Johnny Green was a composer and songwriter who created enduring standards of the Great American Songbook before transitioning to a distinguished career as a film conductor and arranger. Born in New York City in 1908, Green achieved success in the late 1920s and early 1930s with a catalog of hit songs that became jazz staples. His most celebrated composition, "Body and Soul," written in 1930 with lyricist Edward Heyman, became one of the most recorded songs in jazz history. His 1931 composition "Out of Nowhere" became Bing Crosby's first number-one hit and a widely covered standard. Working with collaborators including Yip Harburg and Gus Kahn, Green composed over two dozen hits during his songwriting prime. He later served as music director at MGM and won five Academy Awards for his conducting and arranging work. Green died in 1989.
