Leon Carr
Leon Carr (June 10, 1910 – March 27, 1976) was an American songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist, and conductor. He developed several famed marketing jingles used in advertisements, including "Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut.." for Mounds candy, "See the USA in Your Chevrolet" for Chevrolet, and the "Bert the Turtle" theme song for the 1952 nuclear public education awareness film Duck and Cover.
Also recorded as Leon L. N. Carr
Leon Carr
- Name
- Leon Carr
- Born
- 10 June 1910
- Birthplace
- Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Died
- 27 March 1976
- Place of death
- New York City, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Songwriter
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- classical music
- Education
- New York University · Pennsylvania State University
- Languages
- English
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Documentary connections
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q6524564 · wikipedia · Leon Carr
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Leon Carr • Born — 10 June 1910 • Birthplace — Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Died — 27 March 1976 • Place of death — New York City, U.S. • Genre — Classical • Occupation — * Songwriter • composer • arranger • pianist • conductor
Documentary record
Leon Carr lived from 12 June 1910 to 27 March 1976 and was an arranger, composer and poet. Leon Carr was born on 12 June 1910 and died on 27 March 1976.
Early life and education
Early life and education
Carr was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on June 10, 1910. Carr was educated at Pennsylvania State University. He also studied the Schillinger System at New York University in New York City.
Documentary record
Leon Carr was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Leon Carr died in New York, according to the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Career
Career
Carr moved to New York City in 1935. His marketing jingles are among the best known in the history of broadcast advertising. His biggest non-jingle hit was "There's No Tomorrow", a parody of "O Sole Mio", which was popularized by Tony Martin in the film Two Tickets to Broadway; it spent 27 weeks on the Billboard charts in 1949, peaking at #2. Carr's other popular song compositions include "Bell Bottom Blues", "Hotel Happiness", "Herthquake", "Hey There Lonely Girl", "Your Socks Don't Match", "A Man Could Be a Wonderful Thing", "Goblins in the Steeple", "Big Name Button", "If You Smile at the Sun", "I'd Do It All Again", "Skiddle-Diddle-Dee", "Should I Wait?", "Our Everlasting Love", "Another Cup of Coffee", "Most People Get Married", "Clinging Vine", "Marriage Is for Old Folks", "The Secret Life", and "Confidence". Artists who have recorded Carr's popular music include Brook Benton, Teresa Brewer, Vikki Carr, Vic Damone, Roy Hamilton, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Tony Martin, Johnny Mathis, Guy Mitchell, Patti Page, Gene Pitney, Louis Prima, Buddy Rich, Nina Simone, Mel Tormé, Bobby Vinton, and Anita Baker. In 1938, Jimmie Lunceford's orchestra recorded Carr's instrumental composition "Frisco Fog", which prefigured Duke Ellington's celebrated 1940 "Ko-Ko". Carr also composed the off-Broadway musical The Secret Life of Walter Mitty based on the short story of the same name by James Thurber, which opened at The Players Theatre in Greenwich Village on October 26, 1964, and ran for 96 performances.
Death
Death
Carr died in New York City on March 27, 1976, at age 65. He was survived by his wife, Shirley, a son, Stephen, and a grandson.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Allentown.
Birth place
New York City.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Leon Carr, revision 1316023825 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 24 August 2026.
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