Michael Caruso is an American singer-songwriter, born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Pennsylvania on May 23, 1954. He studied both music and theatre at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan then later moved to the West Coast where he was employed as a songwriter for Homegrown Music, Geffen Music Group, Sony Music Publishing and

Chrysalis Music Chrysalis Music is a British independent music publisher. The company's roots started in west London in 1967 when Chris Wright and Terry Ellis formed the Ellis-Wright Agency. It was formed to manage and book the bands Ten Years After, and Clouds ...

. He performed as a solo artist and as Frontman for the band "Michael's Disciples".

Biography

Caruso's most well-known work Love Is was co-written with Tonio K, John Keller; recorded by Vanessa L. Williams with

Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...

, and was featured on the Beverly Hills 90210 Soundtrack. It was nominated for a Grammy in the best of R & B vocal category and earned Michael a citation of achievement from BMI for garnering two million broadcast performances. It also rose to Number 1 on the Pop Music Chart and Adult Contemporary Chart in 1993. However, Caruso's career included collaborations with many other artists and writers: co-writes with

Tamara Champlin Tamara Champlin (née Matoesian) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career as a session singer in Houston, Texas, later moving to Los Angeles. She has performed with and written for singers such as Elton John, Leon Russell, Nicky H ...

and Dennis Matkosky for Chris LeDoux's "Runaway Love" (that appeared on Billboard's Country Music's Top 40's) and Rita Coolidge's Shoo Rah. Caruso's most recorded song was "Guns of Love" (written with Randy Sharp and John Keller) performed by Maura O'Connell, the Moffats (who performed this on "Good Morning America" on July 3, 1995, donating proceeds from their release to the families of victims of the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorism in the United States, domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-federal go ...

Pam Rose Pam Rose is an American country music songwriter. In her career, she has been a member of the groups Calamity Jane and Kennedy Rose, both times pairing with fellow songwriter Mary Ann Kennedy. Rose's co-writing credits include the Grammy Award- ...

for her Album " Morpheus", was featured on Grammy Award Winner Kathy Mattea's Album "Roses", by Caruso on his 2011 EP "When The Devil Starts To Pray" and by Randy Sharp on his 2017 Release "Impossible Things". On "You Won't Get To Heaven Alive" by Tamara Champlin, Caruso was a background vocalist, player on several tracks, co-producer on two, and co-writes included the title track, "Purple Black and Blonde", "St Anne's Wheel" & "Tragic Black" that featured Nicky Hopkins on piano. On

Will Champlin William Christopher Champlin (born April 24, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his appearance on Season 5 of the NBC singing competition ''The Voice'' as part of Adam Levine's team. He finished in third place behind Jacqui ...

's (Finalist for 2013

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

) solo projects, Caruso was a co-writer on many songs from "The Goldmine Sessions", his Self Titled "Will Champlin" CD, and his EP "Killing Me With Twilight". He collaborated on

Bill Champlin William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. ...

's (formerly of Chicago) solo album "No Place Left To Fall"; again penning the title track with Bill and Tamara Champlin and "Tuggin' on Your Sleeve" written with Bill Champlin and Will Champlin. Caruso also co-wrote with

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 ...

and Randy Cantor a cut featuring Joan Jett & the Blackhearts for the

Days of Thunder (soundtrack) ''Days of Thunder'' is the soundtrack from the film of the same name, released in 1990 in the US by DGC Records, in Japan by CBS/Sony and internationally by Epic Records. Background "The Last Note of Freedom" was co-written by Hans Zimmer, Bi ...

entitled "Long Live The Night". Later, again as a songwriter, Caruso re-teamed with Tamara Champlin & Dennis Matkosky on a collaboration for Bekka Bramlett "What's on My Mind" that charted on

Music Row Music Row is a historic district located southwest of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Widely considered the heart of Nashville's entertainment industry, Music Row has also become a metonymous nickname for the music industry as a w ...

. In Episode 7 of the 2011 Season of Single Ladies on VH1, Lori Michael's performed the Michael Caruso & Tamara Champlin's ballad, "Pretty When She Cries", that had previously been featured on her CD "Living My Life Out Loud" released in 2008. Michael Caruso's EP "When The Devil Starts To Pray" involved co-writers and musicians

Randy Sharp Randy Sharp is an American, three time Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer. He has major success in many genre of music with his greatest successes in Pop, Country, and Alternative. He has composed for film and televis ...

