Gloria Shayne Baker

Gloria Shayne Baker died at her home in Stamford, Connecticut, of lung cancer on March 6, 2008, at the age of 84.

Shayne married her second husband, William Baker, in 1973. He died in 2001.

The Christmas carol, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" was written in October 1962 by Shayne and Regney during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States and the Soviet Union confronted each other over the placement of Soviet missiles in newly Communist Cuba. "Do You Hear What I Hear?" was written by Shayne and Regney as a plea for peace.

"Do You Hear What I Hear?" was released shortly after Thanksgiving in 1962. It was first recorded by Harry Simeone Chorale and sold more than a quarter-million copies during the 1962 holiday season. Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1963, which made it a worldwide hit. The song has since been recorded and performed by hundreds of artists including Pat Boone, Kenny G, Mahalia Jackson, Glen Campbell, Whitney Houston, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis, and more recently, A duet of Fifth Harmony and The Tolmachevy Sisters.

Shayne also enjoyed a successful career when not collaborating with Regney. She composed the lyrics and music for "Goodbye Cruel World", which was recorded by James Darren in 1961. Shayne also worked with Mary Candy and Eddie Dean to write "The Men in My Little Girl's Life", which was performed by Mike Douglas. Shayne also co-wrote "Almost There", which was recorded by Andy Williams, with writer Jerry Keller.

Shayne met her first husband, French born Noël Regney, while playing piano at a New York City hotel in 1951. Regney and Shayne would later write "Do You Hear What I Hear?" together as collaborators. They were married the same year that they met. The couple divorced in 1973. Regney died in 2002.

Gloria Shayne Baker (September 4, 1923 – March 6, 2008) was an American composer and songwriter best known for composing the "Do You Hear What I Hear?" Christmas carol in 1962 with her then husband, Noël Regney.

Baker was born as Gloria Adele Shain to a Jewish family in Brookline, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1923, daughter of Attorney Mark Shain and Professor Rose Wies Shain, she grew up next door to Joseph and Rose Kennedy and their children, including John F. Kennedy. She began her music career as part of a singing trio, The Shain Sisters, alongside her older sisters, Esther and Thelma. She changed the spelling of her last name from Shain to Shayne early on in her career for professional reasons. She earned her bachelor's degree from the Boston University School of Music. She moved to New York City during the 1940s, where she worked as a pianist performing on demos and in front of live audiences. She also arranged music for composers such as Stephen Sondheim and Irving Berlin.