Matt Dennis
US-American pianist, singer, comedian, arranger & songwriter.
Born February 11, 1913 in Seattle, Washington, USA.
Died June 21, 2002 (age of 89) in Riverside, California, USA.
Married to singer [a=Virginia Maxey] (1953-2002, his death).
Brother of [a4236952].
Dennis was exposed to music early as his mother was a violinist and his father a singer in vaudeville. In 1933, stilll a teenager, he joined Horace Heidt's Orchestra as a vocalist and pianist. Later on, he formed his own band, with Dick Haymes as vocalist.
During World War II, Dennis served as a singer-vocalist and arranger for the U.S. Army Air Forces’ Radio Production Unit and played with the Glenn Miller Air Force Band after it returned from Europe.
Dennis charted 6 times on the U.S. charts between 1940-1981. His highest charted song was "Let's Get Away from It All (Parts 1 & 2)" by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra. Dennis' chief collaborator was lyricist [a661120]. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010. One of his most covered songs is "Angel Eyes" with lyricist [a=Earl K. Brent].
Dennis was an accomplished jazz and pop pianist and wrote two tutorials, [i]Introduction to the Blues[/i] and [i]You Can Teach Yourself Piano[/i], designed to teach as well as to encourage improvisation.