Lyricist Gerry Goffin, who with his then-wife and songwriting partner Carole King wrote such hits as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," ''(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," ''Halfway to Paradise" and "The Loco-Motion," died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 75.
His wife, Michelle Goffin, confirmed his death.
Goffin, who married King in 1959 while they were in their teens, penned more than 50 top 40 hits, including "Pleasant Valley Sunday" for the Monkees, "Crying in the Rain" by the Everly Brothers, "Some Kind of Wonderful" for the Drifters and "Take Good Care of My Baby" by Bobby Vee. The couple divorced in 1968, but Goffin kept writing hits, including "Savin' All My Love for You" for Whitney Houston.
King said in a statement that Goffin was her "first love" and had a profound impact on her life.
"Gerry was a good man with a dynamic force, whose words and creative influence will resonate for generations to come," King said. "His legacy to me is our two daughters, four grandchildren, and our songs that have touched millions and millions of people, as well as a lifelong friendship."
The Goffin-King love affair is the subject of the Tony Award-nominated musical "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" on Broadway. King, while backing the project, had avoided seeing it for months because it dredged up sad memories. She finally sat through it in April.
The musical shows the two composing their songs at Aldon Music, the Brill Building publishing company in Manhattan that also employed Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield and Carole Bayer Sager. The show ends just as King is enjoying fame for her groundbreaking solo album "Tapestry." It also alleges Goffin's womanizing and depression were causes of the breakup.
After their divorce, Goffin garnered an Academy Award nomination with Michael Masser for the theme to the 1975 film "Mahogany" for Diana Ross. He also earned a Golden Globe nomination for "So Sad the Song" in 1977 from the film "Pipe Dreams."
Goffin and King were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three years later.
Goffin was born in Brooklyn in 1939 and was a chemist who loved music when he met King at Queens College. A whirlwind romance led to a marriage and their first hit, when she was only 17, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for the Shirelles.
Both quit their day jobs to focus on music, and other songs followed, including "Up on the Roof" for the Drifters, "One Fine Day" for the Chiffons and "Chains," which was later covered by the Beatles. Goffin also collaborated with another Aldon composer, Barry Mann, on the hit "Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp Bomp Bomp Bomp)."
Goffin continued co-writing songs, including "I've Got to Use My Imagination" recorded by Gladys Knight and the Pips, and "It's Not the Spotlight," recorded by Rod Stewart. In the 1980s and '90s, he co-wrote "Tonight I Celebrate My Love," a duet recorded by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack, and the Whitney Houston mega-hit "Savin' All My Love for You."
He is survived by his five children and his wife.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/conductor-composer-johnny-mann-dies-in-anderson/26566626#ixzz355lzqWhm
ANDERSON, S.C. —Johnny Mann, the Hollywood composer who worked with the likes of Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, died late Wednesday night in Anderson, according to sources close to the family.
They say Mann died at his home. He was 85 years old.
Johnny Mann is best known for the forty-two albums he arranged and conducted for his Johnny Mann Singers resulting in five Grammy Award nominations and two Grammy Awards, according to his website.
The site goes on to say:
Johnny got his start in Hollywood arranging scores for seven full-length motion pictures for Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox and Columbia Studios. He then became the choral director of the "NBC Comedy Hour," which led to the formation of The Johnny Mann Singers and a record contract. Along with being musical director of the original "Alvin and The Chipmunks" TV series, he sang the voice of "Theodore".
Mann moved to Anderson, with his wife Betty, several years ago to be closer to family, according to friends.
The McDougald Funeral Home is handling the arrangements for Mann's services, but the exact date has not been decided.
ANDERSON, S.C. —Johnny Mann, the Hollywood composer who worked with the likes of Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, died late Wednesday night in Anderson, according to sources close to the family.
They say Mann died at his home. He was 85 years old.
Johnny Mann is best known for the forty-two albums he arranged and conducted for his Johnny Mann Singers resulting in five Grammy Award nominations and two Grammy Awards, according to his website.
