Cynthia Weil, Storied Songwriter With Decades of Hits, Dead at 82
From RollingStone.com-
CYNTHIA WEIL, THE celebrated songwriter who helped craft timeless hits like the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” the Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” and Chaka Khan’s “Through the Fire,” died Thursday, June 1. She was 82.
Weil’s daughter, Jenn Mann, confirmed her death, though no cause was given. “My mother, Cynthia Weil, was the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for,” Mann said. “She was my best friend, confidant, and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music.”
Barry Mann, Weil’s husband and creative partner, said, “I’m a lucky man. I had two for one: my wife and one of the greatest songwriters in the world, my soul and inspiration.”
Weill and Mann were key figures in the Brill Building scene, helping to shape the sound of American pop and rock and roll in the early Sixties alongside other luminaries like Carole King, Burt Bacharach, and Neil Diamond. The two continued to find success, whether working together or with others, in subsequent decades, scoring hits with an array of artists in various genres through the 1990s.
Born and raised in New York City, Weil found her talent for writing song lyrics early. She began her career working at Frank Loesser’s music publishing company before joining the Brill Building cohort after moving to Don Kirshner’s Alton Music. She and Mann married in 1961, the same year they wrote and notched their first hit together, “Bless You,” which crooner Tony Orlando took to Number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
With Weil writing the lyrics and Mann composing the music, the couple quickly became one of the Brill Building’s most reliable partnerships. Their tunes included the Crystals’ “Uptown,” Paul Petersen’s “My Dad,” and the Drifters’ “On Broadway” [which they wrote with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller]. Their first Number One finally came in 1964 when they partnered with Phil Spector to pen the Righteous Brothers’ classic ballad, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.”
