Ritchie Cordell (born Richard Joel Rosenblatt; March 10, 1943 – April 13, 2004) was an American songwriter, singer and record producer. He wrote and produced several hits for
Tommy James and the Shondells, including "
I Think We're Alone Now" (later also recorded by
Lene Lovich
Lili-Marlene Premilovich (born March 30, 1949), known professionally as Lene Lovich ( ), is an American-British singer. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Sin ...
,
Tiffany and
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British-Irish pop music, pop girl group that was created through the ITV (TV network), ITV talent show ''Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl (singer), Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, N ...
) and "
Mony Mony" (later also recorded by
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Idol achieved fame in the 1970s on the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of Generation X ...
), and co-produced
Joan Jett's ''
I Love Rock 'n' Roll
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker (musician), Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows (British band), Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, ...
''.
Biography
Rosenblatt was born in
Brooklyn, New York
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 ...
, and started singing and playing guitar in his teens. In 1961, he was introduced to
song plugger Sid Prosen, who in turn introduced him to young songwriter
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...
, then using the pseudonym Jerry Landis. Rosenblatt began using the name Ritchie Cordell, initially as a performer, and "Landis" wrote the song "Tick Tock" which became Cordell's first single, released on the Rori label in 1962. Cordell then started writing his own material, including his single "Georgiana" which was arranged and produced by Landis.
Ritchie Cordell, "Georgiana", at 45cat.com
Retrieved 27 February 2013
He worked for a time at Kama Sutra Records
Kama Sutra Records was started in 1964 by Artie Ripp, Hy Mizrahi, and Phil Steinberg as Kama Sutra Productions, a production house. The ''Kama Sutra'' is an ancient Sanskrit text.
In 1965, the company was joined by Art Kass and the record labe ...
, but had limited success as either a writer or performer before joining Roulette Records as a staff songwriter in 1966. At Roulette, he began working with Tommy James and the Shondells, who had just had their first hit, " Hanky Panky". With Sal Trimachi, Cordell co-wrote their third record, " It's Only Love"; as on many of the group's Roulette recordings, the writing credit was shared with record company boss Morris Levy, who garnered royalty monies in the process. As well as writing "I Think We're Alone Now" (which reached No. 4 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1967) and co-writing "Mony Mony" (No. 3 in 1968, and No. 1 in the UK), Cordell also wrote several lesser hits for the group.[Obituary in ''The Independent'', reprinted at Spectropop.com]
Retrieved 27 February 2013
In the late 1960s, he left Roulette to join Super K Productions, a company set up by producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz
Jeffry Katz (born May 20, 1943, Brooklyn, New York) is an American music producer, one of the first proponents of bubblegum pop.
Music career
He is one half of a hitmaking duo with Jerry Kasenetz, the two working together as the Super K Product ...
. Cordell co-wrote several hits for the company, notably " Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" (co-written with Joey Levine and recorded by Crazy Elephant
Crazy Elephant was an American bubblegum pop band (music), band noted for their 1969 hit record, hit single (music), single, "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'".
History
Crazy Elephant was a recording studio, studio concoction, the Marzano-Calvert Stud ...
, 1968); and " Indian Giver" (co-written with Bobby Bloom and Bo Gentry, and recorded by the 1910 Fruitgum Co., 1969).[Biography by Steve Kurutz at Allmusic.com]
Retrieved 27 February 2013
In the 1970s, he continued to work as a music publisher, songwriter and producer, before finding renewed success in 1981 as the co-producer of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1979 as a conjunction of lead musician, singer and songwriter Joan Jett and the backup band. It has undergone many lineup changes since its inception, ...
' version of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker (musician), Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows (British band), Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, ...
", which reached No. 1 in the US and No. 4 in the UK, and its eponymous album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
. Cordell also co-produced the Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
' 1983 album ''Subterranean Jungle
''Subterranean Jungle'' is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released by Sire Records on February 28, 1983. Overall, the album featured a return to a somewhat more hard punk rock style compared to the band's previo ...
'', and worked with British post-punk new wave band Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow are an English New wave music, new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their deb ...
.[ In 1987, he enjoyed the rare feat of having one of his songs (Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now") replaced by another (Billy Idol's "Mony Mony") at the top of the US Hot 100.][
Cordell died of ]pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
in New York in 2004, at the age of 61.[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordell, Ritchie
1943 births
2004 deaths
Record producers from New York (state)
Songwriters from New York (state)
Singers from Brooklyn
20th-century American singers
Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state)
20th-century American male singers
American male songwriters
20th-century American songwriters