Howard Greenfield

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Howard Greenfield was an American lyricist, born on 15 March 1936 in Brooklyn and died on 4 March 1986. In the 1960s he worked out of the Brill Building. As a teenager he got to know Neil Sedaka in his apartment building in Brighton Beach, and by the end of their teens they formed a songwriting duo. Their first recordings were on both sides of The Tokens' debut single in 1956. In 1958 they signed with Aldon Music, owned by Al Nevins and Don Kirshner. In addition, Greenfield had almost simultaneously equally successful partnerships with Jack Keller and Helen Miller.

Music and breakthrough

Greenfield co-wrote four songs that reached number one on the American Billboard chart: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do by Sedaka, Everybody's Somebody's Fool and My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own by Connie Francis, and Love Will Keep Us Together by Captain & Tennille. He also wrote hits for Sedaka, such as Oh! Carol and Calendar Girl, for Connie Francis, for the Everly Brothers with Crying in the Rain, and for the Shirelles. He also wrote the theme songs for television series such as Gidget, Bewitched, The Flying Nun and Hazel.

Influence

In 2005 (Is This the Way to) Amarillo, which he wrote with Sedaka in the early 1970s, reached number one in the United Kingdom in the version by Tony Christie from 1971. Greenfield stands for the craftsmanlike Brill Building pop: short songs with lyrics that everyone understands at once.

Listening