Songwriters

[harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy 1,684]

Being a rubbish songwriter myself, it's time to salute the people who make the pop musical world go round. Most aren't on the verge of death, but never mind (all over 60, though). Off the top of my head, my living greats include:

Chip Taylor
Les Reed
Arthur Hamilton
Jackie DeShannon
Barry Mason
Geoff Stephens
John Carter
Tony Macaulay
Bob Crewe
Bob Gaudio
Gerry Goffin
Carole King
Sandy Linzer
Denny Randell
Tony Joe White
Jeff Barry
Nicky Chinn
Mike Chapman
Hal David
Burt Bacharach
Mike Batt (just kidding)
Bobby Hart
Dan Penn
Jimmy Lea
Noddy Holder
Jimmy Webb
PF Sloan
Roger Cook
Roger Greenaway
Pete Callander
Mitch Murray
Rob Davis
Neil Sedaka
Mike Stoller
Barry Mann
Cynthia Weil
Tom T Hall
Jerry Chesnut
Chips Moman
Kenny Gamble
Leon Huff
Holland-Dozier-Holland

[Lady Grendel 139]

Nice thread. I am by no means a wordsmith and have never claimed to be one. 2 names came to mind when reading this thread, perhaps not 'living greats' but lyricists whose songs are known by most people and often termed as classics. Apologies that they are of the 'soft rock genre'. First up has to be Desmond Child, the king of soft rock ballads, who has written hugely succesful songs for Kiss, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and Alice Cooper to name but 4. The other name that came to mind was Jim Steinman, the man behind Meatloaf's 'Bat Out of Hell' one of the most succesful albums of the 20th Century. He penned the title track, Heaven Can Wait and All Revved Up with No place to Go. According to Wikipedia Steinman 'had serious cardiac health problems around 2004, but has been in good health since'.

 

Another name that sprang to mind while writing this is Bernie Taupin, the man behind Elton John and I don't mean that in an 'ooerr.missus ' kind of way.

[time 8,586]

I'll throw in Tony Hatch, now aged 72, writer of the 'Neighbours' theme (oh, and a few 60s hits). Also, Burt Bacharach's ex-missus Carole Bayer Sager is 65. No known health issues with either.

 

Holland-Dozier-Holland are all still with us too.

[Lord Fellatio Nelson 6,218]

If that list has really come "off the top of your head" then your head must make that Tefal Egg heads bonce look like a pimple on an elephants arsehole.

For reference purposes:

Now stop fuggin lying and admit that Google was yer best friend.

[time 8,586]

Songwriter Richard Adler, dies at 90.

[Falkekopf 50]

Well if Jim Lea, Noddy Holder and Jeff Lynne are included then I give you,,,,,,,,Mr Roy Wood. One of the big hitters of the late 60's & early 70's he's now 65 and still gigging. No known health issues though.

[harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy 1,684]

Marvin Hamlisch, Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy-winning writer of Babs's The Way We Were, Carly's Nobody Does It Better and other such overblown MOR twaddle, has died at 68.

[Lard Bazaar 3,799]

Burt Bacharach's mate Hal David is dead, according to DianaInHeaven on Twitter. And let's face it, she'd know.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120901/us-obit-hal-david/ Ah, and the Huffington Post.

[Bibliogryphon 9,567]

Burt Bacharach's mate Hal David is dead, according to DianaInHeaven on Twitter. And let's face it, she'd know.

 

http://www.huffingto...obit-hal-david/ Ah, and the Huffington Post.

 

He'll Never Fall In Love Again!

[time 8,586]

Songwriter Joe South has died aged 72.

 

His best-known work is probably the Lynn Anderson hit 'Rose Garden', but he also wrote this...

 

[harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy 1,684]

Songwriter Joe South has died aged 72.

 

His best-known work is probably the Lynn Anderson hit 'Rose Garden', but he also wrote this...

 

 

We had a 7" of Joe's sitartastic Games People Play in the house when I was showing a keen interest in pop, aged 4 or 5. I think it was ripped off from some Cajun tune, but was good all the same. RIP.

 

 

Can't beat the mighty Killdozer's version of Hush. (superb syncing)

[time 8,586]

James "Sugar Boy" Crawford, wrfiter of Jock-a-Mo, has died aged 77.

 

If you're not familiar with his work, this should enlighten you.

[Davey Jones' Locker 1,324]

Harry Belafonte is fairly old now (born 1927) so he will be worth watching over the next few years. I like old Harry though so I hope he stays with us a while longer yet.

