What comes first, the lyric or the melody? This age-old question has been answered in many ways but, with Fran Landesman there is no question: the lyric came first; and it came in perfect shape, crying for a melody. The composer's job couldn't have been easier for those privileged few of us who wrote those melodies. Her songs will live on, rising on the "winds of heaven," and reaching all the "sad young men." For my part, summer has really hung me up the most; I shall miss that lady mightily.
-Bob Dorough
Hi Bob,
that's beautiful.. and so true .. I always felt that my job was to try to find a tune that was already there in the lyric .. and I always felt very, very lucky to have had the chance to try.
-Simon Wallace