Ronald Augustus Mack (July 11, 1940 – November 5, 1963)Dotty Mack Sanders and others, "He's So Fine: The Ronnie Mack Story", ''Songfacts.com''
Retrieved August 8, 2016 was an American songwriter, singer and talent manager who wrote "

He's So Fine "He's So Fine" is a song written by Ronnie Mack. It was recorded by the Chiffons who topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for four weeks in the spring of 1963. One of the most instantly recognizable golden oldies with its ''doo-lang doo-lang do ...

", a number one chart hit in 1963 for

the Chiffons The Chiffons were an American girl group originating from the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in 1960. History Origins The group was originally a trio of schoolmates - lead singer Judy Craig, backed by Patricia Bennett and Barbara Lee - e ...

and the apparent inspiration for

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

's "

My Sweet Lord "My Sweet Lord" is a song by the English musician George Harrison, released in November 1970 on his triple album ''All Things Must Pass''. It was also released as a single, Harrison's first as a solo artist, and topped charts worldwide; it was ...

". Mack's early death inspired Holland, Dozier and Holland to write the song "

Jimmy Mack "Jimmy Mack" is a pop/soul song that in 1967 became a hit single by Martha and the Vandellas for Motown's Gordy imprint. Written and produced by Motown's main creative team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Jimmy Mack" was the final Top 10 pop hit f ...

Life and career

Ronnie Mack (known to his friends as Rocco)Charlie Horner, "Little Jimmy & the Tops", ''ClassicUrbanHarmony.net'', 2016
Retrieved August 8, 2016 grew up in

Harlem, New York City Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, and loved music from childhood, teaching himself to play piano. By the mid-1950s he started writing songs, and also performed in a

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

vocal group, the Marquis, which unusually for the time featured a female lead singer, June Bateman (who later married musician

Noble "Thin Man" Watts Noble "Thin Man" Watts (February 17, 1926 – August 24, 2004) was an American blues, jump blues and rhythm and blues saxophonist. He primarily played tenor saxophone. The AllMusic journalist, Bill Dahl, considered Watts "one of the most incendi ...

). In 1956, the group recorded a song co-written by Mack, "Bohemian Daddy", for the Onyx record label. After the Marquis split up, Mack formed a new group, the Highlights, who included singer Joyce Peterson, but they never recorded. Mack moved to the Bronx but kept in touch with his Harlem friends and continued writing songs. He started writing for, and managing, another vocal group, the Young Lads, featuring lead singer Jimmy Rivers, and suggested that they add a female singer, Joyce Peterson's younger sister Sylvia. The group then became Four Bees and a Gee (for four boys and a girl), and auditioned with several of Mack's songs for Richard Barrett at

Gone Records Gone Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, along with music publishing arm Real Gone Music, that was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Among the artists that recorded for the label were Bill Haley & His Comets, Ral ...

. Barrett renamed the group the Tops, and recorded them on one of Mack's up-tempo songs, "Puppy Love" (not the song of the same name written by

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

). The song was first issued in late 1958 on the V-Tone label, and then on several other labels credited to

Little Jimmy Rivers and the Tops Little Jimmy Rivers & the Tops were an American doo-wop group from Harlem, New York, best remembered for their 1958 recording "Puppy Love" written by Ronnie Mack (later the writer of "He's So Fine"). The song became a local hit in Philadelphia in ...

. In late 1961, it was re-promoted and reissued more successfully in Philadelphia, and Rivers appeared as a solo act performing it on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'', but it failed to make the national charts. In the Bronx, Mack heard a trio of students from James Monroe High School singing, and suggested that Sylvia Peterson join them. Mack rewrote one of the songs he had written for the Tops, "She's So Fine", originally written about Peterson, and changed the lyrics for the girl group to sing as "He's So Fine". The group, which Mack renamed the Chiffons, made a demo of several of Mack's songs, which he took to Hank Medress at Bright Tunes, a

music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectua ...

company set up by members of

the Tokens The Tokens were an American doo-wop band (rock and pop), band and production of phonograph records, record production company group from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York City. The group had four top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' H ...

.John Clemente, ''Girl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked The World'', Author House, 2013, p.102
/ref> Jay Siegel of the Tokens later said of Mack's songs: "They had the most incredible lyrics; not intellectual lyrics, but just the things that people speak of in everyday language. Most people don't have the talent to write them down as music, but he did.... ad he livedhe...would have been one of the most successful songwriters of the '60s." The Chiffons re-recorded "He's So Fine" with members of the Tokens and with

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

on piano, and it was released by

Laurie Records Laurie Records was an American record label established in New York City in 1958, by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were Dion and the Belmonts (both together and as separa ...

in late 1962, reaching number one on both 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 ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

and the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

in March 1963. As a follow-up, the Chiffons also recorded another of Mack's songs, "Lucky Me", but it was unsuccessful.

Illness, death and legacy

By the time "He's So Fine" had started to become a chart hit, Mack was already terminally ill with

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...

. He died, aged 23, in 1963, by which time the royalties received for the song had begun to raise his family out of poverty. After his death, his mother Louise Mack attended a songwriters' convention at which her son won an award for "He's So Fine", and in accepting the award on his behalf gave a moving speech. Songwriters

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit. He co-wrote and produced 14 US '' Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Dozier was a ...

and

Eddie Holland Edward James Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is brother to Brian Holland. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorde ...

, who were also at the event, were inspired by the speech, remembered Mack's name, and co-wrote the song "Jimmy Mack", with its chorus of "Jimmy Mack, when are you comin' back?". Recorded by

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1973 as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas) were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s as a major act for Motown Records. Formed by friends Annett ...

in 1964, "Jimmy Mack" became a major hit for the group in 1967.Robert Webb, "Story of the song - Jimmy Mack, Martha & the Vandellas (1967)", ''The Independent'', 27 August 2009
Retrieved 8 August 2016 Bright Tunes Music, the company which owned the rights to "He's So Fine", won a notable lawsuit against George Harrison, starting in 1971, for subconscious plagiarism of Mack's tune in writing "My Sweet Lord". Much of the eventual settlement of $587,000 damages was paid to Mack's surviving family."Former Beatle Guilty Of Copying Black Songwriter", ''Jet'', 23 September 1976, p.57
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mack, Ronnie 1940 births 1963 deaths African-American songwriters Deaths from lymphoma in New York (state) Deaths from Hodgkin lymphoma Songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American songwriters