Penn alumnus Raymond B. Evans, W '36, was the lyricist for one of the world's most successful song-writing teams. In 2010, the Ray and Wyn Ritchie Evans Foundation honored the Libraries by donating the papers and memorabilia of Ray Evans and his wife Wyn to our special collections. The Collection includes photographs and letters documenting their life, along with awards, newspaper clippings, interviews and recorded music from the Ray Evans Archive.
Ray Evans attended the Wharton School of Economics, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1936. He met his business partner, Jay Livingston (ne Jacob Harold Levison), W'36, at the University of Pennsylvania in 1934 through the Beta Sigma Rho Fraternity. They travelled with the Penn Orchestra on cruise ships during their spring and summer vacations, which helped the two young songwriters develop their signature style of music. A trip to Havana was particularly influential.
The Ray and Wyn Ritchie Evans Foundation was established to maintain public interest in the music catalog of Livingston and Evans and to perpetuate the memory of Ray and Wyn Ritchie Evans. The Foundation makes annual grants to non-profit organizations dedicated to artistic, educational, scientific, music and charitable endeavors.
For additional information on The Ray and Wyn Ritchie Evans Foundation, click here.
To review an article on the Ray Evans collection in The Pennsylvania Gazette, click here.