Barry Mann

Barry Mann formed one half of the celebrated songwriting partnership with Cynthia Weil and helped establish the Brill Building sound while securing its grip on early-1960s pop radio. Prior to concentrating on composition, he reached the charts himself as a performer with the novelty single "Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)." His first professional post was at Don Kirshner's Aldon Music. Working alongside his wife and creative partner Cynthia Weil, Mann fashioned rock songs whose polish had not previously been heard, among them the enduring numbers "On Broadway," "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling" ("the most-played song of the 20th century"), and "Uptown." He originated most of the melodies for those pieces. The pair sustained their output of successful material for other acts across subsequent decades. Apart from the enduring alliance with Weil, Mann contributed keyboards and production to such artists as B.J. Thomas and the Pointer Sisters and joined in writing Dan Hill's hit "Sometimes When We Touch." In 1987 he was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame and received two Grammy Awards, one of them for Best Song for "Somewhere Out There."