He composed film and television music for The Green Hornet (1966), The Mod Squad (1968), Batman (with Batgirl theme, 1967),[1] and Naked City (1960).

May wrote arrangements for many top singers, including Frank Sinatra, Yma Sumac, Nat King Cole, Anita O'Day, Peggy Lee, Vic Damone, Bobby Darin, Johnny Mercer, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Jack Jones, Bing Crosby, Sandler and Young, Nancy Wilson, Rosemary Clooney, The Andrews Sisters and Ella Mae Morse.

[3] May's contract with Barnet called for writing at extraordinary speed: four new arrangements per week, about 70 of which were recorded and commercially released by RCA Victor on the Bluebird label.

They are on full display in May's arrangements of Ellington's own compositions, particularly "The Sergeant Was Shy", "Ring Dem Bells", and "Rockin' in Rhythm".

May's first recorded serious composition for jazz orchestra was Wings Over Manhattan, a three-part suite celebrating the "aviation" theme of the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair for which it was written.

"[7] May's sense of musical humor—which later became one of the hallmarks of his sound—began to take shape with the Charlie Barnet Orchestra, as evident in his arrangements of novelty numbers like "Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga".

"May points out that he was not responsible for any of the [Glenn Miller] band's signature hits, but he did write the beautiful left-field introduction to [Bill] Finegan's [arrangement of] 'Serenade In Blue'".

"[12] When the Big Bands ended in the late 1940s, May relocated to Los Angeles, where he became a much-coveted arranger and studio orchestra leader, working for top recording stars of the day including Frank Sinatra,[13] Rosemary Clooney,[14] Anita O'Day and Bing Crosby.

[citation needed] May also composed and conducted the music for Freberg's short-lived comedy radio series on CBS, which ran for 15 episodes in 1957.

May transcribed note for note from the original recordings of big band legends such as Charlie Barnet, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and others and then conducted a group of all-star veteran musicians on the sessions, including some of the original performers such as singers Helen Forrest, Helen Ward and Tex Beneke.

[17] The Crosby-Clooney collaboration was a sequel to their earlier, more successful album on RCA Victor, Fancy Meeting You Here, also arranged by May, whose other non-Capitol work included another Bing Crosby duet album, this time with Louis Armstrong, entitled Bing & Satchmo; a further duet album twinning Bobby Darin with Johnny Mercer (Two of a Kind); the sixth in Ella Fitzgerald's acclaimed series of Song Books for Verve Records, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook; similar dips into Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hart with Anita O'Day (Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May and Anita O'Day and Billy May Swing Rodgers and Hart; both on Verve); Mel Tormé's Latin-flavoured album (¡Olé Tormé!

In 1957, May made his debut as a film composer with Jane Russell's The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown; the soundtrack was released on Imperial Records.

His compositions for television include "Somewhere in the Night", the theme for Naked City (1960), and his jazzy arrangement of "Flight of the Bumblebee" for The Green Hornet (1966) with trumpet by Al Hirt.

May also arranged and produced the song "River of No Return" for Tennessee Ernie Ford to sing in the 1954 film of the same name starring Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum.

May's compositions included "Long Tall Mama" and "Measure for Measure", recorded with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, "Boom Shot", written with Miller (May's wife Arletta originally received credit as co-author in his place)[citation needed] for the soundtrack of the 1942 movie Orchestra Wives, "Harlem Chapel Bells", which was performed with Glenn Miller and his Orchestra on April 2, 1941, and broadcast on the Chesterfield Moonlight Serenade radio program, "Lean Baby", "Fat Man Boogie", "Ping Pong", "Jooms Jones", "Gabby Goose", "Lumby", "Daisy Mae" and "Friday Afternoon" with Hal McIntyre, "Miles Behind", "The Wrong Idea" with Charlie Barnet, "Wings Over Manhattan", "Filet of Soul", "Mayhem", "Gin and Tonic", and "Solving the Riddle".

[citation needed] But his biggest hit as a composer was the children's song "I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat", which he recorded with Mel Blanc in 1950.

With the help of Billy May's orchestra, all 43 of Nat King Cole's studio recordings, including two duets with Dean Martin and a repeat of "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" from 1961, are presented here for the first time as a single collection.

Personnel: Harry "Sweets" Edison - Trumpet Pete Candoli - Trumpet Buddy Collette, Plas Johnson, Ted Nash, Willie Smith - Woodwinds Section Jimmy Rowles - Piano Johnny Collins - Guitar Charlie Harris - Bass Lee Young - Drums https://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/73986/nat-king-cole/the-complete-billy-may-sessions#:~:text=The%20Complete%20Billy%20May%20Sessions%20(EJC%2055720)&text=Harry%20%E2%80%9CSweets%E2%80%9D%20Edison%2C%20Pete,Hollywood%2C%20between%201951%20and%201961.