Norman Luboff; Composer and Conductor of Chorus

Norman Luboff, the composer and conductor best known for the more than 75 albums that made up the recorded repertoire of the Norman Luboff Choir, a favorite commercial chorus of the 1960s, died Tuesday at his home in Bynum, N.C.

His longtime publicist and friend, Klaus W. Kolmar, said Luboff was 70 and had been battling cancer.

The Luboff choir performed an eclectic mix of Mozart, J. S. Bach and Beatle compositions, coupled with folk, gospel and spiritual songs. Their recording of “Songs of the Cowboy” won a Grammy in 1960.

Luboff, a former radio singer, first came to national prominence when he moved to Hollywood from New York and Chicago to become choral director of the weekly “Railroad Hour,” a radio series in which Gordon MacRae and others sang opera, operetta and musical comedy.

Over the years Luboff was to arrange and compose for TV shows, motion pictures and record with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Doris Day, Ezio Pinza and many others.

The choir’s recordings--primarily on Columbia records--made it a popular concert group, and Luboff for years toured the country performing a gamut of choral music.

Luboff, who was in demand as a guest conductor in Europe, particularly the Scandinavian countries, was the composer of several popular songs, including “Yellow Bird.”