Leroy Anderson has been called the "most famous unknown composer" because his music has rooted itself in American culture, becoming as iconic as the flag and apple pie. He was born into a family of first-generation Swedish immigrants. In 1919, he began his music and piano studies at the New England Conservatory of Music. At Harvard, he studied composition, and later served as the director of the Harvard University Band. At the same time he was also an organist, instrumentalist and conductor in Boston. His arrangements in Boston and New York were noticed by Arthur Fiedler, then music director of the Boston Pops, who asked Anderson to compose original works for that orchestra. This suggestion led to Jazz Pizzicato, followed that same year by Jazz Legato. Anderson was married in 1942; they moving to Connecticut and raised four children there. During the war, Anderson worked as a translator and interpreter. During this time he composed one of his most popular works, The Syncopated Clock, while working at the Pentagon. Arthur Fiedler premiered all of Anderson's works until 1950. These included, Chicken Reel, the famous and now seasonally revived Sleigh Ride, A Trumpeter's Lullaby, and The Waltzing Cat. Anderson also worked as an orchestrator and arranger for the Boston Pops during these years sometimes conducting his own works. Anderson then signed a contract with Decca Records, which brought out the first performances of pieces such as the 1952 top-of-the-charts hit Blue Tango, and Plink, Plank, Plunk! Anderson continued to compose and conduct his music until his death. He was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1988.