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Richard Kerr (songwriter)

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Richard Kerr
Birth nameRichard Buchanan Kerr
Born(1944-12-14)14 December 1944
Died8 December 2023(2023-12-08) (aged 78)
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, composer

Richard Buchanan Kerr (14 December 1944 – 8 December 2023) was an English singer-songwriter and composer, who co-wrote "Mandy", "Looks Like We Made It", and "Somewhere in the Night" (all of which became hit singles for Barry Manilow)[1] and "I'll Never Love This Way Again", for Dionne Warwick.[2]

Life and career

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Richard Buchanan Kerr was born on 14 December 1944.[3]

Kerr began his education at Bedford School.[4] After gaining an interest in music at school he went into songwriting. In the UK, he collaborated with musicians in the late 1960s and early 1970s such as Peter Green, Don Partridge and Scott English. The last pairing resulted in the song "Brandy", which English released in 1971. This song later become a worldwide hit under the title "Mandy" for Barry Manilow in 1974, although Don Partridge's "Blue Eyes" was Kerr's first hit as a songwriter.

In 1976, Kerr's solo album, Richard Kerr (re-titled Somewhere in the Night in some territories) was released by Epic Records, and in 2014 it was released digitally on iTunes. Kerr's album Welcome to the Club (1978, A&M Records) featured songs co-written with John Bettis, Gary Osborne, and Will Jennings.[1] Kerr's other albums include From Now Until Then, No Looking Back, Songwriter, and Reflections of Richard Kerr.[1]

His most important collaboration was with the American lyricist Will Jennings. They wrote such popular songs as "Looks Like We Made It", a No. 1 hit for Barry Manilow, "Somewhere in the Night", which was a hit for Helen Reddy and later for Barry Manilow (1978), and "I'll Never Love This Way Again" for Dionne Warwick.[2]

In 1997, along with lyricist Don Black, Kerr wrote "You Stayed Away Too Long", sung by 18-year-old Joanne May, one of the four finalists in the Great British Song Contest, the UK heat for the Eurovision Song Contest. It came third.

Kerr died on 8 December 2023, at the age of 78.[5][6]

Discography (as main artist)

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  • From Now Until Then (1973), Warner Bros.
  • Reflections of Richard Kerr (1974), Rondor Music
  • Richard Kerr (re-titled Somewhere in the Night in some territories) (1976), Epic (album was reissued on iTunes in 2014 from the master tapes)
  • Welcome to the Club (1978), A&M
  • Songwriter (1981), Almo Irving Music (promotional LP only)
  • No Looking Back (1982), A&M[7]

Hit compositions

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Other recorded songs

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Biography by Ed Hogan". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits: Updated and Expanded 5th Edition. Watson Guptill Publications. p. 677. ISBN 9780823076772. Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via Internet Archive. Lyricist Will Jennings...moved to Los Angeles. His publisher...Almo-Irving Music, introduced Jennings to British composer Richard Kerr...Whitney's (Houston) cousin, Dionne Warwick...had her first hit on the label with Jennings and Kerr's "I'll Never Love This Way Again" (number five in October, 1979). [sic]
  3. ^ "Richard Buchanan KERR - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Music Stars" Archived 10 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Aspire: Newsletter from Bedford School Foundation, Winter 2004 Issue. Accessed 17 July 2012.
  5. ^ "A tribute to Richard Kerr". BBC Radio Kent. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Richard Kerr obituary". The Times. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Richard Kerr Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
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