Going all the way, prolific lyricist Sammy Cahn (1913–1993) was born Samuel Cohen in New York City. “As a kid, I was very slight and wore glasses,” he recalled. “And always carried a violin case.”

By age 21, Cahn had already written a hit song. His career spanned the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, as he mastered “putting that word to that note.”

“My loneliest days will never seem long,” he wrote, “as long as there’s music and you are the song.”

He wrote for Broadway, Hollywood, and TV. Favorites of his work included Ella Fitzgerald and Doris Day. With 30 Oscar nominations and four wins, he wrote many of Frank Sinatra’s biggest hits—Come Fly with Me, Love and Marriage, Only the Lonely, and High Hopes.

“Sammy could write a parody on virtually any given subject, to any melody, in about three minutes,” praised Mel Tormé. “He had a wonderful way with words… a master of similes and… a runaway romantic.”

Cahn’s collaborators included Saul Chaplin, Jule Styne, Nicholas Brodszky, and James Van Heusen.

“The popular song is America’s greatest ambassador,” he once said. He wrote lyrics in his head before committing them to paper, often completing them in just one draft.

He compiled Sammy Cahn’s Rhyming Dictionary (1984), a treasured resource with 50,000 words arranged by vowel sound.

“I like to write,” he explained. “Doodling with words on a typewriter is one of my greatest pleasures.”