Jerry Howard Styner (June 18, 1936 - March 9, 2024) was an American songwriter, musician, and former record producer. He has written scores for or had his compositions featured in over 30 films. Some of the artists he has worked with include

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

for his '' Blood, Chet and Tears'' album,

Solomon Burke Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called ...

for his ''We're Almost Home'' album and many others. For several years he served as a staff minister at the Center for Spiritual Living in

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County, California. The city is located in the Colorado Desert arm of the Sonoran Desert, about east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The popula ...

. He lived his final years with his daughter in Guatemala.

Career

In the late 1950s or early 1960s, Styner went under the name of Rusty Howard and was in the music group called The Rhythm Rangers. Along with Lyricist Guy Hemric (1931-1993), they were a team that were very prolific in writing for films during the 1960s. Many of these films were the B-grade type, including the Beach Party films. The first film that Styner and Hemric wrote for was '' Beach Party'' in 1963. Hemric and Styner's songs for the Beach Party films include "It Only Hurts When I Cry" performed in '' Beach Blanket Bingo'' by

Donna Loren Donna Zukor (born March 7, 1947), known professionally as Donna Loren, is an United States, American singer and actress. A performer in the 1960s, she was the "Dr Pepper Girl" from 1963 to 1968, a featured female vocalist on ''Shindig!'', an ...

, and released on Loren's 1965 LP of the same name along with seven other compositions by the songwriters. The song has become Loren's signature tune. He has also scored over 30 films over the years. These include '' Ski Party'' (1965), '' Thunder Alley'' (1967), '' The Savage Seven'', (1968), '' The Devil's 8'' (1969), '' The Cycle Savages'' (1969), ''

The Sidehackers : ''You may have been looking for Five the Hard Way (Prison Break episode)'' ''The Sidehackers'' (also known as ''Five the Hard Way'') is a 1969 American action film about motorcycle racing with a twist. Each motorcycle has a sidehack (a sidecar ...

'' (1969), '' ...tick...tick...tick...'' (1970), '' Corky'' (1972), '' Cycle Psycho'' (1973), '' Mitchell'' (1975) and '' Dixie Dynamite'' (1976). In 1970s along with Joe Porter and Kenny Myers, he produced the ''High Voltage'' album for singer Nick Anthony. That same year, he produced Chet Baker's ''Blood, Chet And Tears album. In 1972, he worked with

and

Gene Page Eugene Edgar Page Jr. (September 13, 1939 – August 24, 1998) was an American conductor, composer, arranger and record producer, most active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. His sound can be heard in the arrangements he did for Jeffer ...

, co-producing Burke's 1972 single, "I Can't Stop Loving You".

Discography

78 RPM

;As Rusty Howard * Rusty Howard with The Rhythm Rangers - (1) "Hep Cat Baby", Rusty Howard with The Rhythm Rangers - (2) "Courtin' In The Rain" / Bob Sandy - (1) "This Is The Thanks I Get", Gayle Larson - (2) "You Can't Have My Love" - Tops R244X45-49 * Bob Sandy - (1) "If You Ain't Lovin'", Rusty Howard The Rhythm Rangers - (2) "I've Been Thinking" / Bob Sandy - (1) "Kisses Don't Lie", Rusty Howard The Rhythm Rangers - (2) "Loose Talk" - Tops R251-49 * Dick Turley - "Back Street Affair" / Rusty Howard - "Blackberry Boogie" - Tops – 343 * Rusty Howard with The Rhythm Rangers - "No Help Wanted" / Corky Carpenter with The Rhythm Rangers "The Death Of Hank Williams - Tops 357

45 RPM

;As Jerry Styner * "In The Middle Of The Night" / "Lonely Little Girl" - Palomar 45-2206 / 45-2206V - (1965)

LP

* Jerry Styner And Michael Lloyd – The Devil's 8 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Tower – ST-5160 - (1969) * Jerry Styner and Larry Brown – ''Orbit III'' - Beverly Hills – BHS 38 - (1971)Discog
Jerry Styner And Larry Brown – Orbit III
/ref> * Great Balls of Fire (Mae West album)- (1972)-(recorded in 1968)-UK MGM:2315207.(The words on the lp's reverse, say: "Strings and horns arranged by Jerry Styner. Engineered by Jerry Styner. Mastered at MGM Recording Studios, Val Valentin in charge".The Mike Curb Congregation supplied the Vocal Accompaniment. * One For the Boys - Independence Records, 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Styner, Jerry 1936 births Living people American film score composers Record producers from Los Angeles Surf music record producers Songwriters from California