Don Black | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Donald Blackstone |
Born | South Hackney, London, England | 21 June 1938
Genres | Popular music |
Occupation(s) | Songwriter, lyricist |
Years active | 1960s–present |
Website | Official Don Black website |
Donald Blackstone CBE (born 21 June 1938), known professionally as Don Black, is an English lyricist. His works have included numerous musicals, movie, television themes and hit songs. He has provided lyrics for John Barry, Charles Strouse, Matt Monro, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Quincy Jones, Hoyt Curtin, Lulu, Jule Styne, Henry Mancini, Meat Loaf, Michael Jackson, Elmer Bernstein, Michel Legrand, Hayley Westenra, A. R. Rahman, Marvin Hamlisch and Debbie Wiseman. [1]
AllMusic stated that "Black is perhaps best-known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, and for the James Bond theme songs he co-wrote with composer John Barry: 'Thunderball', 'Diamonds Are Forever' and 'The Man with the Golden Gun'." [2]
... And "Born Free". He was born Donald Blackstone in London, [3] [4] the youngest of five children of Russian Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, Morris and Betsy (née Kersh) Blackstone. [5] His father worked as a garment presser and his mother in a clothes shop [6] and during his childhood the family lived in a council flat in Tornay House, Shore Place, South Hackney. [7] He attended Cassland Road School [6] and enjoyed visits to the Hackney Empire, which was then a music hall and to the cinema to watch James Cagney films. [8] [9]
This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(February 2023) |
He began his music industry career as an office boy with a music publishing firm, and later worked as a song-plugger. He also had a brief spell as a comic. [2] [10]
He was personal manager to the singer Matt Monro for many years and also provided songs for him (usually writing English language lyrics to continental songs). [11] These included "Walk Away" and "If I Never Sing Another Song" (music: Udo Jürgens) and "For Mamma" (music: Charles Aznavour). [5]
Black's first film work was the lyrics for the theme of the James Bond entry Thunderball (1965). [11] His association with the Bond series continued over several decades, with Diamonds Are Forever and The Man with the Golden Gun , in collaboration with John Barry, and Surrender for Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough , in collaboration with David Arnold. [11]
Black's film work culminated when he collaborated with Barry on the title song of 1966's Born Free , which won the Oscar for Best Song and provided a hit for Matt Monro. [5] Pianist Roger Williams made the US Top 40 with an instrumental version. The song was nominated for Song of the Year at the 1967 Grammy Awards. The movie's producer, Sam Jaffe, was not impressed with the song, fearing that Black had made too much of a political comment in the lyric, and initially had the film printed without it on the soundtrack. When it became a US hit, he relented and had the film reprinted, commenting to Black, "It grows on you," after the song won the Oscar.[ citation needed ]
Black later collaborated with Barry on The Tamarind Seed , Out of Africa , Dances with Wolves , and an ill-fated Broadway musical, The Little Prince and the Aviator . In 1967, Lulu took the Black-Mark London title song of the film To Sir, with Love to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. [2] Black received his second Oscar nomination for Best Song with the title theme, written with Elmer Bernstein, of the 1969 John Wayne western, True Grit . That same year, he partnered with Quincy Jones for the theme song of the Michael Caine film, The Italian Job , "On Days Like These". He received a third Oscar nomination for the title song of the 1972 film Ben , a US No. 1 hit for Michael Jackson, which Black had written with Walter Scharf. [5] Further Oscar nominations came for "Wherever Love Takes Me" (music: Elmer Bernstein), from 1974 film Gold , and "Come to Me" (music: Henry Mancini) from 1976's The Pink Panther Strikes Again .
In addition, Black teamed with Charles Strouse on the songs "Growing Up Isn't Easy" and "Anything Can Happen on Halloween" for the 1986 HBO film The Worst Witch , based on the children's book by Jill Murphy. Walt Disney commissioned him to write songs for the direct-to-video film Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas .
In July 2023, it was announced that Black would collaborate with film composer David Arnold and singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor for the track to Channel 4 and Universal Pictures film, "Mog's Christmas", based upon the children's book series by Judith Kerr. The track, titled "As Long As I Belong", is about "the importance of belonging". [12]
Black's stage credits include the musicals Billy (music: John Barry), Bar Mitzvah Boy (music: Jule Styne), Dear Anyone (music: Geoff Stephens), Budgie (music: Mort Shuman) and several Andrew Lloyd Webber shows: the 1979 song-cycle, Tell Me on a Sunday , which was performed by Marti Webb (whom Black also managed for a time); Aspects of Love , which propelled Michael Ball to stardom; and, together with Christopher Hampton, the musical adaptation of the Billy Wilder film Sunset Boulevard . [5] The latter brought Black and Hampton a Tony Award for Best Book.
Tell Me on a Sunday was incorporated into Song and Dance . [5] This was later adapted for a Broadway production starring Bernadette Peters, for which she won a Tony award as Best Actress in a Musical. Sarah Brightman performed for a video recording of the show at the end of its West End run and also released "Unexpected Song", from that musical, as a single.
With Geoff Stephens he produced a concept album of a "revuesical" entitled Off The Wall. [13]
In 2002, he worked with the Indian composer A. R. Rahman on the musical Bombay Dreams . [5] In 2004, Black's second musical collaboration with Hampton, Frank Wildhorn's Dracula, the Musical , debuted on Broadway. He also collaborated with John Barry once more, on the musical Brighton Rock. Based on the Graham Greene novel, it debuted at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2004. In 2006, Black created the lyrics for the musical adaptation of the book Feather Boy , for the National Theatre in London.
In 2011, Black wrote the lyrics alongside composer Frank Wildhorn for the 2011 Broadway production of Bonnie & Clyde , which premiered at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on 22 November 2011 and closed four weeks later due to poor ticket sales, despite the general public giving the show high praise for its score and the lead actors Jeremy Jordan (as Clyde Barrow) and Laura Osnes (as Bonnie Parker). The cast recording, however, became one of Wildhorn and Black's most successful musical scores.
In 2013, he again worked with Christopher Hampton and Andrew Lloyd Webber on Stephen Ward the Musical . [14] In 2015, he wrote the lyrics for Mrs Henderson Presents, [15] with George Fenton and Simon Chamberlin composing the music. [16] In 2019, he collaborated with David Arnold on the music for a television version of The Tiger Who Came to Tea . [17]
In 2020, he was reported to be working on a musical version of The Third Man , and reworking the show Feather Boy. [18]
Black presented a Sunday night show on BBC Radio 2 from 2013 to 2020, which featured classic songs and songwriters of the 20th century, paid a weekly tribute to Matt Monro, whom he managed, and included many of his showbiz encounter stories. He took over this slot from David Jacobs. [19]
In 1993, Play It Again released Born Free – The Don Black Songbook, which remains the only album to date which consists solely of songs co-written by the lyricist. [20]
In 2007, Black was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. [21] That same year, Black was credited on "Sexy Lady", the 2007 debut single and hit for rapper Yung Berg, which sampled the Black-Barry theme for Diamonds Are Forever.
On 17 August 2008, the tribute concert Lyrics by Don Black was held at the London Palladium, featuring performances of Black's songs by a selection of guest artists. [5] The evening, hosted by Michael Parkinson and recorded for broadcast by BBC Radio 2, included an exclusive performance of two songs from Black's new musical, The Count of Monte Cristo. The concert included contributions from Lee Mead, Gary Barlow, Elkie Brooks, Craig David, Maria Friedman, Joe Longthorne, Lulu, Peter Grant, Raza Jaffrey, Matt Rawle, Ryan Molloy, Marti Webb, Jonathan Ansell, Hayley Westenra, Phil Campbell and Mica Paris. [22] The singers were accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Mike Dixon and with guest conductors Michel Legrand and David Arnold.
