Lew Douglas

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lew Douglas" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. Find sources: "Lew Douglas" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Lew Douglas (August 25, 1912 – November 11, 1997) was an American composer, arranger, and conductor.

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Douglas was in the Army during the Second World War and became an arranger and conductor for some of the U.S. Army swing bands. After completing his military service, he moved to Chicago, where he continued his musical education at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. He started arranging for big bands such as Ted Weems, Eddy Howard and Dan Belloc. Douglas was taken on by NBC to be one of the staff arrangers for many TV shows, including Dave Garroway at Large and Your Show of Shows. Subsequently, Douglas moved on to be head arranger and producer for Mercury Records in Chicago, and he was involved in many major hits, including "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" by The Weavers, "The Bible Tells Me So," performed by Nick Noble and the Lew Douglas Orchestra; "Two Hearts, Two Kisses," sung by Pat Boone, "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" by Bill Snyder and Patti Page's "Confess".^[1]

Famously, he is quoted as saying "My first love is arranging and producing, but when I get stuck for a song, I write one." He is most noted for three major compositions in the 1950s. In January 1953, Douglas had the number 1 song, "Why Don't You Believe Me?" sung by Joni James, The number 10 song, "Have You Heard?", again by Joni James, and the number 13 song, "Pretend", sung by Nat King Cole.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2012)

With Ramsey Lewis

• Country Meets the Blues (Argo, 1962)

• Discography