Billy May was born in 1916 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From his early musical beginnings playing the tuba in his school band, he was intrigued with orchestration and arranging. His writing often featured brisk tempos and intricate brass lines. A distinctive feature of his style was his frequent use of the various trumpet mutes and slurping saxes. With Nelson Riddle he was involved in scoring the film scores for Green Hornet, Batman and the Rat-Pack romp Sergeants 3. His biggest hit as a composer was the children's song "I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Cat" which he recorded with Mel Blanc in 1950.