Robert C. Feldman (June 14, 1940 – August 23, 2023) was an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his work in the 1960s with fellow writers Jerry Goldstein and

Richard Gottehrer Richard Gottehrer (born June 12, 1940) is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive. His career began as a Brill Building songwriter in the 1960s. His first number one record as a songwriter and producer was " My Boyfr ...

, including " My Boyfriend's Back", "

I Want Candy "I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded by the Strangeloves in 1965 that reached No. 11 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It is a famous example of a song that uses the Bo Diddley beat. Original version "I Want Candy" ...

", and " Sorrow".

Career

Together with his friend and neighbor Jerry Goldstein, he was a dancer on

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

WNEW-TV WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secauc ...

show ''The Big Beat'', and in 1959 the pair co-wrote a theme song for the show. Feldman and Goldstein started writing regularly together, and, as Bob and Jerry, wrote and recorded "We Put the Bomp", an

answer record An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and was part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early ...

's " Who Put the Bomp". Joel Selvin, ''Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues'', Counterpoint, 2014, pp.265–267
/ref> In 1962, they met fellow songwriter Richard Gottehrer, and formed FGG Productions. Feldman said: "I was the dreamer, Jerry was the schemer and Richie was the voice of reason".Rob Finnis, "About Bob Feldman", ''Bob Feldman Music'', 2012
Retrieved February 16, 2020 The trio wrote several hit singles together, including " My Boyfriend's Back" by The Angels. In 1964, in response to the "

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

", they formed their own group, The Strangeloves, who had hits with "

", "Cara-Lin", and " Night Time". With Goldstein and Gottehrer, Feldman also co-wrote " Sorrow" – first recorded by

The McCoys The McCoys were a rock music, rock group formed in Fort Recovery, Ohio, United States, in 1962. They are best known for their 1965 hit single "Hang On Sloopy". Originally named Rick and the Raiders, they changed their name to "The McCoys" from ...

and later a hit for both The Merseys and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

– and "Gonna Make It Alone", recorded by Dion and by Ronnie Dio and the Prophets. The three also produced the McCoys' hit "

Hang On Sloopy "Hang On Sloopy" (originally "My Girl Sloopy") is a 1964 song written by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns. Rhythm and blues vocal group the Vibrations were the first to record the tune in 1964. Atlantic Records released it as a single, which reached ...

". Songs written by Bob Feldman, ''MusicVF.com''
Retrieved February 16, 2020 In 1966, Feldman and Goldstein moved to California to set up their own office, and also recorded together as the duo Rome & Paris. Feldman later worked as a record producer with

Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. His 1958 Instrumental rock, instrumental single "Rumble (instrumental), Rumble", reached the ...

, The Belmonts, and others. In the 1990s, he moved to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Jim Patterson, "Nashville Sound: Bob Feldman", ''AP News'', March 26, 1998
Retrieved February 16, 2020 and in 2002 co-wrote

Dusty Drake Dean Buffalini (born February 23, 1964), known professionally as Dusty Drake, is an American country music artist. Drake played various venues in his native Pennsylvania for several years before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, co-writing a 1996 ...

's debut

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

hit, "And Then". In 2019, he published a book of verse, lyrics and memoirs, ''Simply Put!: Thoughts and Feelings from the Heart''."Bob Feldman: About the Author", ''Books & Books'', 2019
Retrieved February 16, 2020

Personal life

Robert C. Feldman was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, on June 14, 1940. He was raised in an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

home and briefly studied to become a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

. He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School alongside

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 ...

, and was a member of the All-City Choir alongside

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 List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

and

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

. He married Arlene Simmons

Death

Feldman died on August 23, 2023, at age 83.Benitez-Eves, Tina. (August 25, 2023
Bob Feldman, Songwriter Behind "My Boyfriend's Back," Other '60s Hits, Dies at 83
''American Songwriter''. Retrieved August 25, 2023. He was survived by two daughters Kyle and Mahri.{{Cite web , last=Choiniere , first=Alyssa , date=March 9, 2020 , title=Bob & Sheila Feldman, , url=https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/03/{{cite magazine , last1=Aniftos , first1=Rania , title=Bob Feldman, Songwriter/Producer Behind 'My Boyfriend's Back' & More '60s Hits, Dies at 83 , url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/bob-feldman-dead-songwriter-producer-1960s-1235400747/ , magazine=Billboard , access-date=August 29, 2023 , date=August 25, 2023

References

{{Reflist

External links

* {{IMDb name, 1131660 * {{Discogs artist, Bob Feldman {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Bob 1940 births 2023 deaths 21st-century American Jews American male songwriters Jewish American musicians Musicians from Brooklyn Record producers from New York (state)