Alan Merrill (born Allan Preston Sachs; February 19, 1951 – March 29, 2020) was an American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. In the early 1970s, he was one of the few resident foreigners to achieve pop star status in Japan. He was the writer of, and lead singer on, the first released version of the song "
I Love Rock 'n' Roll
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, released as the first single from her album of ...
", which was recorded by his band the
Arrows in 1975.
The song became a breakthrough hit for
Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...
in 1982.
Merrill was primarily a vocalist and songwriter, but also played the guitar, bass guitar, harmonica, and keyboards. He died during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
due to complications brought on by the virus.
Early life
Merrill was born in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on February 19, 1951,
the son of two jazz musicians, singer
Helen Merrill
Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1930) is an American jazz vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording '' Helen Merrill'' (with Clifford Brown), was an immediate success and associated her with the first generation ...
and saxophone/clarinet player
Aaron Sachs
Aaron Sachs (July 4, 1923 – June 5, 2014) was an American jazz saxophone and clarinet player.
Career
A native of New York City, Sachs began his music career as a young swing protégé of Benny Goodman, and later eased into bebop music, also ...
. He went to
Aiglon College
Aiglon College is a private co-educational boarding school in Switzerland, broadly modelled on British boarding school lines. It is an independent, non-profit school located in the Swiss Alps. It is located 60 km from Lausanne in the alpine vil ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
from age 9 to 13, a British-style boarding school. On returning to the United States, he attended schools in New York and Los Angeles, and at
Sophia University
Sophia University (Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private research university in Japan. Sophia is one of the three ''Sōkeijōchi'' (早慶上智) private universities, a group of the to ...
(a private
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
research university in
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
). He started his semi-pro career in New York City aged 14 when he began playing in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
's
Cafe Wha?
Cafe Wha? is a music club at the corner of MacDougal Street and Minetta Lane in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The club is important in the history of rock and folk music, having presented numerous musicians and ...
with the bands The Kaleidoscope, The Rayne, and
Watertower West. The groups played the club during the 1966–1968 period.
Professional career
Japan
In 1969, Merrill auditioned for the New York City band,
the Left Banke
The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroqu ...
. The audition was successful, but the band dissolved. Shortly thereafter, he left to reside in Japan, where his mother was living, and began his professional career there by joining the band The Lead, who were contracted to
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
Records. The band was a foreign Tokyo-based act. The Lead had some chart success, but the project soon fell apart when two of the American members of the group were deported.
Merrill subsequently signed a solo management deal with
Watanabe Productions
is a multimedia management company in Japan dealing in recordings, films, television, music publishing and artist management as well as the main subsidiary of the Watanabe Production Group.
Formed by bandleader Shin Watanabe and his wife Misa ...
, who contracted him to
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
, and changed his professional surname from Sachs (pronounced sax) to Merrill (his mother's maiden name) apparently because "Merrill" sounded less lascivious and was more commercially viable when spoken by young Japanese pop music fans.
He recorded one album with Atlantic, ''Alone in Tokyo'' (February 1971) which yielded a single, "Namida" (Teardrops).
Merrill acted on the TV soap opera ''Jikan Desu Yo'' and occasionally had his own 'corner' on the
TBS's ''Young 720'', a morning show for teens. He was a featured principal model in ads for
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
cars, Jun clothing, AnnAnn, Non-no, and GT Jeans. In 1971, he released an LP of his own compositions titled ''Merrill 1'' for the
Denon/Columbia record label produced by
Mickey Curtis
is a Japanese actor, singer and Media Personality. He was born to English-Japanese parents.
A pivotal figure in Japanese popular music, Mickey is considered one of the three big Japanese names in rock music, helping to popularize the genre in ...
.
Tiny Tim, at the peak of his fame, covered an Alan Merrill composition from the album, a song titled "Movies", in 1972 on Scepter Records. He then formed the band
Vodka Collins
The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. First memorialized in writing in 1876 by Jerry Thomas, "the father of American mixology", this "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically serv ...
, which became a prominent
glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
act. The band included notable Japanese musicians
Hiroshi "Monsieur" Kamayatsu and
Hiroshi Oguchi
was born in Kawaguchi, Japan, on November 28, 1950. He died on January 25, 2009, in Tokyo, Japan, of cancer.
A Tokyo-based conceptual artist, musician and scene maker, Hiroshi Oguchi had for decades been influential in the changing attitudes of ...
. Vodka Collins recorded an LP in 1973 titled ''
Tokyo – New York
''Tokyo – New York'' by the band Vodka Collins is an LP on the Toshiba EMI label, recorded 19 March to 3 September 1973, and released 5 November 1973. The album yielded singles "Sands of Time", "Automatic Pilot", and, later, "Billy Mars".
It w ...
'', on the
Toshiba-EMI
, formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...
label The band are best known for recording and releasing the first popular glam rock songs in Japanese, including the double A-sided single "Sands Of Time" and "Automatic Pilot", released June 1973.
UK
In 1974, in London, Merrill formed the band
Arrows (as lead singer and bass guitarist), with drummer
Paul Varley and guitarist
Jake Hooker.
Peter Meaden
Peter Alexander Edwin Meaden (11 November 1941 – 29 July 1978) was an English publicist for various musicians and the first manager for the Who. He was a prominent figure in the English Mod subculture of the early 1960s. He is sometimes refe ...
was the Arrows' first manager, but later they signed with
Mickie Most
Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate ...
's
RAK Records. In March 1974, the Arrows were in the top 10 in the
UK charts with the song "
Touch Too Much
"Touch Too Much" is a song by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It was released on their 1979 album ''Highway to Hell'', their last with lead vocalist Bon Scott, who died the following year.
Overview
The song was performed by Scott and AC ...
". The Arrows became a popular band with teens, and once again Merrill had slid back into the teen market he had fought hard to get out of in Japan.
The Arrows had another hit single with "
My Last Night With You" which reached the UK top 30 in 1975, but the band's single releases were few. Recorded at Morgan studio in London 1974 Merrill played bass guitar on drummer
Cozy Powell
Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English rock drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Robert Plant, ...
's chart hit single "The Man In Black" and the B-side "After Dark" produced by Mickie Most on RAK records. The recording hit a peak position of No. 18 on the British charts.
With the Arrows, Merrill sang three chart hit records as the band's lead singer, all produced by Mickie Most, "Touch Too Much" (No. 8 UK charts) "Toughen Up" (No. 51 UK charts) and "My Last Night With You" (No. 25 UK charts). They made one more single that would be an important one. "
I Love Rock 'n' Roll
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, released as the first single from her album of ...
" (1975), a song that started out as a B-side to the 45 rpm Arrows single "
Broken Down Heart". The song "I Love Rock 'N Roll" was composed by Alan Merrill but with a co-writer credit going to Arrows bandmate Jake Hooker, to whom Merrill owed some money.
The recording was later flipped to A-side status, and the band made only one television performance with the song. The show's producer
Muriel Young
Muriel Young (19 June 1923 – 24 March 2001) was an English television continuity announcer, presenter and producer.
Early life
Young was born in 1923 in Bishop Middleham near Sedgefield, County Durham. As a child, she lived with her family i ...
was so impressed with the Arrows that she made a pitch to Granada
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
for them to have their own television series. The Arrows then got their own weekly TV series ''
Arrows'' in 1976, taking over from the
Bay City Rollers
The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beat ...
Granada TV series ''
Shang-a-Lang''. The Arrows signed with MAM Management. Their producer
Mickie Most
Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate ...
was so angry at the band for signing the management deal, that he vowed to never release another Arrows record. So it came to pass that Arrows had their own weekly television series and no records released during that time. Their ratings were so good that they got a second weekly series, but they released no new recordings. The Arrows disbanded shortly after the end of the second series.
In 1977, Merrill formed a new group, the
album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock.
Album-oriente ...
act
Runner
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
, with
Steve Gould (
Rare Bird
Rare Bird were an English progressive rock band formed in 1969. They had more success in other European countries. They released five studio albums between 1969 and 1974. In the UK, they never charted with an album but charted with one single ...
), Mick Feat (
Van Morrison
Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards.
As a teenager in t ...
band), and Dave Dowle (
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...
). The ''Runner'' album charted in the
''Billboard'' top 100 in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Relationships
In 1977 Merrill met and married fashion model
Cathee Dahmen
Catherine Helen Sachs née Cathee Dahmen (September 16, 1945 – November 25, 1997) was the first Native American supermodel in the 1960s and 1970s.
