John Leslie McFarland (May 12, 1926 – January, 1971) was an American
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
composer and arranger.
Career
Early in his career, McFarland wrote several songs for
Bill Haley and His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...
: "Rockin' Rollin' Rover", "You Hit The Wrong Note Billy Goat", co-writing "Teenager's Mother" with Curtis R. Lewis.
One of McFarland's earliest songs, co-written with
Billy Moore Jr., was "You Dyed Your Hair Chartreuse". It was recorded by
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...
in 1950.
In 1959, he co-wrote "Wang Dang Taffy Apple Tango" with
Aaron Schroeder
Aaron Harold Schroeder (September 7, 1926 – December 2, 2009) was an American songwriter and music publisher.
Early years
Born in Brooklyn, Schroeder graduated from the school now known as the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art a ...
, and the song was recorded by
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films.
Boone ...
.
In 1960, McFarland also co-wrote the hit "
Dreamin'" for Johnny Burnette with Aaron Schroeder.
McFarland co-wrote the song "
Stuck On You" with Aaron Schroeder for
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
. The song was Presley's first hit single after two years in the US Army, recorded March 1960. The single rose to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in late-April of that year, and became Presley's thirteenth hit overall.
"Stuck On You" was one of six Elvis Presley songs featured in the 2002 Disney movie ''
Lilo & Stitch
''Lilo & Stitch'' () is a 2002 American animated Science fiction film, science fiction comedy-drama film, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. It was written and directed by Chris Sanders and De ...
''.
McFarland arranged the songs on
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...
's debut album for Columbia Records ''
Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo'' and wrote six songs for the album: "
Won't Be Long
"Won't Be Long" is a collaboration single by Japanese group Exile and singer-songwriter Koda Kumi. It debuted on No. 2 on Oricon and stayed there for the weekly ranking, bringing its monthly rank to No. 6.
Information
''Won't Be Long feat. Ko ...
", "Love Is The Only Thing", "Sweet Lover", "Right Now", "Maybe I'm A Fool", and "Blue By Myself".
In 1962, McFarland wrote four songs on Franklin's second studio album with Columbia, ''
The Electrifying Aretha Franklin
''The Electrifying Aretha Franklin'' is the second studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on March 19, 1962 by Columbia Records. The album, which is also known under its working title ''The Incomparable Aretha Franklin'', wa ...
''.
McFarland co-wrote the song "
Little Children" with
Mort Shuman
Mortimer Shuman (12 November 1938 – 2 November 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including " Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such as ...
for
Billy J. Kramer
William Howard Ashton (born 19 August 1943), known professionally as Billy J. Kramer, is an English pop singer. With the Dakotas, Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein during the 1960s and scored hits with several Lennon–McCartney composition ...
&
The Dakotas
The Dakotas, also known as simply Dakota, is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geo ...
.
The song reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in March 1964, and number seven in the US Hot 100 singles chart later the same year.
''Chorus and Verse''.
In 1967 he co-wrote "Long Legged Girl (with the Short Dress On)
"Long Legged Girl (with the Short Dress On)" is a song first recorded by Elvis Presley as part of the soundtrack for his 1967 MGM motion picture '' Double Trouble''.
Background
The song was written by J. Leslie McFarland and Winfield Scott and ...
" with Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...
for Elvis Presley, and it reached #63 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
McFarland struggled with alcohol addiction throughout much of his career.["The Brill Building". ]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarland, John Leslie
1926 births
1971 deaths