Alex North
Alex North (born Isadore Soifer, December 4, 1910 – September 8, 1991) was an American composer best known for his many film scores, including A Streetcar Named Desire (one of the first jazz-based film scores), Viva Zapata!, Spartacus, Cleopatra, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? He was the first composer to receive an Honorary Academy Award, but never won a competitive Oscar despite fifteen nominations. He wrote the music for Unchained Melody as the theme for the prison film Unchained (1955), It has become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, with over 1,500 recordings made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Chester, Died September 8, 1991 (Los Angeles)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1950
Roles Represented in DAHR: conductor, composer, songwriter
= 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roulette | 19730 | 10-in. | approximately 1958 | The long hot summer | Hugo Peretti Orchestra ; Jimmie Rodgers | composer | ||
| Decca | 76373 | 4/24/1950 | Act I, part 1 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76374 | 4/24/1950 | Act I, part 2 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76375 | 4/24/1950 | Act I, part 3 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76376 | 4/24/1950 | Act I, part 4 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76377 | 4/24/1950 | Act I, part 5 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76378 | 4/24/1950 | Act I, part 6 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76379 | 4/24/1950 | Act I, part 7 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76380 | 4/24/1950 | Act I, part 8 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76381 | 4/24/1950 | Act II, part 1 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76382 | 4/24/1950 | Act II, part 2 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76383 | 4/24/1950 | Act II, part 3 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76384 | 4/24/1950 | Act II, part 4 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76385 | 4/24/1950 | Act II, part 5 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76386 | 4/24/1950 | Act II, part 6 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76387 | 4/24/1950 | Act II, part 7 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor | |||
| Decca | 76388 | 4/24/1950 | Act II, part 8 | Thomas Mitchell | conductor |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "North, Alex," accessed December 12, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/207324.
North, Alex. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 12, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/207324.
"North, Alex." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 12 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Alex North
Discogs: Alex North
Allmusic: Alex North
IMDb: Alex North
Britannica: Alex North
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: North, Alex - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n83174977
Wikidata: Alex North - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q349448
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/2657177
MusicBrainz: Alex North - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/1da369a4-7e66-4b30-8aa7-33426370347a
Fast: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/117912 - http://id.worldcat.org/fast/117912
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