Michael William Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer and producer of

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 ...

Early life

Born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in Chicago to Ester Huff and William Masser, he attended the

University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law at Urbana-Champaign is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public land-grant research university in Champaign and Urbana, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers th ...

. He became a stockbroker, but left to pursue his interest in music.

Career

Masser's first major composition hit, co-written with Ron Miller, was " Touch Me in the Morning", recorded by

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

. He co-wrote several other hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, including four made famous by

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

, " Didn't We Almost Have It All", " Saving All My Love for You", " All at Once" and "Greatest Love of All", originally recorded as "

The Greatest Love of All "The Greatest Love of All" is a song written by Michael Masser, who composed the music, and Linda Creed, who wrote the lyrics. It was originally recorded in 1977 by George Benson, who made the song a substantial hit, peaking at number two on t ...

" by

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion 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 ...

for the 1977 film '' The Greatest''. Other Masser's songs by Benson are "

In Your Eyes In Your Eyes may refer to: Film * ''In Your Eyes'', a 2004 film featuring Michael DeLorenzo * In Your Eyes (2010 film), ''In Your Eyes'' (2010 film), a Philippine romantic drama * In Your Eyes (2014 film), ''In Your Eyes'' (2014 film), a film writt ...

" (

Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D. (band), L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. B ...

Regine Velasquez Regina Encarnacion "Regine" Ansong Velasquez-Alcasid ( ; born April 22, 1970) is a Filipino singer and actress. She is considered one of the most influential figures in Philippine popular culture and is known for her vocal range and beltin ...

), " Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" (

, Glenn Medeiros) and "You Are the Love of My Life" (

and

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

). His hit songs by other artists include " Hold Me" (

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American Soul music, soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pendergrass lived most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initial ...

and

), " Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" (

and

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson ( ; born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the hit singles " Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", "You're Looking Like ...

), " If Ever You're in My Arms Again" (

), " Miss You Like Crazy" (

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

) and "Someone That I Used To Love" (

), "So Sad the Song" (

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...

), and " It's My Turn" and " Last Time I Saw Him" (Diana Ross). A country cover of "Last Time I Saw Him" by Dottie West also became a hit, peaking at #8 on the country charts. Masser was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in 1976 for Best Music, Original Song, for " Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)," which he wrote with

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You L ...

. The song had actually been first recorded (also in 1975) by fellow Motown labelmate

Thelma Houston Thelma Houston ( Jackson; born May 7, 1943) is an American singer and actress. Beginning her recording career in the late 1960s, Houston scored a number-one hit in 1977 with her recording of " Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the Grammy for ...

as a planned single but was pulled before release. Diana Ross' version was released as the theme song for her 1975 film, ''

Mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

''. Among the many

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

that Masser produced are

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 ...

's "Someone That I Used to Love" (originally a hit for

) and the

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning nearly seven decades. An Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning rec ...

and T. G. Sheppard, "Home Again". Over the course of his career, more than 110 recordings of his songs were released. In 2002, a Golden Palm Star on the

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him. Masser was inducted into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work represent and maintain the heri ...

in 2007.

Personal life

Masser and his wife, the former Ogniana Drandiyska, lived in

Rancho Mirage Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is a low-density desert community with resorts, golf courses, and country clubs within the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. Nestled along the foothills ...

, California. On July 9, 2015, Masser died at the age of 74 at his home in Rancho Mirage.

Compositions

References

External links

*
Michael Masser
at Find a Grave {{DEFAULTSORT:Masser, Michael 1941 births 2015 deaths American male composers Record producers from Illinois University of Illinois College of Law alumni American stockbrokers Businesspeople from Chicago Songwriters from Illinois American composers American male songwriters Jewish American songwriters Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews