Barry Mann

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Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman, 9 February 1939, Brooklyn, New York[1]) is an American songwriter, and part of a rock music songwriting partnership.

Contents

[edit] Career

With his partner and wife, lyricist Cynthia Weil, they operate a publishing company called Dyad Music.[2] 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.[1].

Mann and Weil also pioneered the socially-conscious side of the Brill Building songbook, with such songs as the Drifters' "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".

As of May 2009, Mann's song catalog lists 635 songs.[3] He has received 56 pop, country, and R&B awards from BMI and 46 Millionaire Awards for radio performances numbering over 1 million plays.[4] 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. [1]

[edit] Songs written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Allmusic biography by Steve Kurutz
  2. ^ "Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil Contact Info" (in English). http://www.mann-weil.com/contactinfo.php. Retrieved 2009-05-07. 
  3. ^ "Barry Mann Song Catalog" (in English). Songwriters Hall of Fame. http://songwritershalloffame.org/index.php/songs/C110/. Retrieved 2009-05-07. 
  4. ^ "Barry Mann's Bio". http://www.mann-weil.com/biographies_barry.html. Retrieved 2009-05-07. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Mann"
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