A SINGER'S BEST FRIEND

Though he cowrote his first hit, ''Sunday,'' in 1926, Jule Styne, who died Sept. 20 at 88, didn't compose full-time until the early 1940s. ''I thought it was square to write songs,'' explained the Oscar and Tony award-winning composer. In many cases, the former vocal coach's custom-crafted tunes became artists' signature songs: ''Everything's Coming Up Roses'' for Ethel Merman; ''Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend'' for Carol Channing; and ''People'' for Barbra Streisand. Styne once estimated that he had composed 2,000 songs, of which a couple hundred became hits. Said Arthur Laurents, who authored the book for Styne's greatest triumph, Gypsy: ''Melodies poured out of Jule like sweat pours out of most people.'' Recommended: GYPSY, original 1959 Broadway cast (Columbia); FUNNY GIRL, original 1964 Broadway cast (Capitol); BELLS ARE RINGING, original 1957 Broadway cast with Judy Holliday (Columbia).