Wesley Whatley is the former creative producer of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In his position, Whatley was responsible for developing and producing musical scores, creating original music, and overseeing celebrity bookings for Macy's Special Events, including the Parade and Macy's 4th of July Fireworks. He also selected talent ensembles that would appear in the Parade, including marching bands, performance groups, and cultural ensembles.
Whatley joined the Parade team in 2003 as the creative director, and was later named the creative producer in 2018. He penned several original songs for the Parade, and has been nominated for six Emmy Awards. In 2011, he won the Emmy Award for Best Original Song (alongside William Schermerhorn) for "Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus," which was performed by Ann Hampton Callaway at the 2010 Parade. Whatley also served as the lead for Macy's Band Announcement Tour. He left his position at Macy's Studios in early 2024.
Macy's Song Credits[]
As mentioned above, Whatley has written, produced, and arranged several original songs for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, including:
- "I Believe" (2008, with William Schermerhorn)
- "With You I'm Home" (2009, with William Schermerhorn)
- "Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus" (2010, with William Schermerhorn)
- "Together at Christmas" (2017)
- "We Believe" (2018)
- "Horaay Horaay, We're on Our Way" (2019, with Bill Sherman, Dominic Fallacaro, and Andrew Moriarty)
- "The Holidays Are Here" (2019, with Judith Clurman)