About Sunny Skylar

“Sunny Skylar (also known as Sonny Schuyler) towers among the greats of the Tin Pan Alley era -- an extraordinarily prolific songsmith with a unique flair for supplying new English lyrics to foreign-language hits, he contributed countless original compositions to the Great American Songbook but remains best known for adapting "Besame Mucho," cited by some historians as the most frequently recorded song in music history. Born Selig Shaftel in Brooklyn on October 11, 1913, he first pursued a career as a singer, and in the years leading up to World War II he performed with a series of big bands, including stints with Ben Bernie, Paul Whiteman, Abe Lyman, and Vincent Lopez (who suggested his change his name to "Sunny," because it suited his disposition -- "Skylar" was his mother's maiden name). Skylar scored his first significant songwriting hit in 1941 when the Gene Krupa Orchestra featuring vocalist Anita O'Day recorded "Just a Little Bit South of North Carolina," which he wrote in collaboration with Bette Cannon and Arthur Shaftel. A year later, Skylar teamed with George Williams and Chummy MacGregor for "It Must Be Jelly ('Cause Jam Don't Shake Like That)," recorded by bandleaders including Glenn Miller and Woody Herman. Even as his writing career caught fire, Skylar nevertheless continued to pursue fame as a singer, performing at landmark nightspots including the Latin Quarter -- in addition, he spent several years in the mid-'40s as a staple of the nascent Las Vegas Strip, headlining casinos including The Flamingo and El Rancho…

According to ASCAP, Skylar wrote more than 300 songs across the span of his career -- in his hands, the Carlos & Mario Rigual hit "Cuando Calienta el Sol" resurfaced on American pop radio in 1964 as the Ray Charles Singers' "Love Me with All Your Heart," French composer Michel Polnareff's "Ame Caline" enjoyed a second life as Raymond Lefevre's "Soul Coaxing," and a melody from Dutch composer Jean Senn transformed into Dean Martin's "Watching the World Go By." But Skylar also contributed a number of now-classic original compositions as well -- Frank Sinatra recorded his "Don't Wait Too Long" for the landmark September of My Years, and Ella Fitzgerald cut "Gotta Be This or That" for Ella Swings Lightly. Other notable efforts include "Be Mine Tonight," "Hair of Gold, Eyes of Blue," "And So to Sleep Again," "Fifteen Minute Intermission," "I'd Be Lost Without You," and "It's All Over Now." Skylar additionally cut a handful of efforts as a solo act -- 1946's Mercury label effort Nursery Rhymes (But Not for Children) is much sought-after by collectors of novelty records -- but abandoned his singing career for good in 1952. He retired from songwriting in the early '70s and settled in Las Vegas, where he remained for the rest of his life. Skylar died February 2, 2009 at the age of 95.”

Written by Jason Ankeny (via allmusic.com)

Sunny Skylar’s Career Achievements

• Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010)

• Original music was performed by acts such as Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Dean Martin, Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Lady Gaga (Tony Bennett), Roy Rodgers, Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Lawrence Welk, The Ventures, Woody Herman, Willie Nelson, Les Paul, Tony Bennett, Vic Damone, Ray Charles, Glenn Miller, and Andy Williams to name a few.

• Published over 300 original songs according to ASCAP

• Songwriting for songs like “Besame Mucho [English lyrics]”, “Amor [English lyrics]”, “It Must Be Jelly (‘Cause Jam Don’t Shake Like That)”, “Just A Little Bit South Of North Carolina”, “You’re Breaking My Heart”, “Gotta Be This Or That”, “Don’t Wait Too Long”, “Be Mine Tonight”, “And So To Sleep Again”, “I’d Be Lost Without You”, “Too Many Times”, “Waitin’ For The Train To Come In”, “Put That Ring On My Finger”, “Love Me With All Your Heart”, “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire”, “Be Mine Tonight (Noche De Ronda) [English lyrics]”, “Hair Of Gold, Eyes Of Blue”, “If You Loved Me [English Lyrics]”, “Fifteen Minute Intermission”, and many more...

• Music featured in over 60 movies and television series like Looney Tunes, Cold Case, Moon Over Parador, The Ed Sullivan Show, Rin Tin Tin, Frances, Bugsy, Valentine’s Day, Manhattan, Bandstand, and more...

• Began singing professionally at the age of 17 and fronted numerous orchestras until the age of 40

• Performed as a singer with acts such as Vincent Lopez, Paul Whiteman, Ben Bernie, Abe Lyman, and George Hall to name a few, and recorded countless singles with these conductors.

• Regular headlining performer at Las Vegas Strip casinos including The Flamingo, El Rancho, El Cortez, and The Dunes, as well as many nightclubs and theaters from the mid 1940’s to the early 1950’s including The Latin Quarter

• Music released by Decca Records, Capitol Records, Mercury Records, Bluebird Records, Columbia Records, RCA Victor Records, MGM Records, Universal Music Group Publishing, Warner Brother Records, Atlantic Records, Apple Records, Polydor Records, EMI Records, Sony Classical Records, CBS Record Group and more...

• Featured in The New York Times Magazine, written by Gertrude Samuels, about hit songwriting styles alongside artists like George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Oscar Hammerstein II titled, Four Ways To Write A Song Hit (May 14, 1944).

• Performed a 4 minute medley of original songs on The Ed Sullivan Show (August 28, 1949) including compositions such as: “Just A Little Bit South Of North Carolina”, “Amor”, “Besame Mucho”, “Waitin’ For The Train To Come In”, “Love Is So Terrific”, “Hair Of Gold, Eyes Of Blue”, and “You’re Breaking My Heart”.

• Presented in Time Magazine for the song “Move It On Over”, an anthem for United States troops during World War II (February 15, 1943).

• Featured 152 times in Billboard Magazine (January of 1942 until April of 2010) with top charting songs, advertisements, musical achievements, quotes, career updates, as well as song, album, and live performance reviews.

• Included in The Real Book Jazz standard songbook collection by Hal Leonard Music Publishing with songs “Don’t Wait Too Long”, “Besame Mucho”, “Gotta Be This Or That”, “Love Me With All Your Heart”, “Be Mine Tonight (Noche De Ronda)”, and Amor (Amor, Amor, Amor)”.

• Hosted a weekly Sunday radio show during the 1940’s on WKBB singing popular song requests

• Released a risqué solo album called “Nursery Rhymes (But Not For Children)” in 1947

• Official Spotify curated playlist, with 50 song writing credits (performed by various artists), titled Sunny Skylar Radio