Died On This Date (December 24, 1940) Billy Hill / American Songwriter
themusicsover Billy Hill
July 14, 1899 – December 24, 1940
Billy Hill was a Songwriter Hall of Fame tunesmith who penned several hits throughout the ’30s. Born in the Boston, Hill studied music and played the violin and piano, eventually earning a living at it as part of dance bands. His first hit as a songwriter came with 1933’s “The Last Roundup,” which made that year’s The Hit Parade and lead to him becoming one of Tin Pan Alley’s most successful writers. His most well-known first came to prominence in 1936. “The Glory Of Love” was made into a hit that year by Benny Goodman, and later recorded by Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Otis Redding, Eddy Arnold, and Bette Midler for the Beaches soundtrack. More recently, the Jimmy Durante version of the song was prominently featured in the 2009 thriller, Orphan. Billy Hill was 40 when he passed away on December 24, 1940.
Thanks to Ginger Lee Hill for the assist.
Tim Hart is best remembered as a founding member of British electric folk band, Steeleye Span, who released a handful of moderately successful albums while Hart was in the group between 1970 and 1982. He played guitar and sang for the band while writing some of their more traditional sounding songs. In later years, Hart released a handful of solo releases included two children’s albums. In late 2008, he was diagnosed with lung cancer which caused his death on December 24, 2009. Tim Hart was 61 years old when he died.