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Geoff Morrow

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For the actor, see Jeff Morrow.

Geoff Morrow
Birth nameGeoffrey Stanton Morrow
Born (1942-05-16) 16 May 1942 (age 82)
London, England
Occupation(s)Songwriter, producer
Years active1964–present

Geoffrey Stanton "Geoff" Morrow (born 16 May 1942, in London, England)[1] is a British songwriter and businessman. His compositions have been recorded by Butterscotch (of which he was a member), Sandie Shaw,[2] the Carpenters,[3] Elvis Presley,[4] Johnny Mathis,[5] Jessie J,[6] Barry Manilow[7] and many other musicians.

Biography

Many of his early compositions were co-written by David Martin and/or Chris Arnold, with whom he also recorded, both as the songwriting and production trio Arnold, Martin and Morrow and under the soft rock band name of Butterscotch.[8] Fellow songwriter and producer Phil Wainman played the drums for Butterscotch.

Morrow and Arnold's first big songwriting success was "In Thoughts of You", which was taken to the top ten of the UK Singles Chart by Billy Fury in 1965.[9] All three songwriters composed "Annabella", which was originally recorded in the UK by Dave Dee without chart success,[10] but which reached the US charts via a cover version by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds in 1971.[11] The writers themselves (as Butterscotch) scored another top twenty UK hit with "Don't You Know (She Said Hello)" in 1970[12] which reached number 17 on the UK chart - a rating which belies its enduring popularity on oldies radio. The flip side of that single "The Closer to You" also proved to be very popular with some listeners.

Arnold, Martin and Morrow went on to compose and produce a number of more or less successful songs throughout the early to mid-1970s, including "There's a Whole Lot of Loving" which provided Guys 'n' Dolls with a UK #2 hit in 1974; they also wrote and/or produced the group's follow-up hits. Although the Guys 'n' Dolls hits all appeared on Peter Shelley's Magnet label, in about 1975 the team started their own record label which was acronymically named "AMMO" - and several releases on that label achieved moderate success in the UK. The team also wrote "Can't Smile Without You", made famous by Barry Manilow.[7] Morrow also co-wrote four songs for Elvis Presley, with whom he spent time, and Presley made the song "Let's Be Friends" the title track of his 1970 compilation album.[13]

Morrow established Geoff Morrow Music.[14] One record company was sold to RCA and the other to EMI. In 1990, he bought the Manchester Opera House and Palace Theatre, Manchester.[citation needed] He was a director and major shareholder of Caesars Palace, Luton.[citation needed] His latest, A Legendary Romance,[15] produced by Laurence Myers, successfully "tried out" in New Hampshire.[16] He has also written several screenplays including Don't Go Breaking My Heart. Morrow collaborated with David Simmons to stage two plays. These were Obits, a series of sketches based on obituaries, featuring characters including Enid Blyton, Ernie Wise and Hitler; and The Boy Who Was Woody Allen, which has been adapted into a full-scale musical comedy, Being Woody Allen, and was produced by Michael Grade and Michael Linnit in 2017.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Check Company : Geoffrey Stanton Morrow". Check Company. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  2. ^ "I Must Be Lucky – Sandie Shaw | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Can't Smile Without You – Carpenters | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  4. ^ "Little Bit of Green – Elvis Presley | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  5. ^ "You Saved My Life – Johnny Mathis | Song Info". AllMusic. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Jessie J – Who You Are (CD, Album)". discogs. 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  7. ^ a b Steve Huey. "Can't Smile Without You – Barry Manilow | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Butterscotch (2) Discography". discogs. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Dave Dee – Annabella / Kelly – Fontana – UK – 6007 021". 45cat. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  11. ^ "Annabella (song by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds) • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. 28 August 1971. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  13. ^ "Elvis Presley – Let's Be Friends (Vinyl, LP, Album)". discogs. 26 October 1970. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  14. ^ Geoff Morrow Music, Open corporation 15 December 2020
  15. ^ "A Legendary Romance (New Musical)". Ron H. Stephenson. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  16. ^ "An Inside Look at New Hampshire's New London Barn Playhouse". Nhmagazine.com. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  17. ^ "Our Business – Gate Ventures". Gateplc.com. Retrieved 21 September 2018.


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