Laurence D. "Larry" Weiss (born March 25, 1941) is an American songwriter and musician. He wrote " Rhinestone Cowboy", a US no.1 hit for

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

in 1975; and co-wrote " Bend Me, Shape Me", " Hi Ho Silver Lining" and several other international hits.

Biography

Weiss was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, and grew up in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York. He started writing songs in his teens, and continued to do so while working in his family's textile sales business. Lizza Connor Bowen, ''Larry Weiss: Cuts and Scratches'', Nashville Arts Magazine, 3 November 2009
Retrieved April 24, 2013 He was hired as a freelance songwriter by producer-composer Wes Farrell.Press release for ''Cuts and Scratches'', 15 February 2010
Retrieved April 24, 2013 His first break came in 1963 when Nat "King" Cole recorded "Mr. Wishing Well", a song Weiss co-wrote with Lockie Edwards Jr. (1936–2012). Weiss also wrote for R&B acts including Baby Washington, Chuck Jackson and

The Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McF ...

. In the mid and late 1960s Weiss co-wrote several successful songs with lyricist Scott English. These included "Bend Me, Shape Me", a hit for The American Breed (US no.5, UK no.24) and Amen Corner (UK no.3); "Hi Ho Silver Lining", a UK hit for

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

(UK no.14); and " Help Me Girl", a hit for

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the rhythm and blues, R&B and Rock music, rock band The Animals and the funk band War (band), War. He is regarded as one of the Br ...

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(US no.29, UK no.14). He also co-wrote, with Jerry Ross, " Mr. Dream Merchant", a hit for

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...

(US no.38) and later (as "Dream Merchant") for

New Birth To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

(US no.36). He also wrote "Evil Woman," which was recorded by the U.K. blues-rock band

Spooky Tooth Spooky Tooth was a rock band originally formed in Carlisle, England, in 1967. The band was principally active between 1967 and 1974, and re-formed several times in later years. History Prior to Spooky Tooth, four of the band's five founding ...

, a track that appeared on their second album, '' Spooky Two''. In 1971, he moved with his family from New York to Los Angeles, where he worked for

Famous Music Famous Music Corporation was the worldwide music publishing division of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global since 1994. Its copyright holdings span several decades and include music from such Academy Award-winning motion pictures ...

. He recorded a singer-songwriter album, ''Black & Blue Suite'', in 1974 for 20th Century Records. The album's opening track, "Rhinestone Cowboy", was released as a single and rose to no.24 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' adult contemporary chart.Ed Hogan, "Rhinestone Cowboy", Allmusic.com
Retrieved April 24, 2013 Glen Campbell heard and liked the song, and recorded it; his version became an international hit, reaching no.1 in the US and several other countries, and no.4 in the UK, and was the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

's Song of the Year in 1976.Country Music Association: Songs of the Year
. Retrieved April 24, 2013
Retrieved April 24, 2013 Another track from ''Black & Blue Suite'', "Lay Me Down," was covered by

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

on his albums '' Tryin' to Get the Feeling'' and '' Barry Manilow Live'' and by Glen Campbell on his album ''

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...

''. During the 1980s, Weiss performed the theme song for the popular sitcom ''

Who's the Boss? ''Who's the Boss?'' is an American sitcom television series created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, that aired on ABC from September 20, 1984, to April 25, 1992, with a total of 196 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. It was produce ...

'' during its first two seasons, from 1984 to 1986. Weiss 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 ...

in 1992, and continued to write songs for other artists, as well as developing his idea for a musical based around "Rhinestone Cowboy". He also released an album in his own name, ''Cuts and Scratches'', in 2010.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Larry 1941 births Living people Musicians from Newark, New Jersey Songwriters from New York (state)