Barry Mann

American songwriter and musician

Not to be confused with Barry Manilow.

Barry Mann

Mann in 1974

Background information
Birth name| Barry Imberman
Born|  (1939-02-09) February 9, 1939 (age 85)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Genres| Pop, country pop, rock
Occupations|

* Musician
* songwriter

Instrument| Piano
Years active| 1958–present
Spouse|

Cynthia Weil

(m. 1961; died 2023)​

Musical artist

Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and was part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.

He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US.[1]

## Early life

[edit]

Mann was born "Barry Imberman"[2] on February 9, 1939,[3] to a Jewish family[4] in Brooklyn, New York City, United States.[5] He was born two days before fellow songwriter Gerry Goffin.

## Career

[edit]

His first successful song as a writer was "She Say (Oom Dooby Doom)", a Top 20 chart-scoring song composed for the band The Diamonds in 1959. Mann co-wrote the song with Mike Anthony (Michael Logiudice). In 1961, Mann had his greatest success to that point with "I Love How You Love Me", written with Larry Kolber and a No. 5 scoring single for the band The Paris Sisters (seven years later, Bobby Vinton's version would reach the Top 10). The same year, Mann himself reached the Top 40 as a performer with a novelty song co-written with Gerry Goffin, "Who Put the Bomp",[5] which parodied the nonsense words of the then-popular doo-wop genre.[3][6]

Despite his success as a singer, Mann chose to channel his creativity into songwriting, forming a prolific partnership with Weil,[5] a lyricist he met while both were staff songwriters at Don Kirshner and Al Nevin's company Aldon Music, whose offices were located in Manhattan, near the composing-and-publishing factory the Brill Building. Mann and Weil, who married in 1961,[5] developed some songs intended to be socially conscious, with successes such as "Uptown" by The Crystals, "We Gotta Get out of This Place" by the Animals, "Magic Town" by The Vogues, and "Kicks" by Paul Revere & the Raiders.[5] Mann and Weil were disturbed when "Only In America", a song they had written with the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and conceived originally for and recorded by the Drifters as a protest against racial prejudice, was re-worked by Leiber and Stoller into an uncontroversial success for Jay & The Americans.

As of May 2009[update], Mann's song catalog lists 635 songs.[7] He has received 56 popular music, country, and Rhythm & Blues awards from Broadcast Music Inc., and 46 Millionaire Awards for radio performances numbering more than one million plays.[8] The song "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", co-written with Weil and Phil Spector,[5] was the most played song of the 20th century, with more than 14 million plays.

Mann has composed songs for movies, most notably "Somewhere Out There", co-written with Weil and James Horner, for the 1986 animated movie An American Tail. Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram performed the song as a duet during the movie's closing credits; their version was released as a single, which scored No. 2 on the Billboard chart and became a "gold"-scoring record. "Somewhere Out There" would win two 1987 Grammy Awards, as Song of the Year and Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television. "Somewhere Out There" was also nominated for a 1986 Oscar as best song, but lost to "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun (a film that featured the Weil-penned "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" in a key scene). Mann's other movie work includes the scores for I Never Sang for My Father and Muppet Treasure Island, and songs for National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Oliver & Company.

Carole Bayer Sager, Carole King, Cynthia Weil, and Mann in 2012

Mann co-wrote, with Dan Hill, the song "Sometimes When We Touch", which scored No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5]

In 1987, Mann and Weil were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[3] In 2011, they received the Johnny Mercer Award, the greatest honor from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[9]

Mann and Weil were named among the 2010 recipients of Ahmet Ertegun Award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[10] Mann and Weil operated a publishing company named Dyad Music.[11]

## Personal life

[edit]

Mann was married to Cynthia Weil from 1961 until her death in 2023.[12] They had one daughter, Jenn. They resided in Beverly Hills, California.[13]

## Discography

[edit]

### Albums

[edit]

Year  | Album  | Record label

|
|

1961  | Who Put the Bomp | ABC-Paramount
1969  | Angel, Angel, Down We Go | Tower Records
1971  | Lay It All Out | New Design Records
1975  | Survivor | RCA Victor
1980  | Barry Mann | Casablanca Records
2000  | Soul & Inspiration | Atlantic Records

