Only one, actually, but a classic: Sunset Boulevard, in which they make a brief appearance – as songwriters at the piano playing their song “Buttons & Bow.” at a party. Not only did Livingston and Evans write songs for the movies, they were in the movies. The overriding sense I got was one of great love: for each other, for their remarkable catalog of songs, and for a life lucky enough to be spent making music. They were so familiar with each other that one knew the other’s opinions by heart, could easily finish the other’s sentence, and they would fall into occasional squabbles only to return to a strong appreciation for the other. Talking to them was like talking to a married couple who had been together for decades. They also wrote “Mona Lisa,” “Tammy,” “To Each His Own” and “Buttons and Bows.” But these guys wrote standards such as “Silver Bells,” which seemed to have existed forever, like a folk song. Speaking to songwriters of standards is always a thrill, as their song is everywhere at once and known throughout the world. Itīrings the song to life in a whole other way, and it’s wonderful. “Que Sera, Sera” was written by the legendary team of Livingston and Evans, and became Doris Day’s signature song although, as explained here, she didn’t like the song at all at first.Īnd in one of the greatest reinventions of a famous pop song, Sly Stone created a delightfully exultant, soulful rendition of it in 1973 with Sly & The Family Stone.