Lawrence "Larry" Russell Brown (born June 29, 1940), known as L. Russell Brown, is an American lyricist and composer. He is most noted for his songs, co-written with
Irwin Levine
Irwin Jesse Levine (March 23, 1938 – January 21, 1997) - accessed April 11, 2012 was an American songwriter, who co-wrote ...
, "
Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree
"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" is a song recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn.
It was written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and produced by Hank Medress and Dave Appell, with Motown/ Stax backing vocalist Telma Hopkins, J ...
" and "
Knock Three Times
"Knock Three Times"
is a popular song credited simply to "Dawn". Tony Orlando was not named on the record. The actual singers were Tony Orlando, Toni Wine, and Linda November, prior to the creation of "Dawn" with Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincen ...
"—international hits for the 1970s
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
group
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits include " Candida", " Knock Thre ...
. He also co-wrote "
C'mon Marianne
"C'mon Marianne" is a song composed by L. Russell Brown and Raymond Bloodworth and popularized by The Four Seasons in 1967. Produced by Bob Crewe, the single was the last Four Seasons single to reach the Top Ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 cha ...
The Partridge Family
''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from S ...
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. Biography, ''Sandy Lee Watkins Songwriting Festival'', 2015 Retrieved October 19, 2015 Brown began his songwriting career when he was sixteen with the R&B label
Fury Records
Fury Records was set up by Bobby Robinson in 1957. In 1959 it had a Billboard No.1 hit with ''Kansas City'', sung by Wilbert Harrison. In the early 1970s, it helped launch Grandmaster Flash.
See also
* List of record labels
File:Alvinor ...
. Co-writing with Ray Bloodworth in the mid-1960s, and working for Bob Crewe, he wrote the hits "C'mon Marianne" and "Watch the Flowers Grow" for the Four Seasons. Songs written by L. Russell Brown, ''MusicVF.com'' Retrieved October 19, 2015 "C'mon Marianne" featured in ''
Jersey Boys
''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of the ...
'', the Broadway musical. With Crewe, Brown also wrote "Sock It to Me Baby!", a 1967 hit for
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
Mitch Ryder (born William Sherille Levise, Jr.; February 26, 1945) is an American musician who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades.
Career
Ryder formed his first band, Tempest, when he was at Warren High School, and th ...
.
Brown started writing with Irwin Levine in 1970, and found success with several hits for the singing group Tony Orlando and Dawn, including "Knock Three Times", "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" - both songs reaching #1 in the US and UK – and "
Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose
“Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose” is a 1973 song by the American pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn. Written by Irwin Levine (lyrics) and L. Russell Brown (music), it was included on the group's 1973 album, '' Dawn's New Ragtime ...
Sandy Linzer
Sandy Linzer (born 1941) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Denny Randell and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including "A Lover's Concerto", "Let ...
, which was a #1 hit in the UK for
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...
A copyright lawsuit against Dua Lipa by songwriters Brown and
Sandy Linzer
Sandy Linzer (born 1941) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Denny Randell and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including "A Lover's Concerto", "Let ...