1. Shuki Levy (1947)

American Composer

Israeli-American composer and TV writer who partnered with Haim Saban to produce music for many popular children's shows. He and Saban founded Saban Entertainment, which brought the "Power Rangers" franchise...

2. James Horner (1953)

American Composer

Acclaimed film composer who won two Academy Awards for his work on the soundtrack for the 1997 film Titanic. He also earned Academy Award nominations for scoring Aliens (1986), Field...

3. Benjamin Carr (1768)

American Composer

Composer, singer, and teacher who was one of the founding members of The Musical Fund Society.

4. Patrick Gilmore (1829)

American Composer

Known for writing many marches, including When Johnny Comes Marching Home and Good News From Home. He fought in the Union Army.

5. Benjamin Hanby (1833)

American Composer

Perhaps most famous for his Christmas songs "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" and "Up On the House Top," this nineteenth-century composer also wrote a hymn titled "Who Is He In Yonder...

6. Leopold Auer (1845)

American Composer

Hungarian-born composer, conductor, music teacher, and violinist. He performed at Carnegie Hall and taught at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.

7. Carrie Jacobs-Bond (1862)

American Composer

Best known for writing the song I Love You Truly and being the first woman to sell one million copies of a song.

8. Edward MacDowell (1860)

American Composer

Romantic-era composer and pianist best remembered for "Woodland Sketches," "Sea Pieces," "New England Idylls," and other piano suites. His most popular piece was "To a Wild Rose" from "Woodland Sketches."...

9. Victor Herbert (1859)

American Composer

Best known for composing numerous operettas that were fixtures of Broadway from the 1890s until World War I.

10. Ethelbert Nevin (1862)

American Composer

Known for composing songs such as The Rosary and Mighty Lak' a Rose. He was beloved by many recording legends.

11. Amy Beach (1867)

American Composer

Remembered for her numerous chamber, piano, choral, and art and folk music compositions, this late 19th and early 20th-century songwriter and concert pianist is perhaps most famous for her Three...

12. Anne Caldwell (1867)

American Composer

Known for I Know That You Know, Once In a Blue Moon, In the Park, and Cinderella Girl.

13. James Newton Howard (1951)

American Composer

One of the most renowned film composers in the history of cinema. He is a multiple-time Oscar nominee for his work on scores for films like The Fugitive.

14. Carl Ruggles (1876)

American Composer

Avant-garde classical composer and painter whose work was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera and the San Francisco Symphony. He was known for his skillful use of dissonant counterpoint, a term...

15. Henry Fillmore (1881)

American Composer

Composer and arranger of popular marches and screamers whose works were adapted by several Florida universities. Some of his more popular works included "Troopers Tribunal" from 1905 and "Miss Trombone"...

16. Marion Bauer (1882)

American Composer

Musician, teacher, writer, and music critic. She played an active role in shaping the American musical identity of the 20th century.

17. Deems Taylor (1885)

American Composer

Vocal advocate for classical music. He was a music critic and member of the infamous Algonquin Round Table. His original works included "The Chambered Nautilus," a cantata from 1916, and...

18. Jerome Kern (1885)

American Composer

One of 20th-century America's greatest composers, known for writing "Ol' Man River," "The Way You Look Tonight," and hundreds others.

19. Percy Wenrich (1887)

American Composer

Composer of Wabash Avenue After Dark, Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet, and When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose.

20. Max Steiner (1888)

American Composer

One of cinema's greatest composers. He wrote the scores for 'King Kong' from 1933 and 'Gone with the Wind' from 1939. He was part of a select group of composers...

21. Alton Adams (1889)

American Composer

Became the first black bandmaster of the United States Navy in 1917.

22. Douglas Moore (1893)

American Composer

Won 1951 Pulitzer Prize for his opera "Giants in the Earth." He also wrote music for film, theatre, ballet, and orchestra.

23. Lou Handman (1894)

American Composer

Composer best known for collaborating on Are You Lonesome Tonight and It's All the Same to Me with Roy Turk.

24. Milton Ager (1893)

American Composer

Composer known for Ain't She Sweet, Happy Days Are Here Again, and I Wonder What's Become of Sally. He often collaborated with Jack Yellen.

