Cynthia Weil Dies: ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,’ ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place’ & ‘On Broadway’ Co-Writer Was 82
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Cynthia Weil, who teamed with husband Barry Mann to write such pop classics as “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” “On Broadway,” “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” and dozens of other hits for the likes of the Drifters, the Ronettes, Dolly Parton and B.J. Thomas, died Thursday. She was 82.
Weil’s daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann, said via publicist Sarah Schlief: “My mother, Cynthia Weil, was the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for. She was my best friend, confidante and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music.”
More from Deadline
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries
Showtime Sets Its Sights On Phil Spector Docuseries With Trailer & Premiere
Weil and Mann, who were married for 62 years, were among the most important songwriters in the early days of rock ‘n’ roll. They won a pair of Grammys and were Oscar-nominated for Best Song for “Somewhere Out There,” the Linda Ronstadt-James Ingram duet from An American Tail. The couple would share a Trustees Award from the Recording Academy in 2015.
The pair also received the inaugural National Academy of Songwriter Life Achievement Award, were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and earned the Ahmet Ertegun Award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. King inducted them, and Weil was the first woman to receive the prestigious award that is given to non-performing music professionals.
The spouses also were featured characters in the hit Broadway show Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Anika Larsen earned the Featured Actress in a Musical Tony nom and a Drama Desk win for playing Weil.
Among the other stone-classic Top 10 hits that Weil co-penned are Parton’s cover of “Here You Come Again,” the Ronettes’ “Walking in the Rain,” Paul Revere and the Raiders’ “Kicks” and the Righteous Brothers “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration.”
That chart-topping latter song was the Phil Spector-produced follow-up to the Righteous Brothers’ signature hit “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” which was the most-played song of the 20th century. In all, their songs charted nearly 100 times on the Billboard Hot 100 and more than 50 times in the UK.
Weil and Mann met while working at the “Brill Building” in Manhattan and decided to collaborate. While there they became friends with — and chief rivals of — Carole King and Gerry Goffin, and the couples churned out memorable monster hits for years.
Their first success was with Tony Orlando’s “Bless You,” which made the Top 15 in 1961 and hit No. 5 in the UK. Later that year they hit again with the Crystals’ “Uptown” and had their first U.S. Top 10 record with Paul Petersen’s “My Dad” in 1962. The following year brought more Top 10 success with Eydie Gormé’s “Blame It on the Bossa Nova” and the Drifters’ unforgettable “On Broadway,” which scatting guitarist George Benson remade in 1978 and hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Neil Young also memorably covered the song on his 1989 album Freedom.
And the hits kept comin’ from Weil and Mann: Gene Pitney took “I’m Gonna Be Strong” to No. 9 in the U.S. and No. 2 in the UK (Cyndi Lauper having a minor hit with it in 1995). “Walking in the Rain” and the Drifters’ “Saturday Night at the Movies” were Top 20 hits before Paul Revere and the Raiders had back-to-back Top 10 hits with “Kicks” and “Hungry.”
Weil-Mann songs continued to chart through the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, highlighted by Thomas’ “Rock and Roll Lullaby” (1972), Quincy Jones’ “Just Once” (1981) and “Don’t Know Much,” a No. 2 smash cover by Ronstadt and Aaron Neville that earned a Song of the Year Grammy nom.
The couple enjoyed another of their greatest successes in 1986 with “Somewhere Out There,” which peaked at No. 2 in the U.S., hit the UK Top 10 and earned two Grammys including Song of the Year. It also scored an Oscar nom for Best Song but lost to “Take My Breath Away” from Top Gun.
Weil and Mann had one last Top 10 in 1997, co-writing “I Will Come to You” with the members of Hanson as a follow-up to the youthful duo’s global smash “MMMBop.”
Weil was born on October 18, 1940, in New York City. Along with her songwriting credits — their tunes have graced hundreds of movies and TV shows — she and Mann were the subjects of They Wrote That?, a musical revue of their songs that played for 14 months in Manhattan from 2004-05. She also wrote the 2015 novel I’m Glad I Did.
She is survived by Mann and their daughter.
Here are some tributes to Weil that came in today:
Thinking of Cynthia Weill, who passed last night. Brian: “One of my favorite songs that Barry and Cynthia ever wrote was ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.’ They wrote it with Phil Spector – it was a huge hit for the Righteous Brothers in 1964, the year that everything happened.” pic.twitter.com/jzTNzyuEkD
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) June 2, 2023
I am very saddened to hear about the passing of Cynthia Weil. We were very close during our time together at The Brill Building. It's a great loss to American Pop Music, as she wrote some of the standards that will live on forever.
My heart goes out to Barry and the family. #RIP pic.twitter.com/DMNPIi27MJ— Neil Sedaka (@neilsedaka) June 2, 2023
So sad to hear about the passing of one of the great Brill Building songwriters Cynthia Weil. She, Barry Mann, and Phil Spector wrote the massive hit "YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVING FEELING" that Daryl and I covered on our VOICES album in the early 80s. pic.twitter.com/WNqLm8ZwVq
— John Oates (@JohnOates) June 2, 2023
Sad to learn of Cynthia Weil’s passing. Known as Mann & Weil the Power song writing duo who wrote two of our hit songs, “Kicks” & “Hungry”. It’s an honor for The Raiders to be a part of Cynthia and Barry’s history in music. Our thoughts are with Barry and family at this time. pic.twitter.com/e9lo4NUPrm
— PaulRevereRaiders (@PRandR) June 2, 2023
(1/3) In Memoriam: From poignant ballads to raging rockers, 2010 Inductee Cynthia Weil could write anything. No matter what you were feeling, she and her songwriting partner Barry Mann crafted a song for it — from the pathos of “Walking in the Rain” to the anguish of pic.twitter.com/5TzILHwMuL
— Rock Hall (@rockhall) June 2, 2023
Cynthia Weil passed away today.
Countless hit records, a trailblazer for women in the music world. With Barry Mann,her husband, they wrote an infinite amount of beautiful songs. 8 million air plays of the classic heartbreaking song “You’ve lost that loving feeling.” RIP pic.twitter.com/NpTAEJYQ6h— Michael Des Barres (@MDesbarres) June 2, 2023
A songwriting icon has passed on. Cynthia Weil + her husband, Barry Mann were a songwriting force for decades. In the 90s, when I started research for my Rough Drafts book, Cynthia was the first person I spoke to. She + Barry wrote You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin', On Broadway,etc pic.twitter.com/zrUS2iNYe5
— Stephen Bishop (@BishSongs) June 2, 2023
RIP The Incredible Cynthia Weil. I was humbled in your presence. Your songs will live forever. Cynthia Weil Dead: ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’, ‘On Broadway’ Co-Writer – Deadline https://t.co/pm5gGIqauA
— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) June 2, 2023
Best of Deadline
2023 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming
2023-24 Awards Season Calendar - Dates For Oscars, Emmys, Major Film Festivals, Guilds & More
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.