Churchill Kohlman

Churchill Kohlman (January 28, 1906 – May 25, 1983) was an American songwriter who wrote Johnnie Ray's 1951 hit, "Cry" while working in a Pittsburgh dry cleaning factory as the night watchman.

Royalties from "Cry" were the subject of a bitter legal dispute between Kohlman and Perry Alexander, owner of music publisher Mellow Music. Alexander was ordered by arbitrators to pay Kohlman $15,331.24 to settle the dispute in 1953.

Kohlman wrote hundreds of other songs, but none achieved the success of "Cry".

Churchill had the following siblings: Homer Kohlman (1907–1985); and Alyse Kohlman Klaytor. After his success with "Cry", he was a correspondent for Prevue, a Chicago-based show-business magazine. He married Viola (1915–1995) and had the following children: Phyllis Kohlman O'Leary and Eleanor Kohlman Smith; and Carl Kohlman. He died under the name Charles Kohlman of a heart attack in 1983, at 77 years old, in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh. His grave is at Homewood Cemetery in Point Breeze.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 28, 1906, Died May 22, 1983

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1951

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor E1FB-4475 10-in. 11/28/1951 Llanto Los Tres Diamantes Male vocal trio, with instrumental ensemble composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Kohlman, Churchill," accessed July 2, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/115464.

Kohlman, Churchill. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved July 2, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/115464.

"Kohlman, Churchill." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 2 July 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/115464

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