Robert C. Feldman (born June 14, 1940) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his work in the 1960s with fellow writers Jerry Goldstein and

Richard Gottehrer Richard Gottehrer (born 1940) is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive. In 1997, he co-founded the Orchard with longtime business partner Scott Cohen, an independent music distribution company. His career began as ...

, including " My Boyfriend's Back", "

I Want Candy "I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded by the Strangeloves in 1965 that reached No. 11 in the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It is a famous example of a song that uses the Bo Diddley beat. Original version "I Want Candy" ...

", and " Sorrow".

Life and career

Feldman was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He was raised in an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

home and briefly studied to become a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

. He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School alongside

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

, and was a member of the All-City Choir alongside Neil Diamond and

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

. Together with his friend and neighbor Jerry Goldstein, he was a dancer on

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

WNEW-TV WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secaucus, New Jersey–licensed MyNetworkTV flagship ...

show ''The Big Beat'', and in 1959 the pair co-wrote a theme song for the show. Feldman and Goldstein started writing regularly together, and, as Bob and Jerry, wrote and recorded "We Put the Bomp", an

answer record An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

to Barry Mann's " Who Put the Bomp". Joel Selvin, ''Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues'', Counterpoint, 2014, pp.265-267
/ref> In 1962, they met fellow songwriter Richard Gottehrer, and formed FGG Productions. Feldman said: "I was the dreamer, Jerry was the schemer and Richie was the voice of reason".Rob Finnis, "About Bob Feldman", ''Bob Feldman Music'', 2012
Retrieved 16 February 2020 The trio wrote several hit singles together, including " My Boyfriend's Back" by The Angels. In 1964, in response to the "

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

", they formed their own group,

The Strangeloves The Strangeloves were a band created in 1964 by the New York-based American songwriting and production team of Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer. They initially pretended to be from Australia. The Strangeloves' most suc ...

, who had hits with "

", "Cara-Lin", and " Night Time". With Goldstein and Gottehrer, Feldman also co-wrote " Sorrow" – first recorded by

The McCoys The McCoys were a rock group formed in Union City, Indiana, United States, in 1962. They are best known for their 1965 hit single " Hang On Sloopy". Their name was changed from Rick and the Raiders to The McCoys, taken from the B-side of The ...

and later a hit for both

The Merseys ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

– and "Gonna Make It Alone", recorded by Dion and by Ronnie Dio and the Prophets. The three also produced the McCoys' hit "

Hang On Sloopy "Hang On Sloopy" (originally "My Girl Sloopy") is a 1964 song written by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns. Rhythm and blues vocal group the Vibrations were the first to record the tune in 1964. Atlantic Records released it as a single, which reached ...

". Songs written by Bob Feldman, ''MusicVF.com''
Retrieved 16 February 2020 In 1966, Feldman and Goldstein moved to California to set up their own office, and also recorded together as the duo Rome & Paris. Feldman later worked as a record producer with Link Wray, The Belmonts, and others. In the 1990s, he moved to Nashville, Jim Patterson, "Nashville Sound: Bob Feldman", ''AP News'', March 26, 1998
Retrieved 16 February 2020 and in 2002 co-wrote

Dusty Drake Dean Buffalini (born February 23, 1964), known professionally as Dusty Drake, is an American country music artist. Drake played various venues in his native Pennsylvania for several years before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, co-writing a 1996 ...

's debut

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

hit, "And Then". In 2019, he published a book of verse, lyrics and memoirs, ''Simply Put!: Thoughts and Feelings from the Heart''."Bob Feldman: About the Author", ''Books & Books'', 2019
Retrieved 16 February 2020 He is the father of actor

Corey Feldman Corey Scott Feldman (born July 16, 1971) is an American actor and musician. As a youth, he became well known for roles in the 1980s in films such as '' Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter'' (1984), ''Gremlins'' (1984), ''The Goonies'' (1985), a ...

, who was born from his marriage to cocktail waitress Sheila Feldman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Bob Record producers from New York (state) American male songwriters Living people 1940 births Jewish American musicians 21st-century American Jews