Alan Menken Sheet Music

Alan Menken Biography

Alan Menken is an American songwriter who has won many awards for his work. He is best known for the scores for Disney films such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid. " Alan Menken was born June 22, 1949 in New Rochelle, New York. His parents were Rosalind and Harold Menken. Both of Menken's parents were born in London. When Alan was still a young boy, his family moved to New Jersey where he attended West Orange High School. At the age of seventeen, he started taking courses at Caldwell College in New Jersey. He was exposed to the music of Broadway at an early age when his father took him to a performance of "Oklahoma. " Alan's parents moved the family to South Florida when he was 13 and opened a jazz club in Miami Beach. Menken spent his high school years working at the club in exchange for free meals. He would play piano while his brother sang the lyrics to tunes like "God Bless America" and the club's namesake song, "Sentimental Journey. " Menken learned to play piano from a young age. His father gave him his first lesson at 9 years old. At age 11, Menken began to make his own basement (into a studio), which would be "a wonderful place for a little kid to hang out – dark and delicious", as Menken describes.

Alan Menken has created some of the most beloved songs and musical scores of our time

Alan Menken's most known work is on animated films including Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, and The Little Mermaid. In a career spanning over four decades, he has won two Academy Awards and eight Grammy Awards. Menken has been honored with the Richard Kirk Award, a lifetime achievement award from the National Board of Review, and Disney Legend awards. His music for Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996) also received two Academy Award nominations, in the categories Best Original Song ("Someday") and Best Original Musical or Comedy Score. Menken was the composer and lyricist for "Newsies", the Tony Award-winning Best Musical in 2012. He has been nominated for four more Tony Awards and three Grammy Awards, among numerous other awards and nominations. Additionally, he has been featured on recordings that have garnered nine Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Daytime Emmy Awards, an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.