25. Walter Piston (1894)

American Composer

Pulitzer Prize-winning classical composer and music professor at Harvard University from 1926 until 1960. His first published score, "Three Pieces for Flute, Clarinet and Bassoon," was released in 1925.

26. Virgil Thomson (1896)

American Composer

Composer and critic who was instrumental in the development of the 'American Sound' in classical music. He wrote two operas with Gertrude Stein, 'Four Saints in Three Acts' and 'The...

27. Henry Cowell (1897)

American Composer

Avant-garde composer who set the standard for expression and technique that influenced generations of musicians. His compositions explored atonality, polytonality, polyrhythms, and non-Western modes.

28. Howard Hanson (1896)

American Composer

Pulitzer Prize winner for 1944's Symphony No. 4. He directed the Eastman School of Music for 40 years. He was known for such original works as "Symphonic Rhapsody," "Two Yuletide...

29. Quincy Porter (1897)

American Composer

1954 Pulitzer Prize winner for his "Concerto Concertante." He experimented with harmonically acerbic and dissonant music.

30. Vincent Youmans (1898)

American Composer

Composer of songs such as Tea for Two and I Want to Be Happy. He was also a prominent Broadway producer.

31. Roy Harris (1898)

American Composer

Pioneer of American-accented symphonies, such as his Symphony No. 3. He performed to sold-out crowds and several American presidents.

32. George Gershwin (1898)

American Composer

Musician famed for hits such as "An American in Paris," "Porgy and Bess," and "Rhapsody in Blue." 

33. Randall Thompson (1899)

American Composer

Best known for "Alleluia," "The Testament of Freedom," "Frostiana," and many other symphonies and choral works.

34. Victor Young (1900)

American Composer

Composer of Sweet Sue, My Foolish Heart, Street of Dreams, When I Fall in Love, and numerous other songs.

35. Ned Washington (1901)

American Composer

Lyricist known for When You Wish upon a Star and I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You. He worked often with Dimitri Tiomkin.

36. Leo Robin (1900)

American Composer

Best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on Thanks for the Memory, Bob Hope's signature song.

37. Hugo Friedhofer (1901)

American Composer

Academy Award-winning composer who wrote the scores for such classics as Victor Fleming's "Joan of Arc," "The Bishop's Wife," "Above and Beyond," "Between Heaven and Hell," and "The Adventures of...

38. Sammy Fain (1902)

American Composer

Composed for more than 30 films from the 1930s to 1950s. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song nine times and won twice.

39. Meredith Willson (1902)

American Composer

Best known for writing the music and lyrics to The Music Man, the popular Broadway musical.

40. Abram Chasins (1903)

American Composer

Multitalented, versatile musician who was also an author, lecturer, musicologist, broadcaster, and radio executive.

41. Mack Gordon (1904)

American Composer

Known for At Last and You'll Never Know for which he won his first and last Academy Award for Best Original Song.

42. Roger Edens (1905)

American Composer

One of MGM's greatest musical minds during Hollywood's Golden Era. He worked as a songwriter, arranger, and supervisor on many musical pictures.

43. Allie Wrubel (1905)

American Composer

Composer and songwriter best known for the songs Gone with the Wind and Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, which was the winner of the 1947 Oscar for Best Song.

44. Paul Creston (1906)

American Composer

American composer known as one of the most prolific of the 40's and 50's. He wrote the music theory texts Principles of Rhythm and Rational Metric Notation.

45. Alec Wilder (1907)

American Composer

Known for I'll Be Around, While We're Young, and Where Do You Go? He also wrote classical music and invented his own puzzles.

46. Edward Heyman (1907)

American Composer

Known for Body and Soul, When I Fall in Love, and For Sentimental Reasons. He also wrote for film.

47. Elliott Carter (1908)

American Composer

Composer who received the Pulitzer Prize twice. He was known for his use of atonality and complex rhythmic structures.

48. Lennie Hayton (1908)

American Composer

Musical director for MGM during its golden age of movie musicals. His trademark was wearing a captain's hat when he played.

49. Harold Rome (1908)

American Composer

Composer and lyricist who wrote many songs for Broadway shows.

50. Percy Faith (1908)

American Composer

Bandleader, orchestrator, composer, and conductor who played a key role in the easy listening movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He is best remembered for "The Song from Moulin Rouge,"...