George David Weiss

Songwriter George David Weiss was active from the mid-'40s through the early '60s and wrote such hits as "Oh, What It Seemed to Be" and "Can't Help Falling in Love." Born in N.Y.C. in 1921, Weiss studied at Juilliard. Early on in his music career, he played reeds and violin in various dance bands before his military service during WWII. Weiss landed several hits as soon as he began composing in the mid-'40s, including "Oh, What It Seemed to Be" and "How Could I?" Later successes of his include "I'll Never Be Free," "Too Close for Comfort," "That Sunday That Summer," and "Can't Help Falling in Love." In addition to independently popular songs, Weiss wrote tunes for a couple of animations in the late '40s, co-wrote scores for the Broadway musicals Mr. Wonderful (which included Sammy Davis Jr. in the original 1956 cast) and First Impressions (1959), and composed the score for Tale of Cinderella: New Musical for the Whole Family. His music has been recorded by such legendary performers as Tom Jones, Mel Tormé, Elvis Presley, Dinah Washington, the Stylistics, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and Sammy Davis Jr. His chief collaborator was fellow songwriter Bennie Benjamin. Weiss later became president of the Songwriters Guild of America. ~ Joslyn Layne