Edward Heyman wrote many lyrics but none as famous as the one that he collaborated on with Robert Sour and Frank Eyton for “Body and Soul.” The song became an instant hit when torch singer Libby Holman sang it in the Broadway show Three’s a Crowd (1930). Heyman went on to write more hits with its composer, Johnny Green, including “You’re Mine You” and “I Cover the Waterfront” (1933) and “Easy Come, Easy Go” (1934). Their “Out of Nowhere” was a number-one hit for Bing Crosby in 1931, and the 1945 film, You Came Along with Robert Cummings, Don DeFore, and Liz Scott took its title from the lyric and featured the song. The Andrews Sisters took “I Wanna Be Loved” (written in 1932 with co-lyricist Billy Rose) to the charts in 1950.

Other collaborations yielded “Through the Years” (1932) with Vincent Youmans and “You Oughta Be in Pictures” with Dana Seusse. Oscar Levant’s lament, “Blame It on My Youth” (1934) is made more touching by Heyman’s lyric. “Love Letters,” which Heyman wrote with Victor Young, became the title of a 1945 film (Love Letters) starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotton. It was nominated for several Oscars, including one for best song. The team also turned out “When I Fall in Love” in 1952.

Raised in Chicago, Heyman began writing musicals when in college at the University of Michigan. During his career he wrote for scores of Broadway shows, films, and Radio City Music Hall productions. During the mid-‘50s and until 1961 he produced shows for an English-speaking theater group in Mexico City.

-- Sandra Burlingame

Courtesy of JazzStandards.com