Randy Starr (born Warren Nadel, July 2, 1930) is an American dentist and singer-songwriter known for writing twelve songs for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Early life

Starr was educated at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

where he took his undergraduate degree from Columbia College in 1951, and his DDS degree from Columbia College of Dental Medicine in 1954.

Career

During the 1950s, he was a member of the American band The Islanders, whose "The Enchanted Sea" was the fifteenth most popular hit in 1959. Starr appeared on television on several occasions. On August 21, 1957, he performed his hit song "After School" in one of his five appearances on American Bandstand. On September 10, 1962 he appeared as the real songwriting dentist on '' To Tell the Truth''. Starr wrote songs that were recorded by Jackie Wilson,

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...

, Nelson Riddle,

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

, Kay Starr, and

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” ...

. Starr is retired and lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Presley songs

During the 1960s, Starr wrote twelve songs that were recorded by Elvis Presley. * "Kissin' Cousins" was written with Fred Wise and was featured in the 1964 film ''

Kissin' Cousins ''Kissin' Cousins'' (stylized onscreen as ''KISƧIN' COUSINS'') is a 1964 American musical Panavision Metrocolor comedy film directed by Gene Nelson and starring Elvis Presley. Written by Gerald Drayson Adams and Gene Nelson, the film featur ...

''. * "The Yellow Rose of Texas" was written with Fred Wise and was featured in the 1964 film ''

Viva Las Vegas ''Viva Las Vegas'' is a 1964 American musical film directed by George Sidney and starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. The film is regarded by fans and film critics as one of Presley's best films, and it is noted for the on-screen chemistry be ...

''. * "Carny Town" was written with Fred Wise and was featured in the 1964 film ''

Roustabout Roustabout (Australia/New Zealand English: rouseabout) is an occupational term. Traditionally, it referred to a worker with broad-based, non-specific skills. In particular, it was used to describe show or circus workers who handled materials ...

''. * "Look Out Broadway" was written with Fred Wise and was featured in the 1966 film '' Frankie and Johnny''. * "Datin'" was written with Fred Wise and was featured in the 1966 film ''

Paradise, Hawaiian Style ''Paradise, Hawaiian Style'' is a 1966 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley. It was the third and final motion picture that Presley filmed in Hawaii. The film reached #40 on the ''Variety'' weekly box office chart, earning $2.5 mill ...

''. * "Adam And Evil" was written with Fred Wise and was featured in the 1966 film '' Spinout''. * "Could I Fall In Love" and "Old MacDonald" were featured in the 1967 film '' Double Trouble''. * "Who Needs Money" and "The Girl I Never Loved" were featured in the 1967 film ''

Clambake The clambake or clam bake, also known as the New England clambake, is a traditional method of cooking seafood, such as lobster, mussels, crabs, scallops, soft-shell clams, and Hard clam, quahogs. The food is traditionally cooked by steaming the i ...

''. * "Almost in Love" was written with

Luiz Bonfá Luiz Floriano Bonfá (17 October 1922 – 12 January 2001) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer. He was best known for the music he composed for the film ''Black Orpheus''. Biography Luiz Floriano Bonfá was born on October 17, 1922, in ...

and was featured in the 1968 film '' Live a Little, Love a Little''. * "I've Got News for You" was written with Fred Wise and was featured in the 1965

film ''

Girl Happy ''Girl Happy'' is a 1965 American musical romantic comedy and beach party film starring Elvis Presley in his eighteenth feature. The movie won a fourth place prize Laurel Award in the category Top Musical of 1965. It featured the song " Puppet ...

'', sung by Shelly Fabares and Nita Talbot.

References

American male songwriters American male singers Singers from New York City American dentists 1930 births Living people Columbia University College of Dental Medicine alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni {{songwriter-stub