She was half German, half Chippewa and was born and raised in Minnesota.
Modeling career
Dahm ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and had their wedding reception at Mr Chow's in
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End.
...
. They subsequently had two children, Laura Ann Sachs and Allan Preston Sachs Jr. In 1980 they relocated to
Queens, New York
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...
together with Cathee's daughter Sarah Beth Whiting from her previous marriage to
Leonard Whiting
Leonard Whiting (born 30 June 1950) is a British retired actor and singer widely known for his role as Romeo in the 1968 Zeffirelli film version of ''Romeo and Juliet'', a role which earned him the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year ...
. Their marriage ended in divorce, and in 1987 Merrill went on to marry Joanne (née Lisanti) and had a daughter, Allegra.
Later
In 1980, Merrill joined forces with
Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer (born Richard Dean Zehringer; August 5, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the 1960s as founding member of his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, "Hang on Sloopy", was ...
as a guitarist/vocalist in New York City. They recorded three albums, ''Good Dirty Fun'', ''Live at
The Ritz'', ''Rick Derringer and Friends'', and a film, ''The Rick Derringer Rock Spectacular''. Merrill wrote three songs on the Derringer ''Good Dirty Fun'' album, "White Heat" (Alan Merrill), "Shake Me" (Alan Merrill/Jake Hooker) and "Lesson Learned" (Alan Merrill/Rick Derringer). "Shake Me" was included in the soundtrack of the film ''Where The Boys Are'' (1984).
In 1982,
Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...
released a cover of "I Love Rock 'N Roll", which was No. 1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' charts for seven weeks and helped launch her career.
The following year
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...
recorded Alan Merrill's song ''"When The Night Comes"'' as the title track of his 1983
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
album. The Rawls' version of the song was taken into space by astronaut
Guion Bluford
Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. (born November 22, 1942) is an American aerospace engineer, retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer and fighter pilot, and former NASA astronaut in which capacity he became the second person of African descent to ...
, the first music taken to and played in outer space.
In 1983, Merrill recorded a solo album for
Polydor Records
Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
, simply titled ''Alan Merrill'', a collection of self-composed tracks. Some friends contributing to this record were
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...
,
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...
and
Dallas Taylor. It was released in 1985 and received critical acclaim. In 1986, Merrill joined the
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...
band for the promotional tour of his ''Blind Before I Stop'' album, and stayed for several years, and appears on Meat Loaf's 1987 ''
Live at Wembley'' (1987) album for
Arista Records
Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...
. In 1989, Merrill was offered a role on the television series ''
Encyclopedia Brown
''Encyclopedia Brown'' is a series of books featuring the adventures of boy detective Leroy Brown, nicknamed "Encyclopedia" for his intelligence and range of knowledge. The series of 29 children's novels was written (one co-written) by Donald ...
'' on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
, and was a part of the successful series in his role as principal character Casey Sparkz. Merrill wrote a song for the production, "Who Done It?" which he performed on the series and was featured in the concert scene.
In 1990, a
Vodka Collins
The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. First memorialized in writing in 1876 by Jerry Thomas, "the father of American mixology", this "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically serv ...
reunion tour was organized due to popular demand as a result of the successful CD reissue of their debut vinyl LP ''Tokyo – New York''. The Tokyo-based band toured Japan, then several years later recorded the first in a series of reunion albums, ''Chemical Reaction'' (1996) which was followed by ''Pink Soup'' (1997), ''Boy's Life'' (1998) and ''Boys in The Band'' (2004). The Vodka Collins ''Tokyo – New York'' album has been reissued again as recently as October 2011 on
EMI Japan.
While working in Japan with his main project Vodka Collins, Merrill also had a side project in New York, starting with a tribute to
Don Covay
Donald James Randolph (March 24, 1936 – January 31, 2015), better known by the stage name Don Covay, was an American R&B, rock and roll, and soul singer-songwriter most active from the 1950s to the 1970s.
His most successful recordings incl ...
he began recording with R&B producer
Jon Tiven
Jon Tiven (born January 3, 1955) is an American composer, guitarist, record producer, and music journalist. He has produced albums by Wilson Pickett, Frank Black and Don Covay as well as a series of tribute albums paying tribute to the songwriti ...
. This led to the "Yes I Ram" and "Blue Guru" albums in the mid-1990s featuring Merrill on lead vocals.