The site goes on to say:
Johnny got his start in Hollywood arranging scores for seven full-length motion pictures for Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox and Columbia Studios. He then became the choral director of the "NBC Comedy Hour," which led to the formation of The Johnny Mann Singers and a record contract. Along with being musical director of the original "Alvin and The Chipmunks" TV series, he sang the voice of "Theodore".
Mann moved to Anderson, with his wife Betty, several years ago to be closer to family, according to friends.
The McDougald Funeral Home is handling the arrangements for Mann's services, but the exact date has not been decided.
No internet link - but here is the obit for "Classic Images"
MICKEY DEEMS, 89 - April 14, 2014
Comedian and actor Mickey Deems died of cancer at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, on April 14, 2014. Deems was born in Englewood, New Jersey, on April 22, 1925. He began his career in show business as a drummer and musical arranger, but soon turned to comedy. He made his Broadway debut in the 1950 revue in "Alive and Kicking". He was featured in several roles in Sid Caesar's Broadway comedy "Little Me" in 1962, and was Caesar's understudy. He also starred in the 1963 Off-Broadway production of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes". He appeared on television in the recurring role of Officer Charlie Fleischer in "Car 54, Where Are You?" from 1961 to 1963. He starred with Joey Faye as a pair of bumbling handymen in the syndicated short comedy series "Mack & Myer for Hire" from 1963 to 1964, also writing and directing most of the 202 episodes. He was also seen in episodes of such series as "Cavalcade of Stars", "The Blue Angel", "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Jackie Gleason Show", "The Phil Silvers Show", "The Patty Duke Show", "Mister Roberts", "The Hollywood Palace", "The Don Knotts Show", "The Hero", "Get Smart", "Bewitched", "The Jeffersons", "Fernwood 2 Night", "Operation Petticoat", "Laverne & Shirley", "Hizzoner" in the recurring role of Nails, "House Calls", "The Ropers", "The Stockard Channing Show", "Three's Company", and "Trapper John, M.D.". His other television credits include the 1969 tele-film "Three's a Crowd" and 1981's "The Munsters' Revenge". Deems was featured in several films during his career including "Diary of a Bachelor" (1964), "Hold On!" (1966), "The Busy Body" (1967), "A Guide for the Married Man" (1967), "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), "The Spirit Is Willing" (1967), "Who's Minding the Mint?" (1967), and "With Six You Get Eggroll" (1968).
MICKEY DEEMS, 89 - April 14, 2014
Comedian and actor Mickey Deems died of cancer at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, on April 14, 2014. Deems was born in Englewood, New Jersey, on April 22, 1925. He began his career in show business as a drummer and musical arranger, but soon turned to comedy. He made his Broadway debut in the 1950 revue in "Alive and Kicking". He was featured in several roles in Sid Caesar's Broadway comedy "Little Me" in 1962, and was Caesar's understudy. He also starred in the 1963 Off-Broadway production of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes". He appeared on television in the recurring role of Officer Charlie Fleischer in "Car 54, Where Are You?" from 1961 to 1963. He starred with Joey Faye as a pair of bumbling handymen in the syndicated short comedy series "Mack & Myer for Hire" from 1963 to 1964, also writing and directing most of the 202 episodes. He was also seen in episodes of such series as "Cavalcade of Stars", "The Blue Angel", "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Jackie Gleason Show", "The Phil Silvers Show", "The Patty Duke Show", "Mister Roberts", "The Hollywood Palace", "The Don Knotts Show", "The Hero", "Get Smart", "Bewitched", "The Jeffersons", "Fernwood 2 Night", "Operation Petticoat", "Laverne & Shirley", "Hizzoner" in the recurring role of Nails, "House Calls", "The Ropers", "The Stockard Channing Show", "Three's Company", and "Trapper John, M.D.". His other television credits include the 1969 tele-film "Three's a Crowd" and 1981's "The Munsters' Revenge". Deems was featured in several films during his career including "Diary of a Bachelor" (1964), "Hold On!" (1966), "The Busy Body" (1967), "A Guide for the Married Man" (1967), "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), "The Spirit Is Willing" (1967), "Who's Minding the Mint?" (1967), and "With Six You Get Eggroll" (1968).
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