Born in Hillsboro, Texas but raised in Richmond, Virginia, Roger Edens ended up in Hollywood after a successful stint on Broadway. In 1930 Ethel Merman's original pianist and vocal arranger, Al Siegal, had a heart attack on the now legendary opening night of the Gershwin's "Girl Crazy." Siegal was supposed to appear on stage with Ethel, in the sequence "Sam and Delilah." Edens was playing in the orchestra pit (with no less a groups of musicals than Red Nichols, Jimmy & Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, & Harry James!!) Edens jumped in to take Siegal's place, and soon thereafter became Ethel's arranger for the show "Take a Chance" as well as various personal appearances around New York.

Ethel then went to Hollywood to the Samuel Goldwyn-UA studio to film Kid Millions with Eddie Cantor. Edens of course went with her. He did well in Hollywood, and in the fall of 1934, MGM songwriter (and aspiring Producer) Arthur Freed was persuaded to listen to a singer under contract to Warner Bros. Freed was unimpressed with the girl (Patricia Ellis), but asked who the person was playing piano for her and did he do her vocal arrangements? He was told it was Roger Edens and yes, he did the arrangements. He offered Edens a job at MGM.

Edens first worked on the Jean Harlow film Reckless as a musical supervisor. Per Edens: "My first takes was an adaptation of the title song written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II for Jean - and I tried to tell the whole thing without dialogue, just as a story sequence with music." Soon he was working on non-musical films as well, arranging various songs. He became an integral part of the formation of what would, several years later, be known as "The Freed Unit."

In September of 1935, both Edens' and Freed's lives would change forever. That was when Judy Garland's father brought her to MGM to audition. Although the details of HOW Judy ended up at MGM that day are cloudy, what DID happen is that after a bad attempt at piano playing by Judy's father, Roger took over. He looked and Judy and asked if she could change keys, to which she replied "can you?" That would be the beginning of a lifelong friendship and mentorship. Judy's contract began on September 27, 1935 and she immediately began rehearsals with Edens. He would shape her style and help her build a repertoire and a style all her own. Even after Judy left MGM, Edens would continue to write special material for her.

It was Roger Edens who wrote the now famous adaptation of "You Made Me Love You" for Judy to sing at Clark Gable's birthday party in 1937. The success of that performance gave Judy and the song a part in the upcoming Broadway Melody of 1937 (released 1938). Judy stole the show. It was the beginning of her glorious career at MGM. And of course it didn't hurt Roger's career either.

Judy worked exclusively with Roger on vocals, but Roger worked with others as well. While his name had already begun appearing in the credits as "Musicial Adaptation by Roger Edens" but he also wrote scores of songs for various MGM pictures, usually augmenting already established scores such as Good News (1947). He first became an Associate Producer with The Harvey Girls in 1945. The vocal arrangements for that score were shared between him and a new member to the Freed Unit, Kay Thompson. Kay had come to MGM during the filming of Meet Me In St. Louis and took over the vocal arranging of that film from when Hugh Martin left the film to join the military. Edens and Kay soon became best friends, really more like brother and sister. They spoke the same language and together they would come up with all kinds of special, usually extremely witty, material for the Freed Unit.

This as a golden time for Roger, Kay, Freed, and Judy. With Meet Me In St. Louis the real "golden era" of the Freed Unit began. And Edens was an integral part of it. It's been said that is was Roger Edens who gave Arthur Freed his "taste" - and that without Edens, the MGM Musical may never have been what it was. They all were at their peak professionally, and they were fortunate enough to be in the right place to thrive - MGM in the 1940's. With seemingly endless resources and funding, MGM allowed the Freed Unit to do pretty much what they wanted, and to experiment as well. Out of all of this came such classics as The Harvey Girls, Easter Parade, Annie Get Your Gun, An American In Paris, Singin In The Rain and so many others! Edens himself would be a part of practically every musical made for the Freed Unit and he received Academy Awards three years in a row for his scoring of Easter Parade, On The Town and Annie Get Your Gun. His other nominations include:

With the decline of the movie musical in the mid 1950's, Edens had to go over to Paramount to get Funny Face produced with Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn, and a rare screen appearance by Kay Thompson. It's interesting to note that this film is basically an MGM Musical simply "financed" by another studio. Almost all of the participants were MGM Alumni and the look and style of the film is definitely that of an MGM Musical.

Sadly, Edens wouldn't get many more chances to shine after Funny Face. He was the Associate Producer in 1964 for The Unsinkable Molly Brown as well as in 1969 for Hello, Dolly! - reuniting him with director Gene Kelly.

Roger Edens passed away on July 13, 1970 in Los Angeles, CA. Happily, he was able to see his last effort Hello, Dolly! get an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, so at least he left on a high note.

The movie musical owes Roger Edens a great deal. Not only did he help shape Ethel Merman's voice, but he also was the guiding force behind the development of 13 year old Judy Garland into the legendary icon she has become. He was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time, and his flourishing talents gave the MGM Musical, and any other musical efforts he would touch, a style and sophistication that will never become outdated. It's a testament to Roger Edens' talents that when we watch one of his films, we're not CONCIOUSLY aware of the musical arrangement that is making our ears so happy.