Ben Weisman, the classically trained pianist who wrote and co-wrote around sixty songs for Elvis Presley, has died at the age of 85. The musician passed away at a long-term care hospital in LA on Sunday from complications incurred by a stroke and pneumonia.
Dubbed 'the mad professor' by Presley, Weisman was involved in the creation of songs such as 'Wooden Heart' and 'Rock-a-Hula Baby' - "Whenever there was a movie coming up they would call him up and say: 'We need one for, uh, the clam dance'", explained Barbara Gleicher, who is married to the pianist's nephew.
Weisman was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and grew up in the Brooklyn district of New York. He studied at the Juilliard School Of Music before beginning a professional career in which he wrote music not just for Elvis, but also for the likes of Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Vee and The Beatles.