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Barry Mann's Bio
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling – the most widely played song in radio history, Just Once, Here You Come Again, On Broadway, Somewhere Out There, Don't Know Much, Never Gonna Let You Go, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place… the words to these familiar enduring favorites were all written by one legendary lyricist, Cynthia Weil. In the ever-changing, ever fickle music industry, it is a rare feat for an artist to achieve and maintain staying power. Cynthia Weil, together with her husband, composer Barry Mann, is one of the few outstanding creators of American popular music – crafting countless hits and some of the most influential and beloved pop songs in a career that has spanned four decades. With an undeniable knack for keeping in tune with the changing times, Weil is truly a music business phenomenon. Breaking ground in the early sixties, she was one of the first women in Rock and Roll – beginning her career at the pivotal era when Rock was edging out Tin Pan Alley. Since then she has written innumerable pop hits and has been able to create the kind of songs that transcend time. Weil's lyrics are among the most emotionally honest, insightful and direct ever penned. Few songwriters have had such a knack for capturing and interpreting the broad spectrum of human emotions – the ups and downs of relationships and life. Combining the clarity and narrative suited for her early ambition, writing for the Broadway theater with her pop lyric talents, Weil developed a signature style all her own. Her ability to adapt to different genres has created not one but many songs that have become themes and anthems… "soundtracks" to our lives. Weil began her career working at Frank Loesser's music publishing company and then moved to Don Kirshner's Aldon Music where she became part of the now legendary teen writing staff. It was a time where songwriters dominated the pop charts and raised the bar for the American pop song. Among her colleagues were Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Carole Bayer Sager, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Phil Spector and the man who would become her partner in life and music, Barry Mann. When Mann and Weil embarked on their remarkably successful personal and professional relationship a seemingly endless stream of hit songs followed: Uptown, On Broadway and Only In America (both written with Leiber and Stoller), We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, Blame It On The Bossa Nova, Kicks, Hungry, Walking In The Rain, Uptown, He's Sure The Boy I Love, I Just Can't Help Believing, Soul and Inspiration, Rock and Roll Lullaby… and that was just the beginning. Unlike many of the golden hit makers of the sixties, the Mann/Weil team continued strong into the seventies and eighties. Never dating themselves, they produced hits for almost every genre- from R&B to soul, country to rock and roll. They gave Dolly Parton her first crossover hit with Here You Come Again, which also earned the distinction that same year of Broadcast Music's "most played country song" and were instrumental in launching the careers of other artists like The Righteous Brothers and James Ingram. Continuing to strike gold in the nineties, they produced yet another hit – I Will Come To You – in their collaboration with multi-platinum teen pop sensation Hanson. Films became another area of expertise for Weil. Mann and Weil penned the song score for the acclaimed animated film An American Tail – including the double Grammy Award-winning and Oscar and Golden Globe nominated instant classic Somewhere Out There. They also wrote song scores for films as diverse as the cult classic Wild In The Streets and the children's classic Muppet Treasure Island as well as contributing songs to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and Balto among others. They wrote the Grammy nominated song, Whatever You Imagine from The Pagemaster and Weil also co-wrote songs for About Last Night, contributed lyrics for the "Seussian" Christmas carols in The Grinch and collaborated with John Williams on For Always, the theme song for A.I. which appeared on the soundtrack CD. In 2004 she again collaborated with Williams on a song for Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azakaban and wrote “Remember”, with James Horner, for the motion picture “Troy”. “Remember” sung by Josh Groban was nominated for a World Soundtrack award for “Best Song Written Directly for a Film”. In addition to her Grammy awards, Weil has amassed 51 pop, country and R&B awards from Broadcast Music Inc., recognizing highest performance popularity on American television and radio and 45 Millionaire Awards signifying performances of a million or more plays. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling was the most played song of the twentieth century. It has accumulated more than fourteen million plays which, if played back to back would equal more than sixty five years of continuous airplay. Weil's countless other industry accolades include induction into the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame and the 2003 Heroes Award from the New York Chapter of NARAS. Though Weil's lyrics have often accompanied Mann's melodies, the two are by no means dependent on each other for magical collaboration. Weil has collaborated with many great songwriters to pen such unforgettable hits as Running With The Night, Love Will Conquer All, If Ever You're In My Arms Again, Somewhere Down The Road, He's So Shy, Just For Tonight and the Grammy nominated Through The Fire – to name just a few. Barbra Streisand featured a Weil lyric on her Higher Ground album and Weil scored a number #1 hit on the country charts with Martina McBride's Wrong Again. The hits are impressive, but Weil's accomplishments as a whole must be acknowledged to truly understand the magnitude and scope of her career. To look at her catalogue is an experience in itself and then to realize that her songs sound as good today as when they were written is truly awe inspiring. In January 2004, Mann and Weil opened in New York for a limited run of “THEY WROTE THAT?” a show based on their catalogue of hit songs. Backed by a five piece band and three back up singers, Barry sang while Cynthia wove their personal and professional history, stories about the creative process and behind the scenes dish, through an evening of their songs. The show was directed by Tony award winning director, Richard Maltby,Jr. In 2006, another facet of Weil's talent was revealed when "The Stranger Game", a movie written by Cynthia and Judy Skelton, aired on Lifetime Television. In March of 2008, Mann and Weil's original pop rock musical based on the motion picture classic, "MASK". also directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. premiered at Pasadena Playhouse, Anna Hamilton Phelan, screenwriter of the film also penned the book for the theatrical version. For more info and visuals check out the Scrapbook section of this web site.
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