Matt Dennis - Welcome Matt (2010)

Songwriter, pianist, and singer Matt Dennis composed hit pop songs for Tommy Dorsey's band and Frank Sinatra during the 1940s and 1950s. Born into a vaudeville family in Seattle in 1914, Dennis learned how to play the piano at a young age, leading to a job with Horace Heidt while Dennis was still in his teens. He eventually moved to Hollywood, where he worked in clubs accompanying singers such as Martha Tilton, Merry Macs, and the Pied Pipers. Dennis was still with the Pipers when they joined up with Tommy Dorsey, and served as arranger, composer, and coach for Dorsey. During his service in WWII, Dennis did radio work and arranged music for Glenn Miller's AAF Orchestra, among others. Dennis' chief collaborator was lyricist Tom Adair, and his best-known tunes include "Will You Still Be Mine?," "Let's Get Away from It All," "Everything Happens to Me" (1941), and "Angel Eyes" (1953), but he also penned "We Belong Together," "We've Reached the Point of No Return," and "You Can Believe Me." Dennis also did a series of recordings for the Glendale, RCA, Jubilee, and Kapp labels. He later worked on television, radio, and as a nightclub entertainer into the 1960s. ~Joslyn Layne