Dave Cavanaugh

David Cavanaugh Also Known As Dave Cavanaugh Or Occasionally Big Dave Cavanaugh March 13 1919 – December 31 1981 Was An American Composer Arranger Musician And Producer. Born In Saint Paul Minnesota Cavanaugh Became A Session Tenor Saxophone Player In California In His Mid-Twenties Working With Numerous Bands Including Those Of Eddie Miller Bobby Sherwood Benny Carter And Woody Herman.
Amongst The Singers Whose Work He Backed In The Late 1940s Were Sammy Davis Jr. Ella Mae Morse And As Part Of A Group Called Ten Cats & A Mouse Peggy Lee.
As "Big Dave" Cavanaugh He Also Released Singles Such As "Big Dave's Special" / "One Stop" And "The Cat From Coos Bay" / "Loosely With Feeling". In The Early 1950s Cavanaugh Became A Director Of A & R Artists And Repertoire For Capitol Records Where During A Stint That Would Endure To The End Of His Career He Signed Artists Such As Dakota Staton Nancy Wilson Plas Johnson And Sandler & Young.
He Became One Of The Label's Main Producers Becoming Responsible For The Output Of Top Artists Such As Nat "King" Cole Peggy Lee Kay Starr Billy May Sandler And Young And Frank Sinatra And Winning A Grammy In 1959 For Producing Sinatra's Album Come Dance With Me!. Edit As Arranger Cavanaugh Even Worked As Arranger On Some Sessions Most Notably On Nat "King" Cole's 1958 Album Welcome To The Club On Which Cole Was Backed By The Count Basie Orchestra Though Not For Contractual Reasons By Basie Himself.
In A Less Serious Vein Cavanaugh Also Arranged Sinatra's Spoof Doo-Wop Single "Two Hearts Two Kisses Make One Love " With A Capitol Session Group Called The Nuggets. Edit The Top Of The Tower In The 1970s Cavanaugh Became President Of Capitol Records With Whom He Remained Associated Until His Death On New Year's Eve 1981 At Tarzana Hospital Of Heart Complications Following Surgery In Tarzana Los Angeles California. Edit Other Work Cavanaugh Also Worked With Warner Brothers Animation On The Cartoons Happy Hippety Hopper And Snowbound Tweety As Both Producer And Composer. Wild West Henry Haw Bugs Bunny & The Pirate And Tweety's Good Deed Also Used Cavanaugh's Music. read less