In October 2013, a special concert to celebrate Black's work was held at London's Royal Festival Hall, featuring a lengthy interview with the composer by Michael Grade, interspersed by performances of his songs by artists such as Michael Ball, Maria Friedman, Katie Melua, and Marti Webb. [23] The concert was recorded for television and first shown on BBC Four in early January 2014. [24]
Black was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours, and promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours, for services to music. [25] [26]
Black lives in London, England. [19] His wife of nearly 60 years, Shirley, died in March 2018. [27] [28] In May 2020, he was treated in hospital for COVID-19. [18]
Black's elder brother, Michael Black, a showbusiness booking agent, was married to singer Julie Rogers until his death in November 2018. [29]
Title | Year | Composer | Book | Co-lyricist |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maybe That's Your Problem [30] | 1971 | Walter Scharf | Lionel Chetwynd | |
Billy | 1974 | John Barry | Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais | |
Bar Mitzvah Boy | 1978 | Jule Styne | Jack Rosenthal | |
Tell Me on a Sunday | 1979 (Revised 1985 and 2003) | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Richard Maltby Jr. (1985 version) | |
Abbacadabra | 1983 | Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus | ||
Dear Anyone | 1983 | Geoff Stephens | Jack Rosenthal | |
Merlin | 1983 | Elmer Bernstein | ||
The Little Prince and the Aviator | 1983 | John Barry | Hugh Wheeler | |
Budgie | 1988 | Mort Shuman | Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall | |
Aspects of Love | 1989 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Charles Hart | |
Starlight Express | 1993 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Richard Stilgoe (principal lyricist; Black wrote one song) | |
Radio Times | 1992 | Noel Gay and Abi Grant | Chris Walker | |
Sunset Boulevard | 1993 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Christopher Hampton; with contributions by Amy Powers | |
The Goodbye Girl | 1997 | Marvin Hamlisch | Neil Simon | David Zippel (Black added lyrics for the original British production) |
Dracula, the Musical | 2001 | Frank Wildhorn | Christopher Hampton | |
Bombay Dreams | 2002 | AR Rahman | Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan | |
Dance of the Vampires | 2002 | Jim Steinman | Jim Steinman, Michael Kunze and David Ives | Jim Steinman and Michael Kunze (Black contributed additional lyrics) |
Whistle Down the Wind | 2002 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Patricia Knop | Jim Steinman (Black contributed additional lyrics) |
Romeo and Juliet - The Musical | 2002 | |||
Feather Boy | 2006 | Debbie Wiseman | ||
Bonnie & Clyde | 2011 | Frank Wildhorn | Ivan Menchell | |
Stephen Ward | 2013 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Don Black and Christopher Hampton | Christopher Hampton |
Mrs Henderson Presents | 2015 | George Fenton and Simon Chamberlin | Terry Johnson |
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass.
Lionel Bart was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical Oliver! (1960). With Oliver! and his work alongside theatre director Joan Littlewood at Theatre Royal, Stratford East, he played an instrumental role in the 1960s birth of the British musical theatre scene after an era when American musicals had dominated the West End.
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita; with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA, with whom he wrote Chess; with Elton John, with whom he wrote Aida; and with Disney on Aladdin, the Lion King, both the stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast and the live-action film adaption. He also wrote lyrics for the Alan Menken musical King David, and for DreamWorks Animation's The Road to El Dorado.
John Barry Prendergast was an English composer and conductor of film music.
Edgar Yipsel Harburg was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", "April in Paris", and "It's Only a Paper Moon", as well as all of the songs for the film The Wizard of Oz, including "Over the Rainbow". He was known for the social commentary of his lyrics, as well as his leftist leanings. He championed racial and gender equality and union politics. He also was an ardent critic of religion.
Harold Lane David was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick.
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972), and Wicked (2003). He has contributed lyrics to a number of successful films, including Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Prince of Egypt, and Enchanted (2007).
Leslie Bricusse OBE was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films Doctor Dolittle; Goodbye, Mr. Chips; Scrooge; Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory; Tom and Jerry: The Movie; the titular James Bond