Jimmy Van Heusen was a favorite composer of both Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, who recorded more than 70 of his songs. As a teenager he adopted the more sophisticated name of the shirt manufacturer when he began singing and playing piano on a Syracuse radio station. In college he wrote a song with Jerry Arlen (Harold’s brother) which was recorded by Cab Calloway. He wrote “Oh! You Crazy Moon” (1938) and “Deep in a Dream” (1939) with lyricist Eddie De Lange and came up with two hits from a failed Broadway show in 1939: “Darn That Dream” with De Lange and “I Thought About You” with Johnny Mercer.

The following year he formed a fruitful partnership with lyricist Johnny Burke. Writing for Hollywood movies, they produced a string of hits for Bing Cr...