Roger Jon Atkins (born 1944) is an American songwriter and lyricist. Among his most notable songs as a co-writer are "

Make Me Your Baby "Make Me Your Baby" is a song written by Helen Miller and Roger Atkins. The most successful recording was a hit for Barbara Lewis in 1965. Background The demo for "Make Me Your Baby" was cut by journeyman session singer Jean Thomas on 22 Januar ...

" (written with

Helen Miller Helen Miller may refer to: * Helen Miller (cricketer) (1915–1972), New Zealand cricketer * Helen Miller (politician) (born 1945), American politician * Helen Miller (songwriter) (1925–2006), American songwriter * Helen Hill Miller (1899–1995), ...

and recorded by

Barbara Lewis Barbara Ann Lewis (born February 9, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues. Career Lewis was born in Salem, Michigan, United States. She was writing and recording by her teens with record ...

), " It's My Life" (written with Carl D'Errico and recorded by

the Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

), and " Workin' On a Groovy Thing" (written with

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 recorded by

the 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwe ...

Biography

Born in New York, he was inspired in his early teens to write for musicals, after seeing ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. He began writing songs with Richard Costiera, and won a songwriting contract with

Hill & Range Hill & Range (originally "Hill and Range Songs, Inc.") is a music publishing company which was particularly responsible for much of the country music produced in the 1950s and 1960s, and had control over the material recorded by Elvis Presley over ...

music publishers. He then worked with Teddy Vann at Unbelievable Music, a company based at 1650 Broadway. His first major successes came in 1965, co-writing with

the hit songs "Can't Let You Out of My Sight" by

Chuck Jackson Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to ...

and Maxine Brown; "

", recorded by

; and "Princess In Rags", recorded by Gene Pitney. He also wrote, with Carl D'Errico, the song " It's My Life", recorded by

. "It's His Life - the Roger Atkins interview", ''Rare Rockin Records'', April 23, 2011
Retrieved 8 November 2022 In the mid to late 1960s, Atkins worked as co-writer with

.Their successful songs included "Kissin' My Life Away", recorded by

the Hondells The Hondells were an American surf rock band. Their cover of the Beach Boys' "Little Honda" went to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. History The Hondells were a band manufactured by Gary Usher, originally consisting of session musicia ...

, and " Workin' On a Groovy Thing", first recorded by Patti Drew and later, with more success, by

. Atkins also wrote the lyrics for "The Kind of Girl I Could Love", composed by Mike Nesmith and recorded by

the Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

. The compilation album ''It's My Life: Roger Atkins Songbook, 1963–1969'' was released in 2015."It's My Life: Roger Atkins Songbook, 1963-1969", ''Allmusic''
Retrieved 8 November 2022

References

External links

Compositions by Roger Atkins
''Music Vf'' 1944 births Living people {{US-songwriter-stub