Richard Buchanan Kerr (born 14 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and composer, who co-wrote " Mandy", "

Looks Like We Made It "Looks Like We Made It" is a song by American singer Barry Manilow, from his 1976 album '' This One's for You'', composed by Richard Kerr with lyrics by Will Jennings Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He ...

" and " Somewhere in the Night" (all of which became

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

s for

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

) and "

I'll Never Love This Way Again "I'll Never Love This Way Again" is a song written and composed by English musician Richard Kerr and American lyricist Will Jennings, and first recorded by Kerr himself for his album ''Welcome to the Club'' as "I Know I'll Never Love This Way ...

", for

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles ch ...

Career

Kerr began his education at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English i ...

. After gaining an interest in music at school he went into songwriting. In the UK, he collaborated with musicians in the late 1960s and early 1970s such as Peter Green,

Don Partridge Donald Eric Partridge (27 October 1941 – 21 September 2010)Report of death< ...

and

Scott English Sheldon David "Scott" English (January 10, 1937 – November 16, 2018) was an American songwriter, arranger and record producer. He is best known as the co-writer of " Brandy" which he wrote with Richard Kerr. This song became a No. 1 hit f ...

. The latter pairing resulted in the song " Brandy", which English released in 1971. This song later become a worldwide

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

under the title " Mandy" for

in 1974, although Don Partridge's "Blue Eyes" was Kerr's first hit as a songwriter. In 1976, Kerr's solo album, ''Richard Kerr'' (re-titled ''Somewhere in the Night'' in some territories) was released by Epic Records, and in 2014 it was released digitally on iTunes. Kerr's album ''Welcome to the Club'' (1978,

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

) featured songs co-written with

John Bettis John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American lyricist. He was originally part of the band Spectrum, which also featured Richard and Karen Carpenter. He wrote the lyrics for " Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and T ...

Gary Osborne Gary Osborne (born 1949 in London) is an English singer and songwriter. He chaired The Songwriters Executive of the British Academy Of Songwriters Composers and Authors for 12 years during which time he was also chairman of The Ivor Novello Awa ...

, and

Will Jennings Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs " Tears in Heaven" and " My Heart Will Go On". He has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and has wo ...

. Kerr's other albums include ''From Now Until Then'', ''No Looking Back'', ''Songwriter'', and ''Reflections of Richard Kerr''. His most important collaboration has been with the American lyricist Will Jennings. They have written such popular songs as "

", a No. 1 hit for

, " Somewhere in the Night", which was a hit for

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a showbusiness family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on rad ...

and later for Barry Manilow (1978), and "

" for

. In 1997, along with lyricist Don Black, Kerr wrote "You Stayed Away Too Long", sung by 18-year-old Joanne May, one of the four finalists in the ''

Great British Song Contest ''Eurovision: You Decide'' is the most recent name of a BBC television programme that was broadcast annually to select the United Kingdom's entry into the Eurovision Song Contest. The show had previously gone under several other names, includi ...

'', the UK heat for the Eurovision Song Contest. It came third.

Discography (as main artist)

*''From Now Until Then'' (1973),

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

*''Reflections of Richard Kerr'' (1974), Rondor Music *''Richard Kerr'' (re-titled ''Somewhere in the Night'' in some territories) (1976),

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

(album was reissued on iTunes in 2014 from the master tapes) *''Welcome to the Club'' (1978), A&M *''Songwriter'' (1981), Almo Irving Music (promotional LP only) *''No Looking Back'' (1982), A&M

Hit compositions

*" Mandy" –

(No. 1 US),

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporari ...

(No. 1 UK),

(under the original title "Brandy") (No. 12 UK),

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

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 ...

Donny Osmond Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...

" – Barry Manilow (No. 1 US) *"

" –

(No. 5 US),

Cheryl Ladd Cheryl Ladd (born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor; July 12, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and author best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the ABC television series ''Charlie's Angels'', whose cast she joined in its second season in 1977 t ...

