Willson was born in Mason City, Iowa, to John David Willson and Rosalie Reiniger Willson, and he had a brother two years his senior, John Cedrick, and a sister 12 years his senior, the children's author Dixie Willson. He attended Frank Damrosch's Institute of Musical Art (which later became the Juilliard School) in New York City. He married his high school sweetheart, Elizabeth "Peggy" Wilson, on August 29, 1920. A flute and piccolo player, Willson was a member of John Philip Sousa's band (1921-1923), and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini (1924-1929).

Willson penned a number of very well known songs, such as "You and I," which was a No. 1 for Glenn Miller in 1941 on the Billboard charts. It was also recorded by Bing Crosby, and by Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra on vocals.  Three songs from The Music Man have become American standards: "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Gary, Indiana," and "Till There Was You." The last was recorded by The Beatles for their 1963 UK album With The Beatles. (The album's American equivalent, Meet The Beatles!, was issued in 1964.)  Other popular songs composed by Willson include "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (published as "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas"), "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You," and "I See the Moon." He wrote the University of Iowa's fight song Iowa Fight Song, and Iowa State University's "For I for S Forever." He also wrote the fight song for his hometown high school "Mason City, Go!" He honored The Salvation Army with a musical tribute, "Banners and Bonnets."  An oddity in Willson's body of work is "Chicken Fat," written in 1962. In school gymnasiums across the nation, this was the theme song for President John F. Kennedy's youth fitness program. It was time to get the country's youth into shape, and Willson's song had youngsters moving through basic exercises at a frenetic pace: push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, torso twists, running in place, pogo springs, and plenty of marching. With an energetic lead vocal by Robert Preston, orchestral marching band, and full chorus, it was likely recorded during sessions for the Music Man film. Two versions of the song exist: a three-minute, radio-friendly length, and a longer, six-minute version for use in the gymnasium. In 2014 "Chicken Fat" was used in a television commercial for the iPhone 5S.  In 1974 he offered a marching song, "Whip Inflation Now," to the Ford Administration, but it was not used. CANNOTANSWER

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Other popular songs composed by Willson include "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (
Willson föddes i Mason City, Iowa, till John David Willson och Rosalie Reiniger Willson, och han hade en bror två år sin senior, John Cedrick, och en syster 12 år hans senior, barnboksförfattaren Dixie Willson. Han gick på Frank Damroschs Institute of Musical Art (som senare blev Juilliard School) i New York. Han gifte sig den 29 augusti 1920 med sin high school-älskling, Elizabeth "Peggy" Wilson. En flöjt- och piccolospelare, var Willson medlem i John Philip Sousas band (1921-1923), och New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini (1924-1929). Willson skrev ett antal mycket välkända sånger, till exempel "Du och jag", som var ett No. 1 för Glenn Miller 1941 på Billboard-listan. Den spelades även in av Bing Crosby, och av Tommy Dorsey med Frank Sinatra på sång. Tre låtar från The Music Man har blivit amerikanska standarder: "Seventy-Six Trombones", "Gary, Indiana," och "Till There Was You." Den sista spelades in av The Beatles för deras brittiska album With The Beatles 1963. (Albumets amerikanska motsvarighet, Meet The Beatles!, gavs ut 1964.) Andra populära låtar komponerade av Willson inkluderar "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (utgiven som "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas"), "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You", och "I See the Moon." Han skrev University of Iowas kampsång Iowa Fight Song, och Iowa State Universitys "For I for S Forever". Han skrev även kampsången för sin hemstadsgymnasium "Mason City, Go!" Han hedrade Frälsningsarmén med en musikalisk hyllning, "Banners och Bonnets". En underlighet i Willsons arbetskropp är "Chicken Fat", skriven 1962. I skolgymnasier över hela landet var detta ledmotivet till president John F. Kennedys ungdomsgymnasium. Det var dags att få landets ungdom i form, och Willsons sång fick ungdomar att röra sig genom grundläggande övningar i en frenetisk takt: armhävningar, sit-ups, hoppknektar, torso twists, löpning på plats, pogofjädrar, och massor av marsch. Med en energisk ledsång av Robert Preston, orkestermarschband, och helkör spelades den troligen in under sessioner för Music Man-filmen. Två versioner av låten finns: en tre minuter lång, radiovänlig längd, och en längre, sex minuter lång version för användning i gymnastiksalen. 2014 användes "Chicken Fat" i en TV-reklam för iPhone 5S. 1974 erbjöd han en marschlåt, "Whip Inflation Now", till Ford Administration, men den användes inte. CANNOTANSWER Finns det några andra intressanta aspekter med den här artikeln?
Willson was born in Mason City, Iowa, to John David Willson and Rosalie Reiniger Willson, and he had a brother two years his senior, John Cedrick, and a sister 12 years his senior, children's author Dixie Willson. He attended Frank Damrosch's Institute of Musical Art (which later became Juilliard School) in New York City. He married his high school sweetheart, Elizabeth "Peggy" Wilson, on August 29, 1920. A flute and piccolo player, Willson was a member of John Philip Sousa's band (1921-1923), and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini (1924-1929). Willson wrote a number of very well-known songs, such as "You and I", which were a No. 1 for Glenn Miller in 1941 on the Billboard list. It was also recorded by Bing Crosby, and by Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra on vocals. Three songs from The Music Man have become American standards: "Seventy-Six Trombones", "Gary, Indiana," and "To There Was You." The last was recorded by The Beatles for their 1963 British album With The Beatles. (The album's American equivalent, Meet The Beatles!, was published in 1964.) Other popular songs composed by Willson include "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (published as "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas"), "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You", and "I See the Moon." He wrote University of Iowa's fight song Iowa Fight Song, and Iowa State University's "For I for S Forever". He also wrote the fight song for his hometown high school "Mason City, Go!" He honored the Salvation Army with a musical tribute, "Banners and Bonnets". A strangeness in Willson's body is "Chicken Fat", written in 1962. In high schools across the country, this was the theme song for President John F. Kennedy's youth high school. It was time to get the country's youth in shape, and Willson's vocals made young people move through basic exercises at a frenzied rate: push-ups, sit-ups, jump jacks, torso twists, running on the spot, pogo feathers, and lots of marching. With an energetic lead vocals by Robert Preston, orchestra march band, and full choir, it was probably recorded during sessions for the Music Man film. Two versions of the song are available: a three-minute, radio-friendly length, and a longer, six-minute version for use in the gymnasium. In 2014, "Chicken Fat" was used in a television commercial for iPhone 5S. In 1974, he offered a march song, "Whip Inflation Now", to the Ford Administration, but it was not used. Are there any other interesting aspects to this article?
Bland andra populära låtar komponerade av Willson märks "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (<unk>) (<unk>).
Other popular songs composed by Willson include "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (<unk>) (<unk>).