Friday, January 8, 2010

Barry Mann

Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman, 9 February 1939, Brooklyn, New York) is an American songwriter, and part of a rock music songwriting partnership.

With his partner and wife, lyricist Cynthia Weil, they operate a publishing company called Dyad Music. Mann's first hit single as a writer was "She Say (Oom Dooby Doom)," which was a top twenty song for The Diamonds in 1959. Mann co-wrote the song with Gerry Goffin. Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil met when they were both staff songwriters for Aldon Music, and were married in 1961. Also in 1961, they wrote and Mann sang a novelty song that made the Top 10 with "Who Put The Bomp", which parodied the nonsense words of the then recently popular doo-wop songs..

Mann and Weil also pioneered the socially-conscious side of the Brill BuildingDrifters' "Only in America" (originally conceived as a bitter lament before being revamped with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller), "Uptown" (a hit for The Crystals), "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" (a hit for the Animals), "Magic Town" for the Vogues, and "Chico's Girl". songbook, with such songs as the

As of May 2009, Mann's song catalog lists 635 songs. He has received 56 pop, country, and R&B awards from BMI and 46 Millionaire Awards for radio performances numbering over 1 million plays. The song You've Lost That Loving Feeling, co-written with Weil and Phil Spector, was the most played song of the 20th century with more than 14 million plays.

Mann has composed songs for films, such as the music for the song "Somewhere Out There", which won two 1987 Grammy Awards for Song Of The Year and Best Song Written Specifically For A Motion Picture Or Television. He also co-wrote the film scores for I Never Sang for My Father and Muppet Treasure Island. He contributed songs to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Oliver and Company.

In 1987, Mann and Weil were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Mann and Weil were named among the 2010 recepients of Ahmet Ertegun Award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Songs written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
  • "Absolutely Green" - Dom DeLuise (written for A Troll in Central Park)
  • "Black Butterfly" - Deniece Williams
  • "Blame It on the Bossa Nova" - Eydie Gorme
  • "Christmas Vacation" - Title song for the movie of the same name
  • "Coldest Night of the Year" - Vashti Bunyan
  • "Don't Know Much" - Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt
  • "Good Time Living" - Three Dog Night
  • "Here You Come Again" - Dolly Parton
  • "He's Sure the Boy I Love" - The Crystals
  • "I Just Can't Help Believin'" – B. J. Thomas, Elvis Presley
  • "I'm Gonna Be Strong" - Gene Pitney and Cyndi Lauper
  • "(Walking) In the Rain" - The Ronettes
  • "It's Getting Better" - Cass Elliot
  • "It's Not Easy" - Colin Blunstone
  • "I Will Come to You" - Hanson
  • "Just a Little Lovin' (Early in the Morning)" - Dusty Springfield, Carmen McRae, Billy Eckstine
  • "Just Once" - James Ingram with Quincy Jones
  • "Kicks" - Paul Revere & the Raiders
  • "Looking Through the Eyes of Love" - Gene Pitney, Marlena Shaw
  • "Love Led Us Here" - John Berry, Helen Darling
  • "Magic Town" - The Vogues
  • "Make Your Own Kind of Music" - "Mama" Cass Elliot
  • "Never Gonna Let You Go" - Sérgio Mendes
  • "None of Us Are Free" (Mann, Weil, Brenda Russell) - Ray Charles, Solomon Burke
  • "On Broadway" - The Drifters
  • "Only in America" - Jay and the Americans
  • "Saturday Night at the Movies" - The Drifters
  • "Shades of Gray" and "Love is Only Sleeping" - The Monkees
  • "Shape of Things to Come" - Max Frost and the Troopers
  • "She's Over Me" - Teddy Pendergrass
  • "Somewhere Out There" - James Ingram and Linda Ronstadt (written with James Horner for the film, An American Tail) - a double Grammy Award winner
  • "Sweet Sorrow" - Conway Twitty
  • "Too Many Mondays" - Barry Mann, Wicked Lester (unreleased)
  • "Uptown" - The Crystals
  • "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" - The Animals
  • "We're Over" - Johnny Rodriguez*"(You're My) Soul & Inspiration" - The Righteous Brothers
  • "World of Our Own; A" - Closing theme song from Return to the Blue Lagoon - Surface
  • "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - The Righteous Brothers
If you want to know more over Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil please visit their own official website.

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