Morton Gould was born in New York in December 1913, and was educated at the New York Institute of Musical Art.

At the age of 21 he was engaged to conduct and arrange a series of light music programmes for radio, and was soon in demand for cinema and theatre work.

He was to enjoy a dual career in both "serious" and "light" music, drawing much of his inspiration from musical and visual American themes.

Already enjoying considerable success, in 1947 he wrote an orchestral arrangement of the folk song When Johnny comes Marching home, calling is American Salute.

It became the most frequently performed 20th century American symphonic work.

Gould was to equally enjoy a career as a conductor, working with all the major American symphony orchestras, recording with a number of them the symphonic repertoire.