Alan Merrill
Alan Merrill | |
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Website | Official website |
Alan Merrill (born Allan Preston Sachs; February 19, 1951 – March 29, 2020) was an American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. In the early 1970s, he was one of the few resident foreigners to achieve pop star status in Japan. He was the writer of, and lead singer on, the first released version of the song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll",[1] which was recorded by the band the Arrows in 1975.[2] The song became a breakthrough hit for Joan Jett in 1982.
Merrill was primarily a vocalist and songwriter, but also played the guitar, bass guitar, harmonica, and keyboards.[3] He died during the COVID-19 pandemic due to complications brought on by the virus.
Early life
Merrill was born in The Bronx, New York City on February 19, 1951,[4] the son of two jazz musicians, singer Helen Merrill[5] and saxophone/clarinet player Aaron Sachs.[6] He went to Aiglon College[7] in Switzerland from age 9 to 13, a British-style boarding school.[8] On returning to the United States, he attended schools in New York and Los Angeles, and later, briefly, at Sophia University in Tokyo. He started his semi-pro career in New York City aged 14 when he began playing in Greenwich Village's Cafe Wha? with the bands The Kaleidoscope, The Rayne, and Watertower West. The groups played the club during the 1966–1968 period.[9]
Professional career
Japan
In 1969, Merrill auditioned for the New York City band,
Merrill subsequently signed a solo management deal with Watanabe Productions, who contracted him to Atlantic Records, and changed his professional surname from Sachs to Merrill[11] (his mother's stage name) apparently because "Merrill" was thought to sound less lascivious and more commercially viable when spoken by young Japanese pop music fans.[2] He recorded one album with Atlantic, Alone in Tokyo (February 1971)[12] which yielded a single, "Namida" (Teardrops).
In other activities, Merrill acted on the TV soap opera Jikan Desu Yo and occasionally had his own 'corner' on the
A dispute with management led to Merrill's abrupt departure from Japan.[17]
UK
In 1974, in London, Merrill formed the band
The Arrows had another hit single with "
With the Arrows, Merrill sang three chart hit records as the band's lead singer, all produced by Mickie Most, "Touch Too Much" (No. 8 UK charts) "Toughen Up" (No. 51 UK charts) and "My Last Night With You" (No. 25 UK charts).[20] They made one more single that would be an important one. "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (1975), a song that started out as a B-side to the 45 rpm Arrows single "Broken Down Heart". The song "I Love Rock 'N Roll" was composed by Alan Merrill but with a co-writer credit going to Arrows bandmate Jake Hooker, to whom Merrill owed some money.[21]
The recording was later flipped to A-side status, and the band made only one television performance with the song. The show's producer
In 1977, Merrill formed a new group, the
Relationships
In 1977 Merrill met and married fashion model Cathee Dahmen in London, and had their wedding reception at Mr Chow's in Knightsbridge.[24] They subsequently had two children, Laura Ann Sachs and Allan Preston Sachs Jr. In 1980 they relocated to Queens, New York together with Cathee's daughter Sarah Beth Whiting from her previous marriage to Leonard Whiting. Their marriage ended in divorce, and in 1987 Merrill went on to marry Joanna (née Lisanti).[25]
Later
In 1980, Merrill joined forces with Rick Derringer as a guitarist/vocalist in New York City. They recorded three albums, Good Dirty Fun,[26] Live at The Ritz,[27] Rick Derringer and Friends,[28] and a film, The Rick Derringer Rock Spectacular.[29] Merrill wrote three songs on the Derringer Good Dirty Fun album, "White Heat" (Alan Merrill), "Shake Me" (Alan Merrill/Jake Hooker) and "Lesson Learned" (Alan Merrill/Rick Derringer). "Shake Me" was included in the soundtrack of the film Where the Boys Are '84 (1984).[30]
In 1982, Joan Jett released a cover of "I Love Rock 'N Roll", which was No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard charts for seven weeks and helped launch her career.[4][31] The following year Lou Rawls recorded Alan Merrill's song "When The Night Comes" as the title track of his 1983 Epic Records album.[32] The Rawls' version of the song was taken into space by astronaut Guion Bluford, the first music taken to and played in outer space.[33]
In 1983, Merrill recorded a solo album for Polydor Records, simply titled Alan Merrill, a collection of self-composed tracks. Some friends contributing to this record were Steve Winwood, Mick Taylor and Dallas Taylor. It was released in 1985 and received critical acclaim. In 1986, Merrill joined the Meat Loaf band for the promotional tour of his Blind Before I Stop album, and stayed for several years, and appears on Meat Loaf's 1987 Live at Wembley (1987) album for Arista Records.[34] In 1989, Merrill was offered a role on the television series Encyclopedia Brown on HBO, and was a part of the successful series in his role as principal character Casey Sparkz.[35] Merrill wrote a song for the production, "Who Done It?"[36] which he performed on the series and was featured in the concert scene.
