Ritchie Cordell
Ritchie Cordell | |
|---|---|
Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
| Died | April 13, 2004 (aged 61) New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop, rock |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, singer, record producer |
Ritchie Cordell (born Richard Joel Rosenblatt; March 10, 1943 – April 13, 2004) was an American songwriter, singer and record producer. He wrote and produced several hits for
Tommy James and The Shondells, including "I Think We're Alone Now" (later also recorded by Lene Lovich, Tiffany and Girls Aloud) and "Mony Mony" (later also recorded by Billy Idol), and co-produced Joan Jett's I Love Rock 'n' Roll
.
Biography
Rosenblatt was born in
Brooklyn, New York, and started singing and playing guitar in his teens. In 1961, he was introduced to song plugger Sid Prosen, who in turn introduced him to young songwriter Paul Simon, then using the pseudonym Jerry Landis. Rosenblatt began using the name Ritchie Cordell, initially as a performer, and "Landis" wrote the song "Tick Tock" which became Cordell's first single, released on the Rori label in 1962.[1] Cordell then started writing his own material, including his single "Georgiana" which was arranged and produced by Landis.[2]
He worked for a time at
UK), Cordell also wrote several lesser hits for the group.[3]
In the late 1960s he left Roulette to join
In the 1970s he continued to work as a music publisher, songwriter and producer, before finding renewed success in 1981 as the co-producer of
album. Cordell also co-produced the Ramones' 1983 album Subterranean Jungle, and worked with British post-punk band Bow Wow Wow.[3] In 1987, he enjoyed the rare feat of having one of his songs (Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now") replaced by another (Billy Idol's "Mony Mony") at the top of the US Hot 100.[3][4]
Cordell died of pancreatic cancer in New York in 2004, at the age of 61.[3][5]
References
- ^ Ritchie Cordell, "Tick Tock", at Tunedex Memories. Retrieved 27 February 2013
- ^ Ritchie Cordell, "Georgiana", at 45cat.com. Retrieved 27 February 2013
- ^ a b c d e Obituary in The Independent, reprinted at Spectropop.com. Retrieved 27 February 2013
- ^ a b Biography by Steve Kurutz at Allmusic.com. Retrieved 27 February 2013
- ^ Ritchie Cordell at FindaGrave.com. Retrieved 27 February 2013
External links
- Ritchie Cordell discography at Discogs
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