He joined the Meriden Symphony Orchestra when he was eleven years old, and wrote a class song at Jefferson Junior High School in 1932. He became a member of the
American Federation of Musicians when he was fifteen. He later attended the
New England Conservatory of Music on a scholarship, and returned there as a teacher in the 1940s. He began his professional career by moving to
New York City in 1938 and changing his name to Homer. He began composing for bandleader
Les Brown in 1940, writing some material with lyricist
Bud Green. His most popular works are "
Sentimental Journey" (1944), "Bizet Has His Day" (1945) (a jazz arrangement of
Georges Bizet's "
Farandole" from
L’Arlésienne-Suite), "Shoot the Sherbet to Me Herbert" (1939), and "Joltin' Joe Di Maggio" (1941). ==References==