In 1990, a
Merril released the solo albums Never Pet A Burning Dog (1998), Cupid Deranged (2002), A Merrilly Christmas (2001), Double Shot Rocks (2003) - a tribute to songwriters Otis Blackwell and Arthur Alexander, Aleecat (2004), At The Candy Shop (2006), and Rive Gauche (2007) - a tribute to The Left Banke. The reissue Alien in Tokyo, EP single Hard Road, and an in concert album The Aleecat, Live In Japan were all released in 2008. Albums by Merrill titled The Face Of 69 (2010), Numbers (2011), Snakes and Ladders (2012), Songer Singwriter (2013), Arrows, 40th Anniversary Edition (2014), Demo Graphic (2016) On A Blue Avenue (2017) and Radio Zero (2019 ) were also released.[41][42]
The Arrows 1974 top 10 UK hit "Touch Too Much", featuring lead vocals by Merrill appears on the soundtrack of the feature film
In early June 2016, he released a duet with fellow 1970s UK rock star Bob Bradbury of the band Hello titled "Brothers in Rock" and another duet, this one in Japanese with Bruce Bauer, "Hello Japan", out June 20, 2016.[52] On November 28, 2017, he released a 15-song solo album, On A Blue Avenue.[41] He also did live concerts internationally, both with backing bands and solo acoustic.[53] A film featuring Alan Merrill as a principal actor was released July 1, 2017, titled Re-Agitator / Revenge Of The Parody.[54] On December 15, 2017, Eminem released his album Revival including the title "Remind Me" crediting Allan Sachs (professionally known as Alan Merrill) as one of the song's co-writers for use of "I Love Rock N Roll" samples. The Eminem album made its debut at #1 in the Billboard album charts.[55]
He hosted the television series Across the Pond for the MyJam Music Network.[56] He also wrote and recorded the show's theme song "Across the Pond" which was released March 2018.[57]
In mid-February 2019, Merrill released a Valentine's Day song he wrote titled "Your Love Song."[58]
Death
Merrill died in Manhattan on March 29, 2020, aged 69, from complications arising from COVID-19, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[4][59][60] He was survived by his second wife, his three children and his mother Helen Merrill .[25]
References
- ^ "Edgy Edgy Edgy — Fascinating interview with Alan Merrill, lead..." Edgy Edgy Edgy. January 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ a b "Outsight Radio Hours interview, February 12, 2012". Archive.org. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
- ^ "Alan Merrill profile". AllMusic.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ a b c Sisario, Ben (March 30, 2020). "Alan Merrill, a Songwriter of 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll,' Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
- ^ "Interview: Helen Merrill (Part 1)". JazzWax.com. February 2, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
- ^ "Remembering Aaron Sachs!". Forum.saxontheweb.net. July 4, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
- ^ "Aiglon – International boarding school in Switzerland". Aiglon.
