Philip Springer

Philip Springer (born May 12, 1926) is an American composer, pianist, and songwriter best known for co-writing the enduring Christmas standard "Santa Baby" in 1953.

Throughout a prolific career spanning over seven decades, Springer has contributed to popular music, film scores, television soundtracks, and classical compositions, collaborating with luminaries such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Judy Garland, and Aretha Franklin. His early training in classical piano, influenced by his musical family, led him to graduate from Columbia College in 1950, where he co-composed music for varsity shows, followed by an M.A. from New York University studying baroque counterpoint and a Ph.D. in composition from UCLA in 1973, with a dissertation incorporating the ARP 2600 synthesizer. Beginning as a staff composer at the Brill Building in New York City in the late 1940s, Springer penned hits like "How Little it Matters, How Little We Know" for Sinatra, "Moonlight Gambler" for Frankie Laine, and "Teasin'" for Connie Haines, while also forming the publishing company Tamir Music.

In addition to pop songs, Springer's oeuvre includes operas such as Requiem for an Artist, electronic music explorations documented in his 1977 book Switched On Synthesizers, and original scores for films such as Kill a Dragon (1967) and Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970), as well as song contributions to soundtracks for films like The Holiday (2006), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), and Elf (2003). His innovative work with early synthesizers and service as musical director for Mickey Rooney during World War II in the U.S. Army highlight his versatility across genres. Remaining active into his late 90s, Springer received a 2024 Webby Award for his performance of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and was the subject of the documentary More Than Santa Baby, which premiered to acclaim in 2024 and won an audience award at the 2025 Dances with Films Festival.