Howard Greenfield (March 15, 1936 – March 4, 1986) was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. It was built in 1931 as t ...

. He is best known for his successful songwriting collaborations, including one 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 ...

from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, and near-simultaneous (and equally successful) songwriting partnerships with Jack Keller and Helen Miller throughout most of the 1960s.

Songs

Greenfield co-wrote four songs that reached #1 on the US ''Billboard'' charts: " Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", as recorded by Sedaka; " Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and " My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own", both as recorded by

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

, and " Love Will Keep Us Together", as recorded by

Captain & Tennille Captain & Tennille were American recording artists whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinu ...

. He also co-wrote numerous other top 10 hits for Sedaka (including "

Oh! Carol "Oh! Carol" is an international hit written by Neil Sedaka in 1958. Co-written with Howard Greenfield, the song is noted for Sedaka's spoken recitation of the verse, the second time around. The song spent 18 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ...

", "

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'') ...

", " Calendar Girl", " Little Devil", "

Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" is a pop song released in 1961 by Neil Sedaka. Sedaka wrote the music and performed the song, while the lyrics were written by Howard Greenfield. The song is noted for being similar in musical structure to Take Goo ...

", and " Next Door to an Angel"); Francis (including the "Theme to ''

Where The Boys Are ''Where the Boys Are'' is a 1960 American CinemaScope comedy film directed by Henry Levin and starring Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, Paula Prentiss, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, and Frank Gorshin. It was written by George ...

''" and " Breakin' In A Brand New Broken Heart");

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

Crying in the Rain "Crying in the Rain" is a song composed by Carole King with lyrics by Howard Greenfield, originally recorded by American duo the Everly Brothers. The single peaked at number six on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1962. The song was the only c ...

"); Jimmy Clanton ("

Venus in Blue Jeans "Venus in Blue Jeans" is a 1962 song written by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller. It was recorded in 1962 by Jimmy Clanton and reached on the Billboard charts, and on the CHUM Chart in Canada. The song was also recorded that year by Mark ...

") and

the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFad ...

Foolish Little Girl ''Foolish Little Girl'' is a 1963 album by The Shirelles. The title track turned out to be the last of the group's big hits, stopping at number four on the U.S. pop charts. The album's other single, "Don't Say Goodnight and Mean Goodbye," (#26 U ...

"). Greenfield also co-wrote the theme songs to numerous 1960s TV series, including '' Gidget'', ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typ ...

'', ''

The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American sitcom about a community of nuns which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book '' The Fifteenth Pelican,'' written by Tere ...

'' and ''

Hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

''. In 2005, "

Is This The Way To Amarillo "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It is about a man traveling to Amarillo, Texas, to find his girlfriend Marie. Written by two Americans with a strong country-western lyrical theme, the s ...

", a song Greenfield had written with Sedaka in the early 1970s, reached #1 on the UK charts in the original 1971 version by

Tony Christie Anthony Fitzgerald (born 25 April 1943), known professionally as Tony Christie, is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his recording of "(Is This the Way To) Amarillo", a double UK chart success. Career 1960s to 1970 ...

. The video featured an all-star celebrity line-up lip-synching the track, and the proceeds went to charity. The record stayed at #1 for 7 weeks, and became the UK's best-selling record of the millennium to that time.

Career

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York City, by his late teens Greenfield formed a songwriting partnership with

, a friend whom he had first met as a teenager when they both lived in the same apartment building, in the

Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach is bounded by Coney Island proper at Ocean Parkway to the ...

section of Brooklyn. Greenfield was educated at Abraham Lincoln High School. Their first recorded compositions took up both sides of the 1956 non-charting debut single by

the Tokens The Tokens were an American doo-wop band and record production company group from Brooklyn, New York City. The group has had four top 40 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, all in the 1960s, their biggest being the chart-topping 1961 hit si ...

, of which Sedaka (but not Greenfield) was briefly a member.Emerson, Ken (2005) ''Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era'', Viking, New York, , p. 70. They then went on to supply the song "Passing Time" to the Cookies,History of Rock website – accessed December 2107
/ref> as well as other non-hit singles to vocal groups

the Clovers The Clovers are an American rhythm and blues/ doo-wop vocal group who became one of the biggest selling acts of the 1950s.The Guinness Who's Who of Fifties Music. General Editor: Colin Larkin. First published 1993 (UK). . The Clovers p77. They h ...

and

the Cardinals The Cardinals were an American R&B group of the 1950s. Sharing a legacy with the Orioles, The Cardinals are remembered as one of the best R&B ballad acts to come out of Baltimore. Origins The Cardinals’ career began in 1946 (one year before ...

. At this point, though their songs were being recorded, the income derived from these songs was minimal, and Greenfield worked as a messenger for

National Cash Register NCR Corporation, previously known as National Cash Register, is an American software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and electronic products. It manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale termin ...

. In 1958, Greenfield and Sedaka signed to Al Nevins and

Don Kirshner Donald Kirshner (April 17, 1934 – January 17, 2011) was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by ''Time'' magazine, he was best known ...

Aldon Music Aldon Music was a New York-based music publishing company, founded by Don Kirshner and Al Nevins in 1958. Aldon is regarded as having played a significant role in shaping the Brill Building Sound in the late 1950s and 1960s. History Nevins was ...

as songwriters, which had offices at 1650 Broadway in New York. (The company later moved to the Brill Building.) In their first year there, Greenfield and Sedaka wrote material for Jimmy Clanton and

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...

, and scored their first major pop

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' ...

with

' "

Stupid Cupid "Stupid Cupid" is a song written by Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka which became a hit for Connie Francis in 1958. Recording history After almost three years of failure, Connie Francis finally had a hit in the spring of 1958 with a rock ballad ...

", which hit #14 on the US pop charts in September 1958. They also wrote Francis' later hits, " Fallin'", " Frankie", and the "Theme to ''

Where the Boys Are ''Where the Boys Are'' is a 1960 American CinemaScope comedy film directed by Henry Levin and starring Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, Paula Prentiss, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, and Frank Gorshin. It was written by George ...

''," the film in which she starred. When, in 1958, Sedaka signed to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

as a solo artist, he and Greenfield composed a string of hits for Sedaka to record – among them " The Diary", "

", "Stairway to Heaven", " Calendar Girl", "Little Devil", "

", "Next Door to an Angel" and the chart-topping " Breaking Up Is Hard to Do". Sedaka's recordings eventually sold a combined 25 million records.Profile
allmusic.com; accessed May 23, 2018. As Sedaka's promotional and touring commitments began taking up more and more of his time, Kirshner encouraged Greenfield to collaborate with other Aldon writers. Beginning in 1960, Greenfield began a regular collaboration with Jack Keller; they would write songs together every Monday and Wednesday for six straight years. Successful Greenfield/Keller collaborations included two consecutive US #1 hits for Connie Francis, " Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and " My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own". They wrote another Francis top 10 hit, " Breakin' in a Brand New Broken Heart", Jimmy Clanton's top 10 hit "

", as well as songs recorded by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), ...

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

and

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

. Greenfield and Keller also supplied the

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for U.S. television programs such as '' Gidget'' and ''

''. Greenfield also collaborated with other Aldon songwriters, including Helen Miller, with whom he co-wrote "

" (

' final Top Ten hit), " It Hurts to Be in Love", originally intended for Neil Sedaka but ultimately recorded by

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

, as well as a new theme for the TV series ''

'' for its fourth season. He also collaborated with Bill Buchanan recording a novelty record called "The Invasion" as Buchanan and Greenfield in 1964. As well, Greenfield's one and only collaboration with Aldon songwriter

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

resulted in "

", a top ten hit for the

Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

in 1962. The collaboration came about when, on a whim, two Aldon songwriting partnerships decided to switch partners for a day—

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You Lo ...

(who normally worked with King) partnered with Jack Keller, leaving King and Greenfield to work as a pair for the day. Despite the commercial success of their collaboration, King and Greenfield never wrote another song together. Sedaka and Greenfield also continued to work together as Sedaka's schedule allowed. After Sedaka's singing career cooled in 1963, they kept writing hits for other artists, including

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 ...

's and

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 1 ...

' "Puppet Man". Greenfield moved to Los Angeles in 1966, but still continued to collaborate with Sedaka and Keller, both of whom moved to California within a year or two of Greenfield. Sedaka began working with other lyricists in 1970 (most prominently Phil Cody, who wrote most of the songs for Sedaka's 1970s comeback), though he and Greenfield still occasionally worked together after this time. Sedaka and Greenfield were increasingly argumentative near the end of their collaboration and ended their songwriting partnership in 1973. Their last collaboration, appropriately named "

Our Last Song Together "Our Last Song Together" is a 1973 song recorded by Neil Sedaka. It is a track from his LP ''The Tra-La Days Are Over'', and was the third of four single releases from the album. The song became a Top 40 hit in the UK (#31) and Ireland (#19) for ...

", would be a minor hit for

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 Wa ...

. In 1975, their song " Love Will Keep Us Together" (originally recorded by Sedaka in 1973) topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in a cover version by

, as well as earning a

Grammy Award for Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

. This version of "Love..." was the best-selling single of the year. Sedaka had a substantial hit in 1975 with a drastically re-arranged version of the Greenfield/Sedaka composition "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do". As well, a re-release of the Greenfield/Sedaka song "Is This The Way To Amarillo" (originally a UK hit for Tony Christie in 1971) became the UK's best-selling record of 2005. Sedaka and Greenfield would reunite in the late 1970s for Sedaka's

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

albums; only one of these collaborations, " Should've Never Let You Go," was a hit, reaching the top 40 as a duet between Sedaka and his daughter Dara.

Personal life

Greenfield was openly gay and was in a

domestic partnership A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee ...

with cabaret singer Tory Damon (September 29, 1939 – March 30, 1986) from the early 1960s until his death; the two lived together in an apartment on East 63rd Street in Manhattan before moving to California in 1966.

Death and legacy

Greenfield died in Los Angeles in 1986 from complications from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

, eleven days before his 50th birthday. He was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Damon died from AIDS complications a few weeks later and is buried next to Greenfield. In 1991, Greenfield was inducted into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

Songs

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

" *"

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...

" *"A Woman is a Sentimental Thing" *"Baby Roo" *"

" (theme from ABC TV sitcom starring Elizabeth Montgomery) *"Birds Do It" *"Bouncin' All Over The World" (from

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of ...

animated cartoon show) *" Breakin' in a Brand New Broken Heart" *" Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" *" Calendar Girl" *"Call Me Crazy" *"Candy Heart" *"Circulate" *"Counting Teardrops" *"Cry a Little Sometimes" *"

" *"Does Goodnight Mean Goodbye?" *"

Don't Hide Your Love "Don't Hide Your Love" is a song released by American singer-actress Cher as the second single released from the album ''Foxy Lady''. The song was written by Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and p ...

" *"Don't Read the Letter I Wrote You" *"Eternity" *" Everybody's Somebody's Fool" *"Falling" *"Find Yourself a Rainbow" *"

" *"Funny Thing About Time" *"Get Rid of Him" *"

" *"Hazel" ("Theme for the 'Hazel' TV Show" second theme, season 4) *"Heartache Named Johnny" *"High School Girl" *"I Found My World in You" *"I Go Ape" *"I Gotta Find Her" *"I'm Not the Marrying Kind" *"I Think It's Gonna Rain" *"I Wish I'd Never Been Born" *"

Is This the Way to Amarillo "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It is about a man traveling to Amarillo, Texas, to find his girlfriend Marie. Written by two Americans with a strong country-western lyrical theme, the s ...

" *" It Hurts to Be in Love" *"King of the Mountain" *"Let's Go Steady Again" *"Let's Go to the Movies" *" Little Devil" * "Love Me Like A Baby" *" Love Will Keep Us Together" *"Lovey Kravezit" *"Lucky in Love with You" *" My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" *" Next Door to an Angel" *"Nobody's Asking Questions (But Everyone Wants To Know)" *"

" *" One Day of Your Life" *"

" *"Passing Time" *"Poor Little Puppet" *" Puppet Man" *"Put Yourself in My Place" *"Rainy Day Bells" *" Run, Samson, Run" *"She'll Never Be You" *"Since You've Been Gone"Pye Records no. 7N.15300/45.XX.1300-A, crediting authorship of song to Sedaka and Greenfield, as shown on YouTube upload https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8-povUqmT0 *"Sing Me" *"

" *"Standing in The Ruins (Of Our Old Love Affair)" *"Stranger in The World" *"

" *"Summer Symphony" *" The Diary" *"The Doll House Is Empty" *"

The Hungry Years ''The Hungry Years'' is an album by Neil Sedaka, the title of which is an eponymous track from the album. It was released by The Rocket Record Company in 1975. The album is the American edition of '' Overnight Success'', with two songs being rep ...

" *" The Other Side of Me" *"The Same Old Fool" *"

Two Less Lonely People in the World "Two Less Lonely People in the World" is a song by British/Australian soft rock duo Air Supply, from their 1982 album '' Now and Forever''. It was the third of three singles released from the album. The song reached number 38 on the US ''Billb ...

" *"

" *"(Wait Till You See) My Gidget" *"Walking in the Footsteps of a Fool" *"Warpaint *"What Am I Gonna Do" *"When the Boys Meet the Girls" *"When Somebody Loves You" *"

" *"Who Needs Forever" *"You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine" *"You Mean Everything to Me" *"

You Never Done It Like That ''Dream'' is the fourth album by the duo Captain & Tennille and their final album with A&M Records. Recording studios The album was recorded at A&M Recording Studios (Hollywood, California) 1977; A&M Recording Studios "A" 1977; Rumbo Recorders ...

" *" Your Used to Be" *"Tillie the Twirler"

Quotation

''"After Howie's mother Ella had seen me, he came ringing my doorbell. I was playing Chopin, and he said, My mother heard you play and thought we could write a song together".'' – Neil Sedaka, in Goldmine magazine, recalling this event.

References

External links

History-of-Rock
*

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

br>Songwriters Hall of Fame biography page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenfield, Howard 1936 births 1986 deaths Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn) alumni Songwriters from New York (state) American lyricists People from Brighton Beach Grammy Award winners AIDS-related deaths in California LGBT composers LGBT Jews LGBT songwriters LGBT people from New York (state) American gay musicians Jewish songwriters 20th-century American musicians Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Bewitched 20th-century LGBT people

Songs

Career

Personal life

Death and legacy

Songs

See also

Quotation

References

External links