[time 8,586]

Bill Dees, co-writer of Oh, Pretty Woman, amongst other Roy Orbison fare, has died aged 73.

[harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy 1,684]

Jazz/soul/folk singer-songwriting pop star Terry Callier, man who could inhabit many a thread, has died aged 67. A sad day for sandal-clad Jools-loving Guardianistas everywhere.

[Spade_Cooley 9,513]

Jazz/soul/folk singer-songwriting pop star Terry Callier, man who could inhabit many a thread, has died aged 67. A sad day for sandal-clad Jools-loving Guardianistas everywhere.

 

Bob will be disappointed, Thelma will probably be secretly delighted though.

[harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy 1,684]

Sorry to go all obscure (yet again ), but I cannot let the passing of Ted Bluechel Jr go unmentioned. He was drummer and vocalist with Californian sixties band The Association. I'm a fan of their work and happen to think they were a bit under rated. Ted hasn't even got a proper obituary, but his death was announced in the New York Times paid death notices section.

 

I'm hoping a learned DL music fan like HMBWA, ATJ or MPFC might know who The Association were. I'm suffering from obscure death posting anxiety.

Fear not, O Devonian One. I wouldn't call The Association obscure, at least not to Americans - they had two #1 hits there in the mid-60s. They were a kind of Mamas and the Papas without any Mamas, one might say.

 

Since you ask, west coast/sunshine pop/bubblegum-psych is, along with powerpop, one of my favourite sub-genres (and one of Anubis's pet hates). I'm not a huge Association fan, but they're of interest for being originally produced by similarly underrated, chubby (and dead) Brian Wilson-alike Curt Boettcher, later of the fab n groovy The Millennium.

 

 

 

Good stuff Harry, I hadn't realised they were so unobscure.

 

This is a bit odd, but according to this rather fascinating thread on the oldies.com message board, he isn't dead at all.

 

It looks as if the deceased person had told people he used to be the drummer for The Association and whoever paid for his obit to go in the NY Times believed him enough to include that information. All very strange.

The song most closely associated with The Association, Along Comes Mary, was written by Tandyn Almer, who also co-wrote Sail On Sailor for the Beach Boys and a few other psych-pop singles.

 

And now, along comes death.

 

 

 

He was also an eminent scientist.

[Jonah 180]

Not a very famous man, but still worth a mention.

[Handrejka 1,903]

Frank Pooler who wrote Merry Christmas Darling, and who was also a mentor/tutor of the Carpenters has died on 19th January. Oh and i don't care if this has already been mentioned in an another thread. I',m mentioning it now.

 

i was sure he died last year, otherwise I'd have put him in my dead pool.

[Davey Jones' Locker 1,324]

I just discovered both members of this old songwriting partnership are still alive: Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett. They wrote hits for Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Cliff Richard, Dean Martin and Elvis Presley amongst others. Both of them were born in 1918.

 

Here is an interview with Tepper from Elvis' official site: http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/songwriter_sid_tepper_reminisces_about_elvis.shtml

[CaptainChorizo 1,977]

Not mentioned in this thread is Normal Gimbel(Sway,Killing Me Softly and the Oscar winning It Goes Like It Goes and a whole slew of easy listening pap and tv-movie themes from the 60s-80s).Not sure of his current health but he turns 86 in November.

[Estuarian Float 97]

Harry Belafonte is fairly old now (born 1927) so he will be worth watching over the next few years. I like old Harry though so I hope he stays with us a while longer yet.

 

Harry looks pretty healthy on this JFK TV special. His voice is weak but his thought and speech are sharp.

[DevonDeathTrip 2,358]

Songwriter Gail Collins, who wrote the lyrics to Strange Brew by Cream and was later convicted of the killing of her husband - Mountain bassist Felix Pappalardi - has been found dead in Mexico

 

“She was one of the most brilliant people I have ever known, but she was also an opinionated jackass,” said her friend Diane Pearl.

[charon 4,943]

Songwriter Gail Collins, who wrote the lyrics to Strange Brew by Cream and was later convicted of the killing of her husband - Mountain bassist Felix Pappalardi - has been found dead in Mexico

 

“She was one of the most brilliant people I have ever known, but she was also an opinionated jackass,” said her friend Diane Pearl.

 

“She left instructions for her cats to be euthanized so their ashes could be mixed with hers,” said neighbor, Joan Montgomery. “Who does that?”

 

stoopid question....she did.

[time 8,586]

The composer of 'The Man of La Mancha' Mitch Leigh has died aged 86