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Piano Roll Artist Ralph Rainger
By Matthew Caulfield

The name "Ralph Rainger" sounded to me suspiciously like a QRS
pseudonym, perhaps one of the many that J. Lawrence Cook used to cover
one of his many different arranging styles.  But no, Ralph Rainger was
a real person.  The Billings Rollography, vol. 3, p. 300, says this:

"Rainger, Ralph (1901-1942).  Ralph Rainger studied piano with Paolo
Gallico, Clarence Adler and Arnold Schoenberg and attended law school.
He was a professional pianist in the Ziegfeld Follies and worked as
accompanist and arranger for Libby Holman and Clifton Webb before going
to Hollywood in 1930 for Paramount and 20th Century Fox.

"Besides writing several scores for movies, he collaborated with Leo
Robin, Howard Dietz, Sam Coslow, and Dorothy Parker.   His songs
include: 'Moanin' Low,' 'Please,' 'Here Lies Love,' 'In the Park in
Paree in the Spring,' 'Take a Lesson from the Lark,' 'Love in Bloom,'
'June in January,' 'Love is Just Around the Corner,' and 'La Bomba.'"

Roll no. 3445, "There Are Two Sides To Every Story," is the only QRS
roll that the Billingses attribute to this pianist.

Matthew Caulfield


(Message sent Sun 12 Nov 2000, 16:04:42 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

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