Biography
Composer Carole Bayer Sager achieved one of the most enduring runs of chart success in modern pop music, with hits spanning multiple eras. Born March 8, 1947, in New York City, she began composing while enrolled at the High School of Music and Art in the early '60s. Producer Don Kirshner discovered her, leading to a contract with Screen Gems, where she created her first hit in 1966—the Mindbenders' frequently recorded "A Groovy Kind of Love." She followed that with several tracks for the Monkees and supplied lyrics for the 1970 off-Broadway success Georgy. In 1975 she partnered with singer Melissa Manchester on "Midnight Blue," which reached the Top Ten, and they later reunited for the major hit "Don't Cry Out Loud."
Her own performing career began in 1977 with the release of her self-titled debut album on Elektra, which yielded a British hit single, "You're Moving Out Today." After writing Leo Sayer's chart-topping "When I Need You," she collaborated with her then-husband, composer Marvin Hamlisch, on the autobiographical Broadway musical They're Playing Our Song, which chronicled the romantic complications of a songwriting duo. The pair also earned an Oscar nomination for "Nobody Does It Better," the theme from the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me that peaked at number two for Carly Simon. Sager scored her highest-charting American solo single in 1981 with "Stronger Than Before," taken from her third album, Sometimes Late at Night.
She continued to gain greater recognition as a songwriter, and following the end of her marriage to Hamlisch she teamed with Burt Bacharach. Their work together brought an Academy Award for "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)," the 1981 number-one hit for Christopher Cross; the following year Sager and Bacharach married. Their most prominent joint effort was "That's What Friends Are For," first composed in 1982 for the film Night Shift and revived in 1986 to benefit AIDS research. Credited to "Dionne Warwick and Friends" (including Elton John), the track reached number one and raised well over a million dollars for charity. With Neil Diamond they wrote the hit "Heartlight," and they later supplied the Patti Labelle/Michael McDonald duet "On My Own." In 1988 they contributed to the soundtrack of Arthur 2: On the Rocks and supplied several songs for Barbra Streisand's album Till I Loved You. Sager and Bacharach divorced in 1991. In subsequent years she focused primarily on film projects, writing songs for Beethoven's 2nd and Junior.
Her own performing career began in 1977 with the release of her self-titled debut album on Elektra, which yielded a British hit single, "You're Moving Out Today." After writing Leo Sayer's chart-topping "When I Need You," she collaborated with her then-husband, composer Marvin Hamlisch, on the autobiographical Broadway musical They're Playing Our Song, which chronicled the romantic complications of a songwriting duo. The pair also earned an Oscar nomination for "Nobody Does It Better," the theme from the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me that peaked at number two for Carly Simon. Sager scored her highest-charting American solo single in 1981 with "Stronger Than Before," taken from her third album, Sometimes Late at Night.
She continued to gain greater recognition as a songwriter, and following the end of her marriage to Hamlisch she teamed with Burt Bacharach. Their work together brought an Academy Award for "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)," the 1981 number-one hit for Christopher Cross; the following year Sager and Bacharach married. Their most prominent joint effort was "That's What Friends Are For," first composed in 1982 for the film Night Shift and revived in 1986 to benefit AIDS research. Credited to "Dionne Warwick and Friends" (including Elton John), the track reached number one and raised well over a million dollars for charity. With Neil Diamond they wrote the hit "Heartlight," and they later supplied the Patti Labelle/Michael McDonald duet "On My Own." In 1988 they contributed to the soundtrack of Arthur 2: On the Rocks and supplied several songs for Barbra Streisand's album Till I Loved You. Sager and Bacharach divorced in 1991. In subsequent years she focused primarily on film projects, writing songs for Beethoven's 2nd and Junior.
Albums
Singles
