Biography
Songwriter and producer Michael Masser established his reputation during the 1970s and 1980s by crafting expansive, emotive ballads primarily aimed at quiet storm and urban R&B performers. His initial breakthrough occurred through a partnership with Diana Ross at Motown, where he composed and helmed the 1973 hit “Touch Me in the Morning.” That success was quickly followed by the chart-topping “Theme from ‘Mahogany’ (Do You Know Where You’re Going To?),” co-created with lyricist Gerry Goffin for Ross’s 1975 film; the track earned an Oscar nomination for Best Song. Beyond his Ross collaborations, Masser teamed with George Benson on several late-’70s pop- and R&B-leaning cuts that included the first recording of “The Greatest Love of All.”
In the early 1980s he supplied Neil Diamond with “First You Have to Say You Love Me” (1982) and wrote the successful R&B duet “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love” for Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson; Bryson later enjoyed his own 1984 hit with the follow-up “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again.” That same year Masser contributed the songs “Stay with Me” and “Hold Me” to Teddy Pendergrass, the latter performed as a duet with an up-and-coming vocalist named Whitney Houston. When Houston joined Arista, Masser was among the writer-producers enlisted for her debut projects. Their association proved highly productive: he co-authored three number-one singles from her first two albums—“Saving All My Love for You,” “The Greatest Love of All,” and “Didn’t We Almost Have It All.”
Throughout the latter half of the 1980s Masser also worked with Jeffrey Osborne, Natalie Cole (“Miss You Like Crazy”), and Glenn Medeiros (“Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You”). Both his songwriting and production output, however, diminished sharply in the 1990s. He passed away in July 2015 at the age of 74.
In the early 1980s he supplied Neil Diamond with “First You Have to Say You Love Me” (1982) and wrote the successful R&B duet “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love” for Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson; Bryson later enjoyed his own 1984 hit with the follow-up “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again.” That same year Masser contributed the songs “Stay with Me” and “Hold Me” to Teddy Pendergrass, the latter performed as a duet with an up-and-coming vocalist named Whitney Houston. When Houston joined Arista, Masser was among the writer-producers enlisted for her debut projects. Their association proved highly productive: he co-authored three number-one singles from her first two albums—“Saving All My Love for You,” “The Greatest Love of All,” and “Didn’t We Almost Have It All.”
Throughout the latter half of the 1980s Masser also worked with Jeffrey Osborne, Natalie Cole (“Miss You Like Crazy”), and Glenn Medeiros (“Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You”). Both his songwriting and production output, however, diminished sharply in the 1990s. He passed away in July 2015 at the age of 74.
Albums
