997 both charted at the end of the year.
For 1953, "The Magic Touch" (RCA #5209) and "The Velvet Glove" featuring fellow-arranger Henri Rene on musette (RCA #5405) were Winterhalter highlights. He and Eddie Fisher had a big year with Top Ten hits "Even Now," "Downhearted," "With These Hands," "Many Times," and the number-one sellers "I'm Walking Behind You" and "Oh My Papa."
In 1954 "Latin Lady" (RCA #5655) charted in March, then "The Little Shoemaker" and "The Magic Tango" (RCA #5769) were solid Top Ten sellers. (The credits on the label list "Hugo Winterhalter's Orchestra, Chorus, and Friend" ... the "friend" was a very recognizable Eddie Fisher.) The last charted record by Hugo for the year was "Land Of Dreams," featuring the piano stylings of Eddie Heywood, and the film theme "Song Of The Barefoot Contessa" (RCA #5888).
In late 1953 RCA Victor Records signed The Ames Brothers from Decca's subsidiary label Coral and immediately assigned Hugo Winterhalter to supervise, arrange, and conduct the sessions, the very first one resulting in the huge hit "You You You," a million-seller that topped the charts and remained there for an incredible thirty-one weeks. "The Man With The Banjo" was another big success and, in 1954, "The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane" hit number one with over one million records.
In 1955, he conducted for Eddy Arnold on "Cattle Call," another million seller. Shifting gears and styles, Hugo produced "The Rock And Roll Waltz" featuring Kay Starr, a million-seller.
In 1956, with piano stylist Eddie Heywood once again on "Canadian Sunset," one of the great orchestral sounds of the Fifties, racked up over one million records sold.
During the late fifties and early sixties, a number of albums that captured the style and musical sound of Hugo Winterhalter were "Always" (LPM #1179), "The Eyes Of Love" (LPM #1338), "Wish You Were Here" (LPM #1904), and "South Of The Border" (LPM #2271).
After ending his long tenure at RCA Victor in 1963, he spent a short time at Kapp Records and did some freelance composing and arranging.
Hugo Winterhalter passed away in 1973. As with the story of Percy Faith, Hugo left a long legacy of musical treasures. Unlike Faith, his greatest work was in support of some of the top vocalists of the Fifties, such as Eddie Fisher, Perry Como, and The Ames Brothers. Hugo Winterhalter's defining moment in the world of American pop music was 1956's "Canadian Sunset" with composer Eddie Heywood on piano. And combined with all his other accomplishments, Hugo Winterhalter provided the sound of a time when the music was certainly the message.
Bio by: Louis Rugani
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