Loewe was a child prodigy, playing piano at age 5, composing for his father's presentations at 7, and at 13 becoming the youngest soloist to appear with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He wrote a popular song, "Katrina," at age 15, and more than 1 million copies of the sheet music were eventually sold.

Loewe arrived in the United States in 1924 and worked in a variety of menial jobs for many years. By 1936, he was writing music for Broadway revues but he enjoyed little acclaim. Loewe collaborated with lyricist Earle Crooker on the musical plays "Salute to Spring" (1937) and "Great Lady" (1938), but they similarly failed to gain attention.

In 1942, Loewe met Alan Jay Lerner and asked him to work on revising "Salute to Spring" for a Detroit producer. Their ensuing collaborations yielded such successes on Broadway as "Brigadoon" (1947), "Paint Your Wagon" (1951), "My Fair Lady," the film "Gigi" (1958), and "Camelot" (1960). But personal differences between the two talents surfaced during the writing of Camelot, and they ended their collaboration.

The score of "My Fair Lady" was among the most successful ever to emerge from the American musical theatre. More than 5 million copies of the Broadway-cast recording were sold, an of Loewe's 16 very different melodies, "I Could Have Danced All Night," "On the Street Where You Live," and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" have undergone innumerable arrangements and renditions. His music ranged from high romance ("If Ever I Would Leave You" from "Camelot") to lighthearted melodies ("Thank Heaven for Little Girls" from "Gigi") to subtle settings for nearly spoken songs ("Why Can't the English?" from "My Fair Lady").

Loewe passed away in Palm Springs California in 1988. He left one-half of his music royalties to the Desert Medical Center in Palm Springs, which has allowed others to lead extraordinary lives. As partner Alan Jay Lerner once said, "There will never be another Fred Loewe." All the Freds here at FredQuarters agree whole heartily. Thanks for the music!