Merril released the solo albums ''Never Pet A Burning Dog'' (1998), ''Cupid Deranged'' (2002), ''A Merrilly Christmas'' (2001), ''Double Shot Rocks'' (2003) - a tribute to songwriters
Otis Blackwell
Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include "Fever" (recorded by Little Willie John), "Great Balls of Fire" and " Breathless" (recorded by Jerry Le ...
and
Arthur Alexander
Arthur Alexander (May 10, 1940 – June 9, 1993) was an American country soul songwriter and singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for AllMusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and that, though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff ...
, ''Aleecat'' (2004), ''At The Candy Shop'' (2006), and ''Rive Gauche'' (2007) - a tribute to
The Left Banke
The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroqu ...
. The reissue ''Alien in Tokyo'', EP single ''Hard Road'', and an in concert album ''The Aleecat, Live In Japan'' were all released in 2008. Albums by Merrill titled ''The Face Of 69'' (2010), ''Numbers'' (2011), ''Snakes and Ladders'' (2012), ''Songer Singwriter'' (2013), ''Arrows, 40th Anniversary Edition'' (2014), ''Demo Graphic'' (2016) ''On A Blue Avenue'' (2017) and ''Radio Zero'' (2019 ) were also released.
The Arrows 1974 top 10 UK hit "Touch Too Much", featuring lead vocals by Merrill appears on the soundtrack of the feature film ''
The Look Of Love'', a 2013 biopic of
Paul Raymond. "Restless Soul", a song Merrill co-wrote with Shinohara Nobuhiko that was on air nightly on the Asahi TV travel show ''Sekai No Kaido Wo Yuku'' (''Traveling on the roads of the world'') in Japan broadcast from 2014 to 2015. The Arrows' songs "We Can Make It Together" and "Moving Next Door To You" (composed by Merrill and Jake Hooker) were used on the
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
TV show ''
Homes Under The Hammer
''Homes Under the Hammer'' is a British factual renovation and auction television series that is screened on BBC One as part of the morning schedule. The series has been running since 17 November 2003, and is currently presented by Martin Robe ...
'' series 18 episode 70 and series 19 episode 53 respectively in England, first aired on February 5, 2015. The songs were B-sides of the Arrows RAK records top 30 hit singles "Touch Too Much" and "My Last Night With You" produced by Mickie Most in 1974 and 1975 with lead vocals by Merrill. In September 2015, Merrill added his guitar parts to popular Japanese vocalist
Superfly's cover of his composition, "I Love Rock N Roll", released three months later on Warner Brothers-Japan records.
In early June 2016, he released a duet with fellow 1970s UK rock star Bob Bradbury of the band
Hello
''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses
''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the ''Norwich C ...
titled "Brothers in Rock" and another duet, this one in Japanese with Bruce Bauer, "Hello Japan", out June 20, 2016. On November 28, 2017, he released a 15-song solo album, ''On A Blue Avenue''.
He also did live concerts internationally, both with backing bands and solo acoustic. A film featuring Alan Merrill as a principal actor was released July 1, 2017, titled ''Re-Agitator / Revenge Of The Parody''. On December 15, 2017,
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
released his album ''Revival'' including the title "Remind Me" crediting Allan Sachs (professionally known as Alan Merrill) as one of the song's co-writers for use of "I Love Rock N Roll" samples. The Eminem album made its debut at #1 in the Billboard album charts.
He hosted the television series ''Across the Pond'' for the MyJam Music Network. He also wrote and recorded the show's theme song "Across the Pond" which was released March 2018.
In mid-February 2019, Merrill released a Valentine's Day song he wrote titled "Your Love Song."
Death
Merrill died in Manhattan on March 29, 2020, aged 69, from complications arising from
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, during the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...
.
He was survived by his second wife, his three children and his mother
Helen Merrill
Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1930) is an American jazz vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording '' Helen Merrill'' (with Clifford Brown), was an immediate success and associated her with the first generation ...
.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrill, Alan
1951 births
2020 deaths
American male singers
American rock singers
American rock guitarists
American rock bass guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock musicians
American people of Croatian descent
American people of Jewish descent
Songwriters from New York (state)
Musicians from the Bronx
Neverland Express members
American expatriates in Japan
American expatriates in England
American expatriates in Switzerland
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
Alumni of Aiglon College