William E. May, better known as Billy May (10 November, 1916 ? 22 January, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and musician. He died of heart failure at the age of 87 in his home in San Juan Capistrano, California. One of May's most popular compositions was the theme music of the Naked City television series in the early 1960s, "Somewhere in the Night". Along with Nelson Riddle, he was also involved in scoring the television series, Emergency! Early life May was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He played trumpet professionally in big bands such as those of Charlie Barnet starting in 1939, but became best known as a talented arranger. His arrangement of the Ray Noble composition Cherokee became a major hit of the swing music era. During the Barnet days, May revealed a significant flair for satire on a composition titled The Wrong Idea that ridiculed the bland Mickey Mouse

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