### Singles

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Peak chart
positions  | Record label  | B-side | Album

|
|
|
|
|

US Pop | US AC
1959  | "All the Things You Are"  | —  | —  | JDS Records  | "A Love to Last a Lifetime"  | —
1960  | "War Paint"  | —  | —  | ABC-Paramount Records | "Counting Teardrops"  | Who Put the Bomp
1961  | "Happy Birthday, Broken Heart"  | —  | —  | "The Millionaire"
"Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)"  | 7  | —  | "Love, True Love"
"Little Miss U.S.A."  | 109  | —  | "Find Another Fool"  | —
1962  | "Hey Baby I'm Dancin'"  | —  | —  | "Like I Don’t Love You"  | —
"Teenage Has-Been"  | —  | —  | "Bless You"  | —
1963  | "Graduation Time"  | —  | —  | Colpix Records | "Johnny Surfboard"  | —
1964  | "Talk to Me Baby"  | 94  | —  | Red Bird Records | "Amy"  | —
1966  | "Angelica"  | 111  | —  | Capitol Records | "Looking at Tomorrow"  | —
1967  | "Where Do I Go From Here"  | —  | —  | "She Is Today"  | —
1968  | "The Young Electric Psychedelic Hippie Flippy Folk and Funky Philosophic Turned On Groovy 12 String Band"  | —  | —  | "Take Your Love"  | —
"I Just Can't Help Believin'"  | —  | —  | "Where Do I Go From Here"  | —
1970  | "Feelings"  | 93  | —  | Scepter Records | "Let Me Stay With You"  | —
1971  | "Carry Me Home"  | —  | —  | New Design Records  | "Sundown"  | —
"When You Get Right Down to It"  | —  | —  | "Don’t Give Up on Me"  | Lay It All Out
1972  | "Too Many Mornings"  | —  | —  | "On Broadway"
1974  | "Nobody but You"  | —  | —  | RCA Victor | "Woman Woman Woman"  | Survivor
1975  | "Nothing Good Comes Easy"  | —  | —  | "Woman Woman Woman"
"I'm a Survivor"  | —  | —  | "Don't Seem Right"  | —
1976  | "The Princess and the Punk"  | —  | —  | Arista Records | "Jennifer"  | —
1977  | "The Best That I Know How"  | —  | —  | United Artists Records | "Lettin' the Good Time Get Away"  | —
1979  | "Almost Gone"  | —  | —  | Warner Bros. Records | "For No Reason at All"  | —
1980  | "Brown-Eyed Woman"  | —  | —  | Casablanca Records | "In My Own Way"  | Barry Mann

## Songs

[edit]

Main article: List of songs written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The People Who Created The Soundtrack To Your Life eBook: stuart devoy: Amazon.co.uk: Books". Amazon.co.uk. September 9, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
2. ^ "Barry Mann". Jameshorner-filmmusic.com. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
3. ^ a b c Steve Kurutz (February 9, 1939). "Barry Mann Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
4. ^ "History of Jewish songwriters told in ‘Beautiful’", Alan Smadon, Crescentcityjewishnews.com, March 18, 2017
5. ^ a b c d e f g Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1606\. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
6. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 90\. CN 5585.
7. ^ "Barry Mann Song Catalog". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 11, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
8. ^ "Barry Mann's Bio". Archived from the original on May 20, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
9. ^ "Garth Brooks, Billy Joel perform together during Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony". Soundspike.com. June 17, 2011. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
10. ^ "Congratulations to the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees!". Archived from the original on December 23, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
11. ^ "Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil Contact Info". Archived from the original on May 8, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
12. ^ Williams, Alex (June 4, 2023). "Cynthia Weil, Whose Soaring Lyrics Made Baby Boomers Feel, Dies at 82". The New York Times. p. A20. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
13. ^ Coleman, Laura (November 13, 2015). "Beverly Hills Musicians Weil, Mann Honored By Women's Guild Gala" (PDF). The Beverly Hills Courier. Beverly Hills, California. p. 1. Retrieved November 26, 2015.

