Together, this husband and wife team have written songs like "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" (with Phil Spector), "On Broadway" (with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller), "Walking in the Rain," "Kicks," "Soul and Inspiration," "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "I Just Can Help Believing," "Here You Come Again," "Never Gonna Let You Go," "Just Once," and the Grammy nominated "Don't Know Much" (with Tom Snow) to name a few. The list of their hits spans the decades. They have even collaborated with teen sensations, Hanson on their top five single release "I Will Come to You". That they are still creating today's standards establishes Barry and Cynthia as pop music's most inexhaustible source of melody and lyrics.
However, no mere list can describe how influential their work has been. Early Mann/ Weil successes like "He's Sure the Boy I Love," "Uptown" and "Walking in the Rain" established them as writers with the ability to create catchy songs. But soon they were producing words and music that had an impact far beyond that of the average hit.
'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "Soul and Inspiration" were not just the songs that launched The Righteous Brothers (and their biggest hits as well), they practically defined the genre we call "blue eyed soul". "On Broadway," "Uptown" and "Only in America" transcended early rock and roll's romantic "moon and June" fixation. "Kicks" proved that Mann and Weil, unlike many of their contemporaries, could not only write for rock bands (in this case Paul Revere and the Raiders) but that a commercial hit could address a serious issue like drugs. "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" is not only considered one of the classic rock songs of all time (and the Animal's version one of the greatest rock records) but it became a troubled anthem for ghetto dwellers, Viet Nam soldiers and protesters alike.
"Here You Come Again" provided country star Dolly Parton with her first crossover hit and helped country artists to take their rightful place in the world of popular music. "Just Once" (from Quincy Jones' album "The Dude") launched the career of a great emotional vocalist named James Ingram and enhanced Quincy's status as the premier producer/arranger of the 80's. More than just that, "Just Once" touched a nerve among people facing the issues of marriage, divorce and commitment and the soulful "Don't Know Much" not only reintroduced the world to the angelic voice of Aaron Neville, but Cynthia's personel pledge of devotion to Barry echoed in the lives of countless listeners.
Mann and Weil began their careers in the 60's at Aldon Music, the legendary music publishing company founded by Don Kirshner and Al Nevins. They were members of the writing staff which included Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield and Carole Bayer Sager. Among their other Brill Building colleagues were the likes of Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Jerry Lieber, Mike Stoller and Phil Spector.
Throughout their collaboration, Barry and Cynthia have worked with other writers. Cynthia wrote the lyrics to "Running With the Night" and "Love Will Conquer All" (with Lionel Richie), "He's So Shy" (with Tom Snow), "If Ever You're in My Arms Again" (with Snow and Michael Masser), the Grammy nominated "Through the Fire" (with David Foster and Tom Keane) and the Vanessa Williams hit "Just for Tonight" (with Keith Thomas). Most recently she wrote "Circle" (with Jud Freidman) for Barbra Streisand's "Higher Ground" album and "Wrong Again" (with Tommy Lee James) for Martina McBride's "Evolution" album. In January 1999 "Wrong Again" hit #1 on the country charts.
Barry was both co-writer (with Gerry Goffin) and recording artist on "Who Put the Bomp" and he co-wrote "I Love How Much You Love Me" (with Larry Kolber), "How Much Love" (with Leo Sayer), "Sometimes When We Touch" (with Dan Hill), and collaborated with Curtis Stigers on his hit AC single "Never Saw a Miracle."
In addition to the countless appearances of their classics onscreen, Mann and Weil have created song scores for such films as AN AMERICAN TAIL for which they wrote the double Grammy winning "Somewhere Out There" (with James Horner). In addition to collecting Grammys for "Song of the Year" and "Motion Picture or Television Song of the Year" the song also won Golden Globe and Oscar nominations, BMI's Most Performed Film Song award and became an instant standard. Other films in which Mann/Weil original songs have appeared include ABOUT LAST NIGHT, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION, OLIVER AND COMPANY, BALTO and THE PAGEMASTER. "Whatever You Imagine" from that film won Mann and Weil another Grammy Nomination for "Motion Picture or Television Song of the Year" in 1995. Their latest song score for film was MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND. Cynthia has recently completed four Christmas carols (with James Horner) for Ron Howard's "HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS" released for Christmas, 2000.
Barry and Cynthia have amassed an incredible 108 pop, country and R&B awards from Broadcast Music Inc., recognizing highest performance popularity on American radio and television in a particular year and 76 Millionaire awards, signifying radio performances of a million or more plays. "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling" recently surpassed Lennon and McCartney's "Yesterday" as the most performed song in the BMI catalogue and has garnered eight million performances, the first BMI song ever to achieve that milestone. If played back to back for 24 hours a day, this equals more than 45 years of continuous air play... The rock and roll classic has also received 13 pop awards... another record achievement and the Righteous Brothers' recording has been selected for inclusion in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Additional recognition of Mann and Weil's achievements include: the first Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Songwriters, The Clooney Foundation's Award for Legendary Song Composition, BMI's Robert Burton Award for the most performed country song of 1977, "Here You Come Again" and induction into the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In addition to their recording and film work, Barry and Cynthia are currently involved in two projects for the Broadway stage. One is a show based on their extensive catalogue of hits named That Lovin' Feeling and the other is an original rock musical based on the film MASK. Anna Hamilton Phelan, screenwriter of the film, is penning the Mask book.
Barry has also recorded an album of 11 of their hits for Atlantic Records' Songwriter Series entitled "Barry Mann: Soul and Inspiration". It features duets or back up with such recording stars as Carole King, Bryan Adams, Daryl Hall, Peabo Bryson, Brenda Russell, Deanna Carter, and Richard Marx. Fred Mollin produced the album which was scheduled for release in January 2000.
Nominated for Music Best Song 1986: AN AMERICAN TAIL "Somewhere Out There" - Music (w. James Horner)
1 nomination