Tel Aviv University (TAU) is proud to announce that it is the recipient of support from the Estate of Ben Oakland for the Ben Oakland American Music Library at TAU. The support, which represents a portion of Mr. Oakland’s American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) royalties, will be dedicated towards maintaining the music library’s scholarship funds, to be distributed at the discretion of TAU in the name of the library.

Mr. Oakland, who died in 1979, was a successful and talented composer for Broadway shows and motion pictures. He wrote the score for the W.C. Fields/Mae West film My Little Chickadee and collaborated with lyricists such as Oscar Hammerstein II, Bob Russell, Milton Drake, L. Wolfe Gilbert, and Artie Shaw. Mr. Oakland’s contributions to the Great American Songbook include “Java Jive,” “I’ll Take Romance,” and “I’m a Hundred Percent for You.” The Songwriter’s Hall of Fame includes him on their notable songwriters list for his contributions to American popular song.

Towards the end of his life, Mr. Oakland had promoted music awareness between the United States and Israel, according to his New York Times obituary. He was also director of MUSIC, a nonprofit group that sponsored activities for underprivileged young musicians.