;

Trey Bruce Trey Edwin Bruce is an American songwriter. Bruce has written ten Number One singles on the ''Billboard''. "Look Heart, No Hands", "Spirit of a Boy, Wisdom of a Man" and "Whisper My Name" by Randy Travis, and "How Your Love Makes Me Feel" by Dia ...

Roy Braverman Roy Braverman (born April 28, 1954) is an American sound supervisor, sound editor, and composer, known for his work on ''Dexter's Laboratory'', ''The Fairly OddParents'', ''Xiaolin Showdown'', ''Phineas and Ferb'', ''The Batman'', and the ''Bionic ...

, Tamara Champlin, Jeff Paris, Glenn Goss, TJ McFarland, Dennis Matkosky; Michael St.Thomas, and Moon Calhoun. A film short, Sunshine Deprivation Blues featured one of the EP's songs "Tell Me What You Will" (sharing vocals with Glenn Goss). Caruso released singles "True Love's Tears" (Caruso/Sharp) in 2014, "Good When You're Gone" (Caruso/Paris/Kravitz) in 2015 "What A Day" (Caruso/Rydell) in 2016, and "Another Mile" (Caruso/Sharp) in 2017. "Good When Your Gone" became the theme song to the Rob Saul Show's Weekly Live Broadcast, repeated on the Ripped Radio Network then added to the BS Podcast Network. Caruso and Glenn Goss were part of a Charity Tribute to the Beatles in 2017 @ Beit T'Shubah in Los Angeles, Ca. that was hosted by Ruth McCartney, Angie McCartney and directed by Martin Nethercutt. Caruso's video of his cover of

Sunny Afternoon "Sunny Afternoon" is a song by the Kinks, written by chief songwriter Ray Davies. The track later featured on the '' Face to Face'' album as well as being the title track for their 1967 compilation album. Like its contemporary " Taxman" by the ...

was screened at the Arpa International Film Festival on August 2, 2019 and had a second screening in 2020 at that festival as a co-writer with

Eric Bazilian Eric M. Bazilian (born July 21, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. Bazilian is a founding member of the rock band The Hooters. He wrote " One of Us", a song first recorded by Joan Osborne in 1 ...

and Glenn Goss of "Only Love" by Manu Hvala. In 2021, Caruso's video "Born With An Accordion", a Caruso/Goss collaboration, was again part of the Arpa International Film Festival and was named audience favorite In addition to collaborations with artists such as

Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born 19 September 1958) is an English-born American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, before embarking on a successful glam metal sol ...

Terri Nunn Terri is an alternative spelling of Terry. It is a common feminine given name and is also a diminutive for Teresa. Notable people with the name include: *Terri Allard (born 1962), American country/folk singer/songwriter * Terri S. Armstrong, Ame ...

Vixen Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, and Michael LeCompt, Caruso has also worked with the legendary

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

, Paul Williams, Dave Berg and

Tom Keane Thomas Lawrence Keane (September 7, 1926 – June 19, 2001) was an American football cornerback. High school Keane played football and graduated from Linsly Military Institute in Wheeling, West Virginia (now known as the Linsly School) in ...

Discography

*"(Only Fools) At War With Love" was Caruso's first writer's cut on

RCA Records 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 A ...

by Artist Darcus Speed on her self-titled Album "Darcus" (Released 1977) *"I'm Better" from Jeff Paris's "Race To Paradise" for Universal Music written by Michael Caruso/Jeff Paris (Released 1986; Re-Released 2012) *"I'll Be There(Holdin On)" from Jack Wagner's "Lighting Up the Night" was released on Qwest Records (produced by Glenn Ballard); (It was performed by Wagner on the Soap Opera, General Hospital) written by Jeff Paris/Michael Caruso (Released: 1986); "Holdin' On" was also included on

The Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

Album "One Step Closer" released in United States by Private Records and in Japan by Sony Records (1984). The Album was Re-Released in Europe by Columbia (1994). *"Love Made Me" was recorded by

on their Self Titled Album "Vixen" for EMI/Manhattan Records; written by Michael Caruso, John Keller,

Marcella Detroit Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit " Lay Down Sally" and released her debut a ...

