Teddy Randazzo
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Teddy Randazzo | |
---|---|
Orlando, Florida, U.S. | |
Genres | Pop |
Occupation(s) | Songwriter, singer, arranger, record producer |
Years active | 1954–1980s |
Alessandro Carmelo "Teddy" Randazzo (May 13, 1935
Early years
He was born in
As a solo artist, he had three singles that made the
Hit-making years
Randazzo wrote a string of major hits for other artists with composing partner,
He arranged and produced two albums on
"I Want to Meet Him", the Royalettes' follow-up in 1966, reached the Hot 100 and the Top 30 in the R&B chart. All of the 27 songs that Randazzo produced on the group's two albums, plus another issued on single, appeared on a CD retrospective of the Royalettes' complete MGM output released by UK label, RPM in late 2010.
Many of Randazzo's tunes became pop classics, recorded by a gamut of musicians from Ella Fitzgerald to Frank Sinatra. "Goin' Out of My Head" is now included in the Top 50 most recorded songs with sales of over 100 million by over 400 artists, according to the Songwriters' Hall Of Fame. Later, he provided several songs for albums by New York soul group, the Manhattans, during their 1970s' hey-day, including the 1977 hit, "It Feels So Good To Be Loved So Bad" (number 6 R&B, number 66 Pop),[3] "There's No Good in Goodbye", and "A Million to One". He also wrote and produced for the Stylistics. Albums include Fashionably Yours and Love Spell. Also during this period, Randazzo co-wrote songs with Roger Joyce and Souren Mozian, as well as his then girlfriend Victoria Pike, with whom he also had a daughter.
During the early and mid-1960s, Randazzo toured extensively with his own band appearing at the Copacabana, New York, Hotel Americana, San Juan and regularly at the Thunderbird Hotel, Las Vegas. Band members included renowned musicians
, Bobby Vincent, Bobby Weinstein, and Billy Barberis. Randazzo was especially popular in Hawaii where his early recordings had topped the local record charts.Later life and death
Randazzo married R. Shelly Kunewa [9] of Hawaii and divided his time between their home in the islands and their home in Florida for most of the latter half of his life. He continued writing and producing. Randazzo produced and arranged Keola & Kapono Beamer's Honolulu City Lights album for Tom Moffatt's Paradise Records Label. The title song was a hit and the album became a local classic in Hawaii. In 2004, the editors of Honolulu Magazine asked a panel of local recording industry veterans to rank their choices for the best Hawaii album "of all time." Honolulu City Lights was chosen as number 1.
Randazzo died at the age of 68 at his home in Orlando, Florida.[2] He is survived by seven children, including his eldest son Teddy Randazzo Jr., and daughter Elisa Randazzo.
Songwriters Hall of Fame
Randazzo and his writing partner, Bobby Weinstein, were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007, fifty years after they first started writing songs together.
See also
- List of Italian American entertainers
References
- ^ a b c "Teddy Randazzo Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "Teddy Randazzo Obituary (2003) San Diego Union-Tribune". Legacy.com. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ BMI and Songwriters Hall Of Fame
- ^ "Goin' Out of My Head, Little Anthony". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ "Cupids Inspiration - Yesterday Has Gone". 45cat.com. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "CUPID'S INSPIRATION | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "Gonna Take a Miracle - Laura Nyro, Labelle | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ Honolulu Advertiser