Although Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil were not nearly as well known as peers such as Gerry Goffin/Carole King and
Burt Bacharach/Hal David – the obituary in Variety quotes Weil as once
telling the Los Angeles Times that “Most people don’t know who we are,
[but they] know our songs” – they produced a body of work that was every bit as
notable as that of their contemporaries.
Most impressive to me is how Mann and Weil were able to
adapt to the changing times. Starting out with teen love songs for Spector-era
acts such as the Crystals and Ronettes, they added more than a touch of social
awareness with songs such as “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place,” “Magic Town,” “Home
Of The Brave,” and “Rock And Roll Lullaby.” They also successfully turned out
more rock-oriented material for Paul Revere & The Raiders (“Kicks” and “Hungry”)
and Max Frost & The Troopers.
The story of the lyrical changes to “Only In America,” which
was originally written for the Drifters, is especially interesting. It’s briefly
alluded to in the Variety story, but there’s much more detail at https://mcantil.com/song-of-the-day-jay-and-the-americans-only-in-america/.
As was the case with Gordon
Lightfoot’s recent death, both WXPN’s morning show and WOWD’s Tuesday Morning Mix program
paid tribute to Weil, with the latter devoting almost its entire two hours to her
songs. Once again, each of them started off with the same track, in this case
Dusty Springfield’s version of “Just A Little Lovin’.”
Favorite songs with lyrics with Cynthia Weil:
You’ve
Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ – The Righteous Brothers
Rock
And Roll Lullaby – B.J. Thomas
Magic
Town – The Vogues
On Broadway – The Drifters
I’m Gonna Be Strong – Gene Pitney
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place – The Animals
Only In America – Jay & The Americans
None Of Us Are Free – Solomon Burke
Walking In The Rain – The Ronettes
Kicks – Paul Revere & The Raiders
Uptown – The Crystals
He’s So Shy – The Pointer Sisters
Looking Through The Eyes Of Love – Gene Pitney
Shape Of Things To Come – Max Frost & The Troopers
Home Of The Brave – Jody Miller
Saturday Night At The Movies – The Drifters
Make Your Own Kind Of Music – Mama Cass Elliot
Brown Eyed Woman – Bill Medley
He’s Sure The Boy I Love – “The Crystals” (actually Darlene
Love & The Blossoms)
(You’re My) Soul And Inspiration – The Righteous Brothers
