Oscar-nominated songwriter Arthur Hamilton, best known for classics like “Cry Me a River,” has passed away.
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His death was announced by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers on Tuesday.
“The ASCAP family is saddened to learn that legendary songwriter and longtime ASCAP Board member Arthur Hamilton has passed away,” the organization wrote on X. “Arthur wrote such classic songs as ‘Cry Me a River,’ ‘Sing a Rainbow, ‘ and ‘She Needs Me,” & more. His legacy will forever burn brightly in our hearts.”
The cause of his death has not yet been confirmed. Hamilton was 98.
The ASCAP family is saddened to learn that legendary songwriter and longtime ASCAP Board member Arthur Hamilton has passed away. Arthur wrote such classic songs as “Cry Me a River,” “Sing a Rainbow” and “She Needs Me,” & more. His legacy will forever burn brightly in our hearts. pic.twitter.com/rK4CsMyDke
— ASCAP (@ASCAP) June 3, 2025
Hamilton earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, shared with composer Riz Ortolani, for “Till Love Touches Your Life” from the 1970 film Madron. The song, performed by Richard Williams and Jan Daley, featured in the Western starring Richard Boone and Leslie Caron.
Arthur Hamilton’s Signature Song Was Cut From the Film It Was Written For
Ella Fitzgerald sang his song “Cry Me A River” for the 1955 film Pete Kelly’s Blues, but it was ultimately left out of the final version.
Julie London, actress and ex-wife of Pete Kelly’s Blues director Jack Webb, recorded her own version of the song, which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The song was later covered by artists like Ray Charles, Barbra Streisand, Aerosmith, and Johnny Mathis. In 2015, it was inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.
Arthur Hamilton Stern was born in Seattle on October 22, 1926.. His father, Jack Stern, was a songwriter and orchestrator who worked on films like His Night Out (1935), Little Miss Nobody (1936), and Sweetheart of the Navy (1937). His mother, Grace Hamilton, wrote the lyrics for many of her husband’s songs.
He moved to Los Angeles with his parents as a baby, learned to play the piano, and in 1949 wrote a live stage musical called What a Day for the local TV station KTTV. After that, he spent a few years working for a music publishing company.
Bobby Darin recorded “He Needs Me” as “She Needs Me” in 1959 for his second album, which also featured hits like “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea.” Hamilton’s work also included songs like “Rain Sometimes,” “One Look,” and “The Best I Ever Was.”
Hamilton served as the second president of the Society of Composers and Lyricists from 1985 to 1987. He also held the position of music branch governor at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was an active member of the ASCAP Foundation Board.