Elisse Boyd

Elisse Boyd (born Agnes Elisse Corbett) (1910–1979) was a composer. She married William R. Boyd III and changed her name to Elisse Boyd.^[1] She had collaborated with Murray Grand and Leonard Whitcup. She had also collaborated with George Goehring with the songs "Sad but True" and "You Oughta be Ashamed".^[2][3]

Agnes Elisse Corbett was born in 1910 in Peducah, Kentucky. Her father was Hal Corbett, who was a friend of fellow Kentuckians Alben W. Barkley (one of the vice presidents under President Truman) and humorist and columnist Irvin Cobb. Her father was claimed to have been one of the three men who were the inspiration for Irvin Cobb's composite character of Judge Priest.^[4][5]

Boyd began song writing with entering a Fort Worth, Texas contest for best theme song. She won in the competition sponsored by Casa Mañana Theater with the song "Dancing in the Moonlight", which was used for a 1937 performance at the theater.^[5] In 1944, her song "Lo! and Behold!" was first published in the United Kingdom during World War II so that she could be with her husband Colonel Boyd (his rank at that time during the war) who was stationed in Europe.^[6][5] The following year, the Frank Parker version of "Lo! and Behold!" was broadcast on the American Album of Familiar Music radio program. ^[7] In the same year as the radio broadcast, she had announced to the print media that she was collaborating with composer Leonard Whitcup.^[7] With their collaboration, they had composed the song "Unbelievable" (1947).^[8]

With Murray Grand, she co-wrote "Guess Who I Saw Today" for the Broadway musical review New Faces of 1952,^[9] where the song was sung by June Carroll.^[10] Eartha Kitt, who was a cast member of New Face of 1952, would later sing Boyd's song "Thursday Child" in 1957.^[11] With "Guess Who I Saw Today", the song would go onto become a hit song with multiple artists singing the cover. There were musical performances of the cover by Eydie Gormé, Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan.^[12][13] Nancy Wilson had popularized what would become her signature song from her album "Something Wonderful" (1960). The first stanza of "Guess Who I Saw Today" (1952) is the following:^[14]

You're so late getting home from the office?

Did you miss your train?

Were you caught in the rain?

No, don't bother to explain.

In 1959, her song "Mrs. Williams", a song about a lady who never wants to leave a cocktail party, was in the musical review Pieces of Eight by Julius Monk for the New York City cabaret scene at The Downstairs Club.^[15] Her song "I'd Rather Cha Cha than Eat" (co-written with Murray Grand) was in the Phyllis Diller album "Wet Toe in the Socket" (1959).^[16] The following year, her song "The Other Woman" was in Martha Wright's album "Love, Honor and All That Jazz...Songs for After the Honeymoon is Over" (1960).^[17][18]

• Frank Parker
• Eartha Kitt
• Eydie Gormé
• Carmen McRae
• Sarah Vaughan
• Nancy Wilson
• Phyllis Diller
• Martha Wright