(Released: 1988) *"Long Live The Night" was recorded by

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts 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 ...

for the

and was released in the US by

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

and Internationally by Epic Records; written by Michael Caruso, Joan Jett, Randy Cantor (Released: 1990) *"Guns of Love" by

Maura O'Connell Maura O'Connell (born 16 September 1958) is an Irish singer and actress. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music. Background O'Connell was born in Ennis, the main to ...

from her Album,"A Real Life Story", for

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

; written by Michael Caruso, Randy Sharp and John Keller (Released: 1991) *"What Do You Know About Love" on Lita Ford's Dangerous Curves (where Caruso also performed background vocals) was released on RCA Records; written by Michael Caruso, Randy Cantor and Cal Curtis (Released: 1991) *"Desire Me" and "Diane" were both on Terri Nunn's Moment of Truth album on DGC, Mercury, both cuts written by Terri Nunn, Michael Caruso, John Keller (Released: 1991) *"None of It Matters" by Black Eyed Susan was on their Release "Electric Rattlebone" for Mercury Records, written by Michael Caruso, Randy Cantor and Cal Curtis (Released: 1991) *" Love Is" recorded by Vanessa Williams and Brian McKnight for Giant Records and featured on the Beverly Hills 90210 Soundtrack written by Michael Caruso, John Keller and Tonio K (Released: 1992) *"Get Off My Lawn" was recorded by

John Melendez John Edward Melendez (born October 4, 1965), also known as Stuttering John, is an American radio personality, comedian, singer, actor, television writer, announcer, and podcast host. He is best known for being on ''The Howard Stern Show'' from ...

from his LP "Stuttering John" for One Way Records; written by Caruso/Cantor/Melendez (Released: 1994) *"Guns of Love" by the Moffatts on their Album "The Moffats" for Polydor Records, Nashville; written by Caruso/Sharp/Keller (Released: 1995) *"Tied To The Bells"(Caruso/Cantor/Tuff) and "Don't Complain" (Caruso/Tuff) were included on Tuff's CD, "Decade Of Disrespect", for RLS Records (Released 1996) Michael Caruso - In the Studio

*"Anyone But Me" Recorded by Jeff Paris for his EP "Life of My Broken Heart" for USG Records written by Michael Caruso/Jeff Paris (Recorded: 1997) *"Better Way To Die" from John Purdell's "Hindsight" Album for Jackal Entertainment written by Michael Caruso/John Purdell/Paul Schwartz with Caruso on background vocals (Released 1998) *"Runaway Love" was recorded by Chris LeDoux for his "One Road Man" Album on Capitol Records- Nashville; and by

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on ''Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and the ...

for her "Thinkin' About You" Release for Innerworks Records International written by Michael Caruso,Dennis Matkosky & Tamara Champlin (Released: 1998) *"Shoo-Rah" & "I'm Not Your Lover" were included on Rita Coolige's "Thinkin' About You", again, compositions by Caruso/Champlin/Matkosky (Released: 1998) and "Shoo-Rah" has since been recorded by Caruso himself on For Tessa Records (Released August 13, 2013) *"Don't Get Me Dreamin' " was written by Michael Caruso, Tamara Champlin, Blaise Tosti for Stampede's Album "Amame" on Sony Records (Released: 2000) *"Guns of Love" by

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reac ...

was featured on her Album "Roses" for Narada Records written by Caruso/Sharp/Keller (Released: 2002) *"Louisiana Wind" was recorded by Michael LeCompt for his EP Release "Can't Let It Go" on Quarry Records written by Michael Caruso, Dennis Matkosky, Tamara Champlin & Michael LeCompt (Released 2002) *"Second Sight" was recorded by Chris Emerson for his Album "Tourist" for Monomoy Records written by Michael Caruso, Blaise Tosti, Stacy Widelitz (Released: 2003) *"Corazon Roto" was recorded by Rogelio Martinez for his CD "Amandote Otra Vez" for Fonovisa Records; written by Michael Caruso/Richie Supa/Randy Cantor (Released: 2003) *"Pretty Ugly" and "Pretty When She Cries(Blue 22)" recorded by the Band A Perfect Day, were on the album "All Over Everything" released in Canada on Isba Records(a Division of BMG Music) written by Michael Caruso, Tamara Champlin, Janele Woodley and Joseph Hrechka (Released: 2004) *"Guns of Love" was recorded by

for her Album " Morpheus" on Grace Records written By Caruso/Sharp/Keller (Released: 2004) *"Just Like You" and "Why Don't You Leave", 2 Caruso/LeCompt Collaborations were featured on Michael LeCompt's "Unplugged" CD (Released 2004) *"I'm Not Your Lover" was recorded by The