- ^ "Alan Merrill: Milano 1960, When Mosquitos Ruled The Earth". Alanmerrill.tumblr.com. January 25, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
- ^ "Merrilly Merrilly We Go — In 1967 New York City there was a band called the..." Merrilly-merilly-we-go.tumblr.org. June 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "The Lead". Nippop.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Alan Merrill obituary". the Guardian. April 5, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
- ^ "Allan Merrill* – Alone In Tokyo (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. February 1971. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Tiny Tim – Am I Just Another Pretty Face / Movies". Discogs.com. 1972. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Vodka Collins profile". Nippop.com. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Vodka Collins – New York Tokyo". Discogs.com. 1973. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Tokyo-New York – Vodka Collins – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/05/alan-merrill-obituary
- ^ "Arrows (2) Discography". Discogs.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Cozy Powell, The Man In Black sessions". Alanmerrill.tumblr.com. 1974. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Arrows Songs • Top Songs/Chart Singles Discography • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Alan Merrill tells the story of I Love Rock 'n' Roll in his final Guitar World interview". GuitarWorld.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ "The Arrows Enduring Legacy – From Bill Harry's "Rock N Pop Shop"". Alanmerrill.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ Pena, Shirley (November 24, 2012). "Follow the Arrow: an Interview with Alan Merrill". TheLosAngelesBeat.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ littlequeenies (July 2013). "🌸Little Queenies🌸". Tumblr. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
- ^ a b "Alan Merrill obituary". the Guardian. April 5, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
- ^ "Rick Derringer – Good Dirty Fun". Discogs.com. 1983. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Live at the Ritz, New York – Rick Derringer – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents... Rick Derringer & Friends". Oldies.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Rick Derringer – Rock Spectacular". Discogs.com. 1983. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Alan Merrill". IMDb.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Lomography - Today in History (1982): Joan Jett and The Blackhearts' Cover of 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' Peaks at #1 on Billboard Hot 100 (and Stays There for the Next Six Weeks)". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Lou Rawls, When The Night Comes, 1983". Imgur.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "When the Night Comes by Lou Rawls". Rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Live at Wembley – Meat Loaf – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Encyclopedia Brown". IMDb.com. January 1, 2000.
- ^ "Alan Merrill – Who Done It?". Discogs. December 1989. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Vodka Collins". Discogs.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Vodka Collins – Tokyo New York". Discogs. October 26, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ "Yes I Ram – Jon Tiven, Jon Tiven Group – Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ "Blue Guru – Jon Tiven – Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ a b "♫ On a Blue Avenue - Alan Merrill. Listen @cdbaby". Store.cdbaby.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ "Alan Merrill - CD Baby Music Store". Cdbaby.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "The Look of Love". IMDb.com. July 7, 2013.
- ^ "Alan Merrill – Restless Soul Lyrics". Letssingit.com. August 1, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
- ^ ""Sekai no Kaido wo Iku" Original Soundtrack Original Soundtrack CD Album". CDJapan.co.jp. April 18, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
- ^ "Arrows, We Can Make It Together, Homes Under The Hammer BBC". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- ^ "Arrows, Moving Next Door To You, Homes Under The Hammmer". YouTube. June 5, 2015. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
- ^ "Arrows (2) - Touch Too Much". Discogs.com. 1974. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- ^ "Arrows (2) - My Last Night With You". Discogs.com. 1975. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- ^ David Knights (September 17, 2016). "Arrows singer Alan Merrill performs at Korks in Otley". Ilkleygazette.co.uk. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- ^ "Superfly 新作に「Saikko!!」なR&Rの名曲カバー収録 - SPICE - エンタメ特化型情報メディア スパイス". Spice.eplus.jp. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Edgy Edgy Edgy — Sunday Sept 18th 2016, first preview exclusive..." Lifeonaledge.tumblr.com. September 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ Sachs, Allan. "AlanMerrill.Com". Alanmerrill.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "ReAgitator: Revenge of the Parody". IMDb.com. July 1, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ "Eminem's 'Revival' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart, G-Eazy & Jeezy Bow in Top 10". Billboard. December 24, 2017.
- ^ Across the Pond, Alan Merrill, retrieved April 2, 2018
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "♫ Across the Pond - Alan Merrill. Listen @cdbaby". Store.cdbaby.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "Alan Merrill : Your Love Song". Store.cdbaby.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ "Alan Merrill, 'I Love Rock 'N Roll' Writer, Dies at 69". Bestclasscibands.com. August 2, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ Savage, Mark (March 30, 2020). "I Love Rock 'N' Roll writer dies of coronavirus". BBC News. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
External links
- Alan Merrill at IMDb
- Alan Merrill discography at Discogs