Mortimer Shuman (12 November 1938 – 2 November 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

hits, including " Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such as "Le Lac Majeur", "Papa-Tango-Charly", "Sha Mi Sha", "Un Été de Porcelaine", and "Brooklyn by the Sea" which became hits in France and several other European countries.

Life and career

Shuman was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, United States, of Polish Jewish immigrants and went to Abraham Lincoln High School, subsequently studying music at the New York Conservatory. He became a fan of R&B music and after he met Doc Pomus the two teamed up to compose for Aldon Music at offices in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

's Brill Building. Their songwriting collaboration saw Pomus write the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

and Shuman the

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

, although occasionally each worked on both. Their compositions would be recorded by artists such as Dion, The Flamingos,

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

, Fabian, Ajda Pekkan, The Drifters, and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, among others. Their most famous songs include " A Teenager in Love", " Turn Me Loose", " This Magic Moment", " Save the Last Dance for Me", " Little Sister", "

Can't Get Used to Losing You "Can't Get Used to Losing You" is a song written by Doc Pomus, Jerome "Doc" Pomus and Mort Shuman, first made popular by Andy Williams in a 1963 record release, which was a number-two hit in both the US and the UK. Twenty years later, British ba ...

", " (Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame", " Viva Las Vegas" and " Sweets for My Sweet". With the advent of the

British invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

, they moved to London where they penned songs for a number of British musicians. After the partnership with Doc Pomus ended in 1965, Shuman moved to Paris, France, where he wrote songs for Johnny Hallyday and embarked on his own recording career. One of his hits in the early 1970s was "(Il Neige Sur) Le Lac Majeur". He also wrote a couple of hits in the UK (including The Small Faces' " Sha-La-La-La-Lee" and Cilla Blacks' "Love's Just A Broken Heart", both co-written with Kenny Lynch), as well as a musical, ''Budgie'' (lyrics by Don Black). With the Welsh songwriter Clive Westlake, he wrote " Here I Go Again", which was recorded by The Hollies. Billy J. Kramer enjoyed success with another Shuman song, " Little Children". In 1968, Shuman teamed with Eric Blau and adapted the French lyrics of songs by the Belgian composer Jacques Brel used as the basis of the successful

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

production '' Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris''. Some of the songs from the show were subsequently recorded by Scott Walker, including "Jackie" and "Mathilde", and by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, including "My Death" and "Amsterdam". Shuman appeared in both the stage revue and the 1975 film adaptation. This was followed the next year with work on the soundtrack of the film ''Sex O'Clock U.S.A.'', which is notable for featuring one of the earliest known gay songs, "You're My Man," while another one of his compositions from the soundtrack, "Baby Come On" (billed under the ''Sex O'Clock U.S.A.'' name during its chart run) become a modest hit on ''Billboard's'' Disco chart, peaking at number 37 in July 1977. He also did many collaborations with the Israeli singer Mike Brant, and composed film scores, often French movies, including '' A Day at the Beach'' (1970), '' Romance of a Horsethief'' (1971), '' Black Thursday'' (1974), '' À nous les petites Anglaises'' (1976), '' Monsieur Papa'' (1977) and '' The More It Goes, the Less It Goes'' (1977). Shuman was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992. He also worked occasionally as an actor, notably appearing with

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as leading actress in film. She has received List of awards and nominations re ...

in '' The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane'' (for which he was also musical supervisor). He died of cancer on 2 November 1991, leaving his wife, Maria-Pia and their four daughters, Maria-Cella, Barbara, Maria-Pia and Eva-Maria. Doc Pomus had died in March of the same year.

Awards and honors

Shuman was named one of the 2010 recipients of the Ahmet Ertegun Award from the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

. He joined his early collaborator Doc Pomus, who was inducted in 1992.

Selected discography

; Albums: * ''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' (1968) with Eric Blau * ''My Death'' (1969) * ''Amerika'' (1972) * ''Voilà Comment...'' (1973) * ''Des Chansons Sentimentales'' (1974) * '' Imagine'' (1976) - certified in France * ''À Nous les Petites Anglaises!'' (1976) Soundtrack * ''My Name Is Mortimer'' (1977) * ''Le Nègre Blanc'' (1979) * ''Slave'' (1980) * ''Lumières d'Amour'' (1982) * ''Pharaon'' (1984) * ''Distant Drum'' (1991) ; Singles: * "Le Lac Majeur" (1972) (a Number One hit in the Netherlands in 1973) * "La Splendeur de Rome" (1974) * "Sorrow" (1976) * "Machines" (1980)

Selected filmography

(As composer unless otherwise stated) * '' A Day at the Beach'' (1970) * '' Romance of a Horsethief'' (1971) * ''Black Thursday'' (1974) * ''Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' (1975) (Actor and lyricist) * '' The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane'' (1976) (Actor) * ''A Guy Like Me Should Never Die'' (1976) (Actor and composer) * '' Let's Get Those English Girls'' (1976) * '' Game of Seduction'' (1976) * '' A Real Young Girl'' (1976) * ''High Street'' (1976) (Actor and composer) * ''La Nuit de Saint-Germain-des-Prés'' (1977) (Actor and composer) * '' The More It Goes, the Less It Goes'' (1977) (Actor and composer) * ''Monsieur Papa'' (1977) * '' Holiday Hotel'' (1978) * ''The Associate'' (1979) * ''Psy'' (1981) * ''Cent Francs L'amour'' (1986)

References

Notes

*Bloom, Ken. ''American song. The complete musical theater companion. 1877–1995'', Vol. 2, 2nd edition, Schirmer Books, 1996. *Larkin, Colin. ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Third edition, Macmillan, 1998. *Stambler, Irwin. ''Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul'', St. Martin's Press, 1974.

External links

''Mortshuman.com''
Official (posthumous) site *

Obituary in The New York Times, 4 November 1991 (retrieved 22 January 2010) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shuman, Mort 1938 births 1991 deaths Songwriters from New York (state) Jewish American songwriters Musicians from Brooklyn French-language singers of the United States American expatriates in France American expatriates in the United Kingdom Philips Records artists American people of Polish-Jewish descent 20th-century American singers Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn) alumni Deaths from cancer in England 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American Jews American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters American film score composers American male film score composers