Levy established
Leeds Music Corporation in 1935 with his friends, lyricist
Sammy Cahn and composer
Saul Chaplin. He is credited with the discoveries of Cahn and Chaplin,
Bob Dylan,
Charles Strouse,
Richard Adler and
Jerry Ross, and
Henry Mancini. He also either discovered, managed, or developed the careers of such artists as the
Ames Brothers,
Petula Clark,
Bobby Darin,
Eddie Fisher,
Connie Francis,
Woody Herman,
Steve Lawrence,
Les Paul,
The Andrews Sisters,
Buddy Rich, and
Charles Aznavour. Levy supplied numerous other singers with hit material:
Frank Sinatra with "
All or Nothing At All," "
Strangers in the Night," and "
I'll Never Smile Again"; Petula Clark with "
Downtown" and "Call Me"; The
Everly Brothers with "
Let It Be Me";
Tom Jones with "It's Not Unusual". He published
the Beatles' first American hit, "
I Want to Hold Your Hand." In 1964, Leeds Music was acquired by
MCA.
Professional stewardship Levy served on the Board of Directors of
ASCAP from 1958 to 1970 and was honored by ASCAP in 1986 for "outstanding contributions as a major force in music publishing." In 1987 he received the
Songwriters Hall of Fame Abe Olman Award for Excellence in Music Publishing. == Family ==