The following is the text of Arthur Hamilton's introduction of Johnny Mandel at the 2006 SCL Holiday Dinner:

Johnny Mandel has been all things to all people. He’s written for everybody, arranged for everybody, composed and conducted for television and films, arranged and produced records, written songs with a select group of lucky lyricists--in short, he’s never had a lot of spare time.

Well, he and Martha did manage to raise a lovely and loving daughter, Marissa. And, Johnny has become one of the treasured voices on the board of ASCAP. His songs are so much a part of us all that each of us feels personally connected to him.

Over the years, I have watched him grow from a really gifted composer and arranger into an icon. Let me give you an illustration: when we both were serving on the ASCAP board, it was our usual pleasure to go out and hear some live music playing in New York. We’d go into some dark club and work our way over to a table while the band was blowing. During that walk, someone in the band would recognize Johnny and mumble and point and invariably, in less than eight bars, the whole band would start to play better.

The Society of Composers & Lyricists is proud to show its respect and admiration for Johnny Mandel by naming him an ambassador.

Scores by Johnny Mandel: