Stephen Alan Kipner (born 1950) is an American-born Australian songwriter and record producer, with hits spanning a 40-year period, including chart-topping songs such as

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one s ...

's "

Physical Physical may refer to: * Physical examination, a regular overall check-up with a doctor * ''Physical'' (Olivia Newton-John album), 1981 ** "Physical" (Olivia Newton-John song) * ''Physical'' (Gabe Gurnsey album) * "Physical" (Alcazar song) (2004) * ...

Natasha Bedingfield Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British singer and songwriter. Bedingfield released her debut album, '' Unwritten'', in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music. It enjoyed intern ...

's "

These Words "These Words" (also known as "These Words (I Love You, I Love You)") is a song by British singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield. It was written by Steve Kipner, Andrew Frampton, Wayne Wilkins and Bedingfield for her 2004 debut album, '' Unwrit ...

", and

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

's " Genie in a Bottle", for which he won an Ivor Novello Award for International Hit of the Year. Other hits he wrote include

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's "

Hard Habit to Break "Hard Habit to Break" is a song written by Steve Kipner and John Lewis Parker, produced and arranged by David Foster and recorded by the group Chicago for their 1984 album ''Chicago 17'', with Bill Champlin and Peter Cetera sharing lead vocals. Re ...

", 98 Degrees' " The Hardest Thing",

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

's " He Loves U Not",

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During the g ...

's " Stole",

The Script The Script are an Irish rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin, consisting of lead vocalist and keyboardist Danny O'Donoghue, lead guitarist Mark Sheehan, and drummer Glen Power. The band moved to London after signing to Sony Label Group imprin ...

's "

Breakeven Break-even (or break even), often abbreviated as B/E in finance, (sometimes called point of equilibrium) is the point of balance making neither a profit nor a loss. Any number below the break-even point constitutes a loss while any number above i ...

" and " The Man Who Can't Be Moved", ''American Idol'' Kris Allen's top 5 debut " Live Like We're Dying", Cheryl Cole's " Fight for This Love", Camila Cabello's " Crying in the Club" and James Arthur's "

Say You Won't Let Go "Say You Won't Let Go" is a song by English singer and songwriter James Arthur. The song was released as a digital download on 9 September 2016 in the United Kingdom by Columbia Records as the lead single from his second studio album '' Back fro ...

Biography

Early life

Born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, United States, Kipner began his music career in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, where he grew up.

Steve & the Board

His first band, Steve & the Board achieved Australian chart success with the song "Giggle Eyed Goo", co-written by his father Nat Kipner and released on Spin Records in 1966.Nat Kipner and The Bee Gees
Hurstville City Library Museum Gallery. As a result of his father's A&R involvement in Spin Records, the members of Steve & the Board became good friends with the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

, who were also on the label. Nat Kipner, interviewed in 2001, said that Steve Kipner sang backing vocals on some songs on the Bee Gees album '' Spicks and Specks'' which was produced by Nat Kipner (

Colin Petersen Frederick Colin Petersen (born 24 March 1946) is an Australian drummer, record producer and former child actor. He played as a member of the bands Steve and the Board, the Bee Gees and Humpy Bong. In August 1969, he left the Bee Gees and he wa ...

, the drummer of Steve & the Board, also played on some songs on that album).

Tin Tin and the Fut

Steve & The Board broke up in early 1967. Kipner then formed a duo with Steve Groves and relocated to England in 1968, where they recorded an unsuccessful LP as ''Steve & Stevie'' on Toast Records. After Kipner ran into

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popula ...

in 1969, Kipner and Groves were signed to

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream (band), Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions ...

with

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician. He achieved fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main lea ...

as their producer. Under the name Tin Tin, the group scored an international hit, " Toast and Marmalade for Tea," including an American top 20 placing in 1971. The next year Tin Tin, with additional member John Vallins, supported the Bee Gees on their American tour. In August 1969, Kipner, Groves, Gibb, and Billy Lawrie recorded the song "

Have You Heard the Word "Have You Heard the Word" is a song attributed to The Fut. Written by Steve Kipner and Steve Groves, it is the band's only single. Most of the vocals were sung by Maurice Gibb, in the style of John Lennon. The B-side "Futting" was an instrumenta ...

" in a Tin Tin session, with Kipner on piano and participating in the lead vocals with Groves and Gibb. Maurice Gibb's vocal impersonation of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

led to the song appearing on Beatles Bootleg albums as supposedly a lost Beatles recording.Gibb Songs 1969
/ref>

Other bands

Kipner moved from London to California in 1974 and was a member of the bands "Friends" (MGM), "Skyband" (RCA), and "Think out Loud" (A&M). He then recorded the solo album ''Knock the Walls Down'' in 1979. While writing and recording for his own album, Kipner came into contact with other artists who developed an interest in his songs for their albums, and accidentally fell into a song-writing career as more and more opportunities arose. At that time he met Australian manager

Roger Davies Roger Davies may refer to: * Roger Davies (actor), English actor known for ''Renford Rejects'' and ''The Cloverfield Paradox'' * Roger Davies (manager) (born 1952), Australian-born manager in the music industry * Roger Davies (footballer) (born 19 ...

, who in the late 1970s was working for Olivia Newton-John's manager Lee Kramer. Kipner had co-written a song with English songwriter Terry Shaddick entitled "Let's Get Physical," and played the demo to Davies, imagining the song would be suited to a male singer such as

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

. Kramer overheard the song from the next room and thought it would be a way to promote another one of his clients, Mr. Universe, by having him appear with Newton-John on her album cover. Retitled "Physical", the song spent ten weeks at number 1 on the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and was a worldwide hit.

Songwriting career

"Fight for This Love" reached number 1 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and was the fastest-selling single of 2009 with 292,846 sales in its first week. "Catch 22 (2 Steps Forward, 3 Steps Back)" is Track 4 on the '' Two Of A Kind'' soundtrack and performed by Kipner. ''Two Of A Kind'' was the second movie John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John co-starred in after ''Grease''. "

" was ranked by ''Billboard'' in 2017 as the No. 8 song among all those which charted during the 50+ year history of the Hot 100. In 1999,

released " Genie in a Bottle", written by Kipner, David Frank, and

Pam Sheyne Pamela Sheyne is a British songwriter, producer, mentor and singer best known for co-writing Christina Aguilera’s global smash debut single "Genie in a Bottle". She has achieved 50+ million record sales and over 100 RIAA Platinum, Gold and Sil ...

, which reached No. 1 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online stream ...

. Over the years, Kipner has written songs for some of the music industry's biggest artists including Olly Murs, Doug Parkinson,

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as ca ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, Matsuda Seiko,

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

, Laura Branigan,

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen a ...

, LFO,

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 temporar ...

Huey Lewis & the News Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempor ...

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

, and ''American Idols

David Archuleta David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American pop singer. At ten years old, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition, leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years old, he became ...

from Season 7. Other ''Billboard'' charting songs include "20/20" by

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

, "

Invisible Man ''Invisible Man'' is a novel by Ralph Ellison, published by Random House in 1952. It addresses many of the social and intellectual issues faced by African Americans in the early twentieth century, including black nationalism, the relationship ...

" by 98 Degrees, " Potential New Boyfriend" by

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album ...

, "Moonlight on Water" by Laura Branigan, "Heart Attack" and " Twist of Fate" by Olivia Newton-John, and " Impulsive" by

Wilson Phillips Wilson Phillips is an American pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of ...

. "Nothin' You Can Do About It" by

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...

(''

Extensions Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate * Ex ...

'') written by

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

, Jay Graydon, Steve Kipner (1979). "Murphy's Law" by

(''

High Crime ''High Crime'' ( it, La polizia incrimina la legge assolve, es, La policía detiene, la ley juzga) is a 1973 Italian-Spanish ''poliziottesco'' film directed by Enzo G. Castellari. The film stars Franco Nero, James Whitmore, Delia Boccardo and ...

'') written by Steve Kipner, Paul Bliss (1984).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kipner, Steve 1950 births Living people RSO Records artists Singer-songwriters from Ohio American emigrants to Australia American expatriates in England American male singer-songwriters Australian singer-songwriters Writers from Cincinnati