## External links

[edit]

* Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil Official website
* Barry Mann at IMDb

Awards for Barry Mann

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Song of the Year

1950s|

* "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (Volare)" – Domenico Modugno (songwriter) (1958)
* "The Battle of New Orleans" – Jimmy Driftwood (songwriter) (1959)

1960s|

* "Theme of Exodus" – Ernest Gold (songwriter) (1960)
* "Moon River" – Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini (songwriters) (1961)
* "What Kind of Fool Am I?" – Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley (songwriters) (1962)
* "Days of Wine and Roses" – Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini (songwriters) (1963)
* "Hello, Dolly!" – Jerry Herman (songwriter) (1964)
* "The Shadow of Your Smile" – Paul Francis Webster & Johnny Mandel (songwriters) (1965)
* "Michelle" – John Lennon & Paul McCartney (songwriters) (1966)
* "Up, Up, and Away" – Jimmy Webb (songwriter) (1967)
* "Little Green Apples" – Bobby Russell (songwriter) (1968)
* "Games People Play" – Joe South (songwriter) (1969)

1970s|

* "Bridge over Troubled Water" – Paul Simon (songwriter) (1970)
* "You've Got a Friend" – Carole King (songwriter) (1971)
* "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" – Ewan MacColl (songwriter) (1972)
* "Killing Me Softly with His Song" – Norman Gimbel & Charles Fox (songwriters) (1973)
* "The Way We Were" – Alan and Marilyn Bergman & Marvin Hamlisch (songwriters) (1974)
* "Send In the Clowns" – Stephen Sondheim (songwriter) (1975)
* "I Write the Songs" – Bruce Johnston (songwriter) (1976)
* "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" – Barbra Streisand & Paul Williams (songwriters) / "You Light Up My Life" – Joe Brooks (songwriter) (1977)
* "Just the Way You Are" – Billy Joel (songwriter) (1978)
* "What a Fool Believes" – Kenny Loggins & Michael McDonald (songwriters) (1979)

1980s|

* "Sailing" – Christopher Cross (songwriter) (1980)
* "Bette Davis Eyes" – Donna Weiss & Jackie DeShannon (songwriters) (1981)
* "Always on My Mind" – Johnny Christopher, Mark James & Wayne Carson (songwriters) (1982)
* "Every Breath You Take" – Sting (songwriter) (1983)
* "What's Love Got to Do with It" – Graham Lyle & Terry Britten (songwriters) (1984)
* "We Are the World" – Michael Jackson & Lionel Richie (songwriters) (1985)
* "That's What Friends Are For" – Burt Bacharach & Carole Bayer Sager (songwriters) (1986)
* "Somewhere Out There" – James Horner, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil (songwriters) (1987)
* "Don't Worry, Be Happy" – Bobby McFerrin (songwriter) (1988)
* "Wind Beneath My Wings" – Larry Henley & Jeff Silbar (songwriters) (1989)

1990s|

* "From a Distance" – Julie Gold (songwriter) (1990)
* "Unforgettable" – Irving Gordon (songwriter) (1991)
* "Tears in Heaven" – Eric Clapton & Will Jennings (songwriters) (1992)
* "A Whole New World" – Alan Menken & Tim Rice (songwriters) (1993)
* "Streets of Philadelphia" – Bruce Springsteen (songwriter) (1994)
* "Kiss from a Rose" – Seal (songwriter) (1995)
* "Change the World" – Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick & Tommy Sims (songwriters) (1996)
* "Sunny Came Home" – Shawn Colvin & John Leventhal (songwriters) (1997)
* "My Heart Will Go On" – James Horner & Will Jennings (songwriters) (1998)
* "Smooth" – Itaal Shur & Rob Thomas (songwriters) (1999)

2000s|

* "Beautiful Day" – Adam Clayton, David Evans, Laurence Mullen & Paul Hewson (songwriters) (2000)
* "Fallin'" – Alicia Keys (songwriter) (2001)
* "Don't Know Why" – Jesse Harris (songwriter) (2002)
* "Dance with My Father" – Richard Marx & Luther Vandross (songwriters) (2003)
* "Daughters" – John Mayer (songwriter) (2004)
* "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" – Adam Clayton, David Evans, Laurence Mullen & Paul Hewson (songwriters) (2005)
* "Not Ready to Make Nice" – Emily Burns Erwin, Martha Maguire, Natalie Maines Pasdar & Dan Wilson (songwriters) (2006)
* "Rehab" – Amy Winehouse (songwriter) (2007)
* "Viva la Vida" – Guy Berryman, Jonathan Buckland, William Champion & Christopher Martin (songwriters) (2008)
* "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart (songwriters) (2009)

2010s|

* "Need You Now" – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott (songwriters) (2010)
* "Rolling in the Deep" – Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth (songwriters) (2011)
* "We Are Young" – Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess (songwriters) (2012)
* "Royals" – Joel Little & Ella Yelich O'Connor (songwriters) (2013)
* "Stay with Me" (Darkchild version) – James Napier, William Phillips & Sam Smith (songwriters) (2014)
* "Thinking Out Loud" – Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge (songwriters) (2015)
* "Hello" – Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin (songwriters) (2016)
* "That's What I Like" – Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip (songwriters) (2017)
* "This Is America" – Donald Glover, Ludwig Göransson & Jeffery Lamar Williams (songwriters) (2018)
* "Bad Guy" – Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell (songwriters) (2019)

2020s|

* "I Can't Breathe" – Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas (songwriters) (2020)
* "Leave the Door Open" – Brandon Anderson, Christopher Brody Brown, Dernst Emile II & Bruno Mars (songwriters) (2021)
* "Just Like That" – Bonnie Raitt (songwriter) (2022)
* "What Was I Made For?" – Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell (songwriters) (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media

1980s|

* "Somewhere Out There" – James Horner, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil (songwriters) (1987)
* "Two Hearts" – Phil Collins & Lamont Dozier (songwriters) (1988)
* "Let the River Run" – Carly Simon (songwriter) (1989)

1990s|

* "Under the Sea" – Alan Menken & Howard Ashman (songwriters) (1990)
* "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" – Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Michael Kamen & Bryan Adams (songwriters) (1991)
* "Beauty and the Beast" – Alan Menken & Howard Ashman (songwriters) (1992)
* "A Whole New World" – Alan Menken & Tim Rice (songwriters) (1993)
* "Streets of Philadelphia" – Bruce Springsteen (songwriter) (1994)
* "Colors of the Wind" – Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz (songwriters) (1995)
* "Because You Loved Me" – Diane Warren (songwriter) (1996)
* "I Believe I Can Fly" – R. Kelly (songwriter) (1997)
* "My Heart Will Go On" – James Horner & Will Jennings (songwriters) (1998)
* "Beautiful Stranger" – Madonna & William Orbit (songwriters) (1999)

2000s|

* "When She Loved Me" – Randy Newman (songwriter) (2000)
* "Boss of Me" – John Flansburgh & John Linnell (songwriters) (2001)
* "If I Didn't Have You" – Randy Newman (songwriter) (2002)
* "A Mighty Wind" – Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy & Michael McKean (songwriters) (2003)
* "Into the West" – Annie Lennox, Howard Shore & Fran Walsh (songwriters) (2004)
* "Believe" – Glen Ballard & Alan Silvestri (songwriters) (2005)
* "Our Town" – Randy Newman (songwriter) (2006)
* "Love You I Do" – Siedah Garrett & Henry Krieger (songwriters) (2007)
* "Down to Earth" – Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman (songwriters) (2008)
* "Jai Ho" – Gulzar, A. R. Rahman & Tanvi Shah (songwriters) (2009)

2010s|

* "The Weary Kind" – Ryan Bingham & T Bone Burnett (songwriters) (2010)
* "I See the Light" – Alan Menken & Glenn Slater (songwriters) (2011)
* "Safe & Sound" – T Bone Burnett, Taylor Swift, Joy Williams & John Paul White (songwriters) (2012)
* "Skyfall" – Adele Atkins & Paul Epworth (songwriters) (2013)
* "Let It Go" – Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez (songwriters) (2014)
* "Glory" – Common, Che Smith & John Legend (songwriters) (2015)
* "Can't Stop the Feeling!" – Max Martin, Shellback & Justin Timberlake (songwriters) (2016)
* "How Far I'll Go" – Lin-Manuel Miranda (songwriter) (2017)
* "Shallow" – Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt (songwriters) (2018)
* "I'll Never Love Again" – Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey & Aaron Raitiere (songwriters) (2019)

2020s|

* "No Time to Die" – Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell (songwriters) (2020)
* "All Eyes on Me" – Bo Burnham (songwriter) (2021)
* "We Don't Talk About Bruno" – Lin-Manuel Miranda (songwriter) (2022)
* "What Was I Made For?" – Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell (songwriters) (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Class of 2010

Performers|

* ABBA
* Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus
* Genesis
* Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford
* Jimmy Cliff
* The Hollies
* Bernie Calvert, Allan Clarke, Bobby Elliott, Eric Haydock, Tony Hicks, Graham Nash, Terry Sylvester
* The Stooges
* Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Iggy Pop, James Williamson

Non-performers
(Ahmet Ertegun Award)|

* Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich
* Otis Blackwell
* David Geffen
* Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
* Mort Shuman
* Jesse Stone

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Latvia
* Israel
* Finland

Academics|

* CiNii

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* Grammy Awards

Other|

* SNAC

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