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

Billie Jo Spears Billie Jo Spears (born Billie Joe Moore; January 14, 1938 – December 14, 2011) was an American country music singer. She reached the top 10 of the country music chart five times between 1969 and 1977, her biggest being "Blanket on the Ground", ...

Regine Velasquez Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez ( ; born April 22, 1970) is a Filipina singer, actress, and record producer. She is considered one of the most influential figures in Philippine popular culture and is known for her vocal range and beltin ...

and

The Nolans The Nolans are an Anglo-Irish girl group who formed in Blackpool in 1974 as the Nolan Sisters, before changing their name in 1980. Often referred to as Ireland's ''First Family of Music'', they were the first Irish performing family to achiev ...

''. *" Somewhere in the Night" – Barry Manilow (No. 9 US),

(No. 19 US),

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began her career as a songwriter in the 1960s, writing for other artists while performing in local clubs and working as a sess ...

Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved ...

, and Batdorf & Rodney (No. 24 AC US) *"

No Night So Long ''No Night So Long'' is a studio album by American singer Dionne Warwick. It was released by Arista Records on July 18, 1980 in the United States. Her second album for the label, Warwick worked with producer Steve Buckingham on the album which w ...

" – Dionne Warwick (No. 23 US, No. 1 AC US) *"Shine On" – L.T.D. (No. 40 US) *"I'm Dreaming" –

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet " Up Where We Belong" and in 1987 fo ...

(No. 50 US, No. 9 AC US) *"Where Did We Go Wrong" –

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

& Chris Forde (No. 4 AC US) *"A Little Bit of Heaven" –

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the ...

(No. 11 AC US) *"Don't Close Your Eyes Tonight" –

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

(No. 37 AC US) *"Blue Eyes" –

Don Partridge Donald Eric Partridge (27 October 1941 – 21 September 2010)Report of death< ...

(No. 2 UK) *"I Am What I Am" –

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgen ...

(No. 20 UK)

Other recorded songs

*"In Another World" –

*"Life Will Go On" – Barry Manilow *"Where Are They Now?" – Barry Manilow *"Dance Away" – Barry Manilow,

Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1946) is an English rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest success in the late 1970s and 19 ...

Shelly West Shelly West (born May 23, 1958) is an American country music singer. Her mother was the country music star Dottie West, whose career spanned three decades. The younger West reached her peak in popularity during the 1980s before mostly retiring i ...

*"When The Good Times Come Again" – Barry Manilow,

*"You Made Me Want To Love Again" – Dionne Warwick *"Age of Miracles" – Dionne Warwick *"I Can't Afford That Feeling Anymore" –

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 th ...

David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943) is an American-British actor and singer. He is known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television series '' Starsky & Hutch'' from 1975 to 1979; Joshua Bolt on ...

Clodagh Rodgers Clodagh Rodgers (born 5 March 1947) is a retired singer and actress from Northern Ireland, best known for her hit singles including "Come Back and Shake Me", "Goodnight Midnight", and " Jack in the Box". Career Rodgers was born in Warrenpoi ...

*"Congratulations" –

Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. Biography Earl ...

*"Love The Way You Do" –

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

*"Stand Up to The Night" –

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporate ...

*"The Last Place God Made" –

Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His c ...

*"You Made It Beautiful" –

Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

*"You Make It Beautiful" -

(duet) *"In the Real World" –

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

*"You May Feel Me Crying" – Roy Orbison *"We're Playing Games Again" –

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

*"What Do You Do with the Love" –

*"This One's For Me" –

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

*"You Will Never Know" –

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

Cliff DeYoung Clifford Tobin DeYoung (born February 12, 1945)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Ame ...

*"A Fool's Affair"-

Laura Branigan Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single "Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a ...

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

Glenn Medeiros Glenn Alan Medeiros (born June 24, 1970) is an American former musician, singer, and songwriter who achieved chart success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is best known on the national and international music scene for his 1987 global s ...

Millie Jackson Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American R&B and soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies sold. Jackson's songs o ...

*"Making the Best of a Bad Situation" – Millie Jackson *"Is It So Wrong" –

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los ...

, De Blanc,

Jimmy Helms James D. Helms (born September 27, 1941) is an American soul singer, known as a member of Londonbeat but who also had solo hits such as "Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse". Early years James D. Helms was born in Florida, United States. H ...

*"As Long As There's Laughter" –

Gene Cotton Gene Cotton (born June 30, 1944 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American pop and folk singer-songwriter. He is best known for his four ''Billboard'' top 40 entries during the years 1976–1978. In the UK, he is most famous for the song "Me and the E ...

*"Young Lover" – Gene Cotton *"Songs I Sing" –

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton ...

, Jimmy Helms *"Love, What Took You So Long" –

Mary MacGregor Mary MacGregor (born May 6, 1948) is an American singer. She is best known for singing the 1976 song " Torn Between Two Lovers", which topped the ''Billboard'' charts for two weeks. Career MacGregor was born May 6, 1948, in St. Paul, Minne ...

*"No One Cries Anymore" –

Michael Ball Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of ''Les Misérables'', and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in ...

*"Holland Park" – Michael Ball *"It's Still You" – Michael Ball *"Whatever It Takes" – Michael Ball *"We Break Our Own Hearts" – Michael Ball *"This Is Your Captain Calling" –

Colin Blunstone Colin Edward Michael Blunstone (born 24 June 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Blunstone came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the English rock band the Zombies, wh ...

Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods are an American pop music group, known mainly for their 1970s hit singles, "Billy Don't Be a Hero" and "Who Do You Think You Are". History The band was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1965 by their leader, Robert Walt ...

*"I'll Never Forget You" – Colin Blunstone *"I Can't Let Go of You" –

Jim Photoglo James G. Photoglo is an American soft rock singer and songwriter from Inglewood, California. He released two charting albums in the early 1980s and had two hit singles, "We Were Meant to Be Lovers" (No. 31, 1980) and " Fool in Love with You" (No. ...

*"It's Not the Same Old You" –

Johnny Rodriguez Juan Raoul Davis "Johnny" Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951) is an American country music singer. He is a Tejano and Texas country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish. In the 1970s and ...

*"More Than That" –

Vicky Leandros Vasiliki Papathanasiou ( el, Βασιλική Παπαθανασίου; born 23 August 1949), generally known as Vicky Leandros ( el, Βίκυ Λέανδρος, links=no), is a Greek singer living in Germany. She is the daughter of singer, music ...

, Jimmy Helms *"Blue Skies Forever" –

Frankie Miller Francis John Miller (born 2 November 1949) is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor. Miller wrote for and performed with many recording artists and is best known for his 1977 album ''Full House'', the singles "Be Good To Yourself", " D ...

*"Silver and Gold" –

Terry Sylvester Terence Sylvester (born 8 January 1947) is an English musician and songwriter. He is a former member of the Escorts, the Swinging Blue Jeans (1966–1969), and the Hollies. In the latter role, he took on the high parts formerly sung by Graham ...

*"The World Is Going To Be a Better Place" –

Edwin Hawkins Singers Edwin Reuben Hawkins (August 19, 1943 – January 15, 2018) was an American gospel musician, pianist, choir master, composer, and arranger. He was one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. He (as leader of the Edwin Hawkins ...

Friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of ...

*"A Million Hearts" – Friendship *"I Am What I Am" – Lois Fletcher *"I'm Dreaming" –

Andrea Marcovicci Andrea Louisa Marcovicci ( ro, Marcovici; born November 18, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Life and career Marcovicci was born in Manhattan, to Helen Stuart, a singer, and Eugen Marcovicci, a physician and internist of Romanian descen ...

*"Shine On" – Benjy Myaz *"That's Alright By Me" –

Sylvia McNeill Sylvia McNeill (born 5 August 1947, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England) is a British pop and rock singer and songwriter. She began her career singing and playing bass guitar with various groups and bands. She went abroad for several years, to ...

References

External links

Profile at Answers.com
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Richard 1944 births Living people British male songwriters British soft rock musicians English male composers English male singer-songwriters English pop pianists English songwriters People educated at Bedford School 21st-century pianists