Born on October 1, 1913 in New York, Charles Randolph Grean grew up in Mount Vernon and began his career playing bass in dance bands on cruise ships and in resorts in the Catskill Mountains. Mr. Grean was hired as a copyist for the orchestras of Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, and Charlie Spivak. He is perhaps best known for his arrangement of The Christmas Song, recorded in 1946 by Nat 'King' Cole. This recording is one of the most enduring and well-loved holiday favorites.

In 1950 he composed the novelty hit The Thing which tells the story of a man who finds a unknown object in a box on the beach. Recorded by Phil Harris it went to #1 on the Billboard pop chart.

Also in 1950, Grean became the A&R head at RCA Victor Records. In 1952 he joined his partner at RCA Joe Csida and formed Csida-Grean Associates. The firm went on to represent Bobby Darin and other noteworthy performers. In the late 1960s Grean began an association with Leonard Nimoy for whom he composed music and produced recording sessions. In 1969 he formed the Charles Randolph Grean Sounde and recorded music from the TV series Dark Shadows.

Charles Grean died in 2003 in Weston, CT.