Arthur James Johnston (January 10, 1898 – May 1, 1954) was an American composer, conductor, pianist and arranger.
Born in New York City, he began playing piano in movie houses, and went to work for Fred Fisher's music publishing company at the age of 16.
His first hit song was "Mandy Make Up Your Mind", co-written with George W. Meyer, Roy Turk and Grant Clarke for Florence Mills to sing in the show Dixie to Broadway.
[1][2] In 1929, he moved to Hollywood, where he orchestrated and arranged the music for films including Puttin' On the Ritz and Charlie Chaplin's City Lights.
[3] He visited Britain in 1938, writing the music for the Jessie Matthews film Sailing Along, and served in the US Army in World War II.