Philip Springer
Oral History Information
Philip Springer utilized his classical piano training to pen hit songs during a long and celebrated career making music. As a result his tunes often incorporated elements of sophistication as well as whimsy. Both of his parents were musical and encouraged young Philip to play the piano. By the age of six he was playing Bach by ear. While serving in the US Army during World War II, Philip became Mickey Rooney’s Musical Director and began writing music to entertain the troops. His songwriting career began to take off when singer Connie Haines recorded “Teasin’” which Philip wrote with Richard Adler. A few years later Eartha Kitt recorded a song he wrote with Joan Javits, which has become a Christmas classic, “Santa Baby.” He formed his own music publishing company, Tamir Music, and continued to write songs for top artists such as Frankie Laine (“Moonlight Gamble”), Elvis Presley (“Never Ending”), Judy Garland (“Heartbroken”), Aretha Franklin (“Her Little Heart Went to Loveland”) and Frank Sinatra (“How Little it Matters, How Little We Know”) among others. Philip also scored for motion pictures, television and Broadway musicals and worked with several of the top lyricists including Buddy Kaye and Carolyn Leigh. Returning to his classical roots, he also wrote operas, the hour long composition entitled “Requiem for an Artist” as well as dozens of works using electronic instruments including the ARP 2600. These projects inspired Philip to write his book Switched On Synthesizers in 1977.