Sons of Champlin The Sons of Champlin are an American rock band, from Marin County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, formed in 1965. They are fronted by vocalist-keyboardist-guitarist Bill Champlin, who later joined rock band Chicago, from 1981 to 20 ...

on their CD "Hip Lil Dreams" for Dig Music; written by Michael Caruso, Tamara Champlin, Dennis Matkosky (Released: 2005) *"No Place Left To Fall", title track of

's latest solo CD for Dream Makers Music, was written by Michael Caruso, Bill Champlin and Tamara Champlin. A second track, "Tuggin' on Your Sleeve" was written by Michael Caruso, Bill Champlin and Will Champlin (Released: 2008) *"Pretty When She Cries" was recorded by for her CD "Living My Life Out Loud" on Reform Records written by Michael Caruso and Tamara Champlin (Released 2008) *"What's on My Mind" was recorded by

Bekka Bramlett Rebekka Ruth Lazone Bramlett (born April 19, 1968) is an American singer and session background singer. She is the daughter of Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, of the music duo Delaney & Bonnie. She has been a member of Mick Fleetwood's band the Z ...

for her CD Release "I Got News For You" on Shongaloo Records; written by Michael Caruso, Tamara Champlin, Dennis Matkosky (Released: 2009) *"When the Devil Starts To Pray", featured tracks written and performed by Michael Caruso: title track (co written with Randy Sharp), "Claudia Jolie" (co written with Blaise Tosti); "Madelyn" (co written with Glenn Goss); "For Tessa" (co written with Trey Bruce); "Guns of Love" (co written with Randy Sharp and John Keller); "Solomon" (co written with Tamara Champlin, Dennis Matkosky, Blaise Tosti); "Tell Me What You Will" (co written with Glenn Goss and TJ McFarland); "For Tessa" (choir featuring Jeff Paris and Moon Calhoun); co-produced with Roy Braverman on For Tessa Records (Released 2011) *"Rainin' Sunshine" was recorded Live with Bill Champlin, Tamara Champlin, Will Champlin and Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns DVD "Live from Las Vegas" on Strokeland Records; written by Michael Caruso, Tamara Champlin, Will Champlin (Released 2012) *"You Won't Get To Heaven Alive" was performed by Tamara Champlin on Peter Friestedt, Bill Champlin, Joseph Williams, Live DVD from Vivid Sounds Productions (Japan Release 2013) *"True Love's Tears" a Michael Caruso, Randy Sharp Composition was recorded by Michael Caruso on For Tessa Records (Released 2014) *"Good When You're Gone" written by Michael Caruso, Jeff Paris & Andy Kravitz was released by Michael Caruso on For Tessa Records (2015) and added to Rob Saul's Radio show as its theme. *"Swept Away" (Michael Caruso, Tamara Champlin & Tom Saviano) from Nebraska Falls Release "The Real Story" (Nebraska Falls Music – 2015) *"Dreamin' Of Chagall" written by Tamara Champlin, Michael Caruso, Bill Champlin (Released by Tamara Champlin on Champlinx2 Records – 2015); added to the "Bleeding Secrets" Release by Bill Champlin & WunderGround (WunderGround Records – 2018) *"What A Day" written by Michael Caruso & Rick Rydell Recorded by Michael Caruso on For Tessa Records (Released 2016) *"Guns of Love" written by Michael Caruso, Randy Sharp, John Keller; Recorded by Randy Sharp on his Release "Impossible Things" for With Any Luck Records (Released 2017) *"Another Mile" written by Michael Caruso & Randy Sharp; Recorded by Michael Caruso on For Tessa Records (Released 2017) *"Goodbye Is Not A Word", "You Don't Have to Do That" and "True Love's Tears", all Caruso co-writes, were released by Suzanne Cook for the Audio Arts Company (London, UK 2019) *"

" written by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voc ...

; Recorded by Michael Caruso on For Tessa Records (Released 2019) *"Only Love" by Manu written by Michael Caruso, Eric Bazilian & Glenn Goss 300 Hairy Bears (Released 2020) and was screened at the 2020 Arpa International Film Festival; this tune along with its original demo "Love Is All" is part of Manu's 2022 Release "Sunrise" *"Between The Lines" written by Bill Champlin, Michael Caruso & Will Champlin from Champlin, Williams Friestedt Release (CWFII) Black Lodge Records (Released 2020) *"Love Has No Heart" written by Tamara Champlin, Michael Caruso and Bill Champlin from Bill Champlin's new release "Livin' For Love" Imagen Records (Released 2021)

References

External links