Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil built a lifetime together through song.
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As one of the most prolific songwriting duos of all time, alongside their longtime friends Carole King and her ex-husband Gerry Goffin, Mann and Weil proved their songwriting capabilities had no bounds since they joined forces in the 1960s. The husband and wife songwriting duo are behind some of the most defining hits of the past 60 years ranging from the Animals’ “We’ve Got to Get Out of This Place” to Hanson’s “I Will Come to You.”
Both were born in New York City, Mann in 1939 and Weil a year later. According to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Mann intended on pursuing a career in architecture in college before transitioning to doing music professionally. That’s when he ended up in the famous Brill Building in New York where many a popular song has been written after he signed a publishing deal with Aldon Music.
Among his early successes was the 1961 novelty song that he co-wrote with Goffin, “Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp).” The song was performed by Mann and became a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. He was on a winning streak that year when The Paris Sisters had a Top 5 hit with “I Love How You Love Me,” which he co-wrote with Larry Kolber. It continued to be a monumental year for Mann, as 1961 is also when he met and married his new songwriting partner, Weil.
Despite being a trained actress and dancer, Weil’s artistic pursuits led her to songwriting when she was mentored by Frank Loesser of the songwriting and publishing collective, Tin Pan Alley. Like Mann, she was hired by Aldon Music where the two met. Their first success as a couple came with Tony Orlando’s Top 15 hit, “Bless You.” This set the stage for them to become one of the most fruitful songwriting duos in history, co-penning such hits as the wildly popular “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” that was originally recorded and made a hit by the Righteous Brothers and later recorded by Dionne Warwick, Hall & Oates, and others. BMI reports that it was the most-played song on American radio in the 20th century until 2019.
“Uptown” by The Crystals, “Blame It on the Bossa Nova” by Eydie Gormé, “On Broadway” by The Drifters, “Kicks” and “Hungry” by Paul Revere & the Raiders, “Here You Come Again” by Dolly Parton, and “Don’t Know Much,” the Grammy-winning duet by Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville are among the vast range of hits they’ve composed. They also co-wrote, “Somewhere Out There,” with James Horner for the animated film, An American Tail, which was recorded by Ronstadt and James Ingram. It won Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 1988 Grammy Awards.
Their work has made them the recipient of distinguished honors including induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 where they were also the recipients of The Johnny Mercer Award in 2011. They were also bestowed with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Ahmet Ertegun Award in 2010 as, “Non-performing industry professionals who, through their dedicated belief and support of artists and their music, have had a major influence on the creative development and growth of rock & roll and music that has impacted youth culture,” according to the Rock Hall.
Weil passed away in June 2023 at the age of 82.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
