Cynthia Weil, a Grammy-winning lyricist of notable range and endurance who enjoyed a decades-long partnership with husband Barry Mann and helped write “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”, “On Broadway”, “Walking in the Rain” and dozens of other hits, has died at age 82.
Weil’s daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann, said that the songwriter died Thursday at her home in Beverly Hills, California, “surrounded by her family.” Mann, the couple’s only child, declined to cite a specific cause of death.
Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, married in 1961, were one of popular music’s most successful teams, part of a remarkable ensemble recruited by impresarios Don Kirshner and Al Nevins and based in Manhattan’s Brill Building neighborhood, a few blocks from Times Square. With such hit-making combinations as Carole King and Gerry Goffin and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the Brill Building song factory turned out many of the biggest...
Weil’s daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann, said that the songwriter died Thursday at her home in Beverly Hills, California, “surrounded by her family.” Mann, the couple’s only child, declined to cite a specific cause of death.
Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, married in 1961, were one of popular music’s most successful teams, part of a remarkable ensemble recruited by impresarios Don Kirshner and Al Nevins and based in Manhattan’s Brill Building neighborhood, a few blocks from Times Square. With such hit-making combinations as Carole King and Gerry Goffin and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the Brill Building song factory turned out many of the biggest...
- 6/3/2023
- by Melissa Romualdi
- ET Canada
Naomi Ackie gives audiences a glimpse into the life of Whitney Houston in director Kasi Lemmons’ new biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” and the new film is packed with a number of Houston’s hits.
Working with movement coach Polly Bennett and vocal coaches Tangela Large, Bridgette Jackson and Denise Woods, Ackie also underwent physical transformation with the help of numerous wigs and false teeth to cover the natural gap in her two front teeth.
Ackie doesn’t sing most songs in the film — she lip syncs to Houston’s perfect tracks instead — but she mimics Houston’s style of singing with great detail. She steps in for performances by Houston that were not recorded, such as “Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah” and “Jesus Loves Me” from her choir-singing days. Ackie also portrays a nervous Whitney who is thrust onstage by her mother, who knows Clive Davis is in attendance,...
Working with movement coach Polly Bennett and vocal coaches Tangela Large, Bridgette Jackson and Denise Woods, Ackie also underwent physical transformation with the help of numerous wigs and false teeth to cover the natural gap in her two front teeth.
Ackie doesn’t sing most songs in the film — she lip syncs to Houston’s perfect tracks instead — but she mimics Houston’s style of singing with great detail. She steps in for performances by Houston that were not recorded, such as “Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah” and “Jesus Loves Me” from her choir-singing days. Ackie also portrays a nervous Whitney who is thrust onstage by her mother, who knows Clive Davis is in attendance,...
- 12/28/2022
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Prior to the December 23 film release of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” Sony Music has made available the Whitney Houston biopic soundtrack. Featuring 35 cuts, the album clocks in at 2 hours 26 minutes. Scattered amongst some of her greatest hits are various remixes, live performances and never-before-heard gems straight from the vaults.
See Whitney Houston songs ranked: Her 35 best hits we will always love [Photos]
One heartbreaking revelation is “Don’t Cry For Me,” a prophetic song Houston performed at the Commitment to Life AIDS benefit in 1994. Written by BeBe Winans and Brian Keith Thomas, the song was originally recorded by Winans and his sister, CeCe Winans, for their chart-topping 1988 gospel album “Heaven.” Houston was also featured on that release, collaborating with the sibling duo on “Celebrate New Life” and “Hold Up the Light.”
For the soundtrack, Houston’s live vocals were isolated and placed over a new track produced by Rodney Jerkins.
See Whitney Houston songs ranked: Her 35 best hits we will always love [Photos]
One heartbreaking revelation is “Don’t Cry For Me,” a prophetic song Houston performed at the Commitment to Life AIDS benefit in 1994. Written by BeBe Winans and Brian Keith Thomas, the song was originally recorded by Winans and his sister, CeCe Winans, for their chart-topping 1988 gospel album “Heaven.” Houston was also featured on that release, collaborating with the sibling duo on “Celebrate New Life” and “Hold Up the Light.”
For the soundtrack, Houston’s live vocals were isolated and placed over a new track produced by Rodney Jerkins.
- 12/18/2022
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
Gerry Goffin, a prolific and multi-dimensional lyricist 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," ''Up on the Roof" and "The Loco-Motion," died early Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 75. His wife, Michelle Goffin, confirmed his death. Goffin, who married King in 1959, penned more than 50 top 40 hits, including "Pleasant Valley Sunday" for the Monkees, "Some Kind of Wonderful" for the Drifters and "Take Good Care of My Baby" by Bobby Vee. Goffin was able to pen jokey lyrics or achingly sad ones,...
- 6/20/2014
- by Associated Press
- PEOPLE.com
Gerry Goffin, the esteemed songwriter and former husband and collaborator of Carole King, died on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 75.
Gerry Goffin Dies
Goffin’s death was confirmed by his wife Michelle Goffin to People.
Goffin and King worked together to create a number of classic hits in the late 50s and early 60s, including “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “Up on the Roof,” “One Fine Day” and “The Loco-Motion.” After the pair split in 1968, Goffin continued writing hits like “Savin’ All My Love for You” for Whitney Houston, “Miss You Like Crazy” by Natalie Cole and “It’s Not the Spotlight,” which was recorded by Rod Stewart.
“I am deeply blessed to have had a father who could so easily make the world laugh and cry with just a spiral notebook and a pen,” said Goffin and King’s daughter Louise Goffin.
In 1975, Goffin was nominated for an...
Gerry Goffin Dies
Goffin’s death was confirmed by his wife Michelle Goffin to People.
Goffin and King worked together to create a number of classic hits in the late 50s and early 60s, including “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “Up on the Roof,” “One Fine Day” and “The Loco-Motion.” After the pair split in 1968, Goffin continued writing hits like “Savin’ All My Love for You” for Whitney Houston, “Miss You Like Crazy” by Natalie Cole and “It’s Not the Spotlight,” which was recorded by Rod Stewart.
“I am deeply blessed to have had a father who could so easily make the world laugh and cry with just a spiral notebook and a pen,” said Goffin and King’s daughter Louise Goffin.
In 1975, Goffin was nominated for an...
- 6/20/2014
- Uinterview
By Roger Friedman, ©2012
HollywoodNews.com: From an updated story I published in 1992: This Sunday, 1500 of Whitney Houston’s closest friends will gather in New Jersey for her wedding to singer Bobby Brown. The ceremony will most likely be at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, followed by a reception at Whitney’s house near Bernardsville. Rev. Marvin Winans, brother of singers BeBe and Cece, will perform the service. Stevie Wonder will sing, possibly his old hit “You and I” or maybe something new that he’s written for the occasion.
Scroll Down For Whitney Houston Photo Gallery In Her Memory
“Every important black person in show business will be there,” says a black journalist who’s on the Whitney watch twenty four hours a day. Freddie Jackson is bringing Toukie Smith. Ashford and Simpson will be there. Dionne Warwick of course. The ubiquitous Winans, too. (Last month, Whitney...
HollywoodNews.com: From an updated story I published in 1992: This Sunday, 1500 of Whitney Houston’s closest friends will gather in New Jersey for her wedding to singer Bobby Brown. The ceremony will most likely be at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, followed by a reception at Whitney’s house near Bernardsville. Rev. Marvin Winans, brother of singers BeBe and Cece, will perform the service. Stevie Wonder will sing, possibly his old hit “You and I” or maybe something new that he’s written for the occasion.
Scroll Down For Whitney Houston Photo Gallery In Her Memory
“Every important black person in show business will be there,” says a black journalist who’s on the Whitney watch twenty four hours a day. Freddie Jackson is bringing Toukie Smith. Ashford and Simpson will be there. Dionne Warwick of course. The ubiquitous Winans, too. (Last month, Whitney...
- 2/18/2012
- by Roger Friedman
- Hollywoodnews.com
Los Angeles -- Whitney Houston's career is getting a post-mortem boost, but it isn't likely to be as big as the one that enriched the King of Pop's estate after his death.
Like the late Michael Jackson, Houston was in the midst of an attempted career revival. She was found dead at age 48 on Saturday in her Los Angeles hotel room on the eve of the Grammys, a stage she once ruled.
It could be weeks before the coroner's office completes toxicology tests that could establish the cause of death.
In an outpouring of grief – and a desire to remember her soaring voice and upbeat personality – Houston's fans have propelled her decades-old recordings to the top of sales charts on iTunes and Amazon.com. Twitter recorded more than 2.5 million Tweets about her within two hours of her death.
Not unlike Jackson's posthumous star turn in the movie "This Is It,...
Like the late Michael Jackson, Houston was in the midst of an attempted career revival. She was found dead at age 48 on Saturday in her Los Angeles hotel room on the eve of the Grammys, a stage she once ruled.
It could be weeks before the coroner's office completes toxicology tests that could establish the cause of death.
In an outpouring of grief – and a desire to remember her soaring voice and upbeat personality – Houston's fans have propelled her decades-old recordings to the top of sales charts on iTunes and Amazon.com. Twitter recorded more than 2.5 million Tweets about her within two hours of her death.
Not unlike Jackson's posthumous star turn in the movie "This Is It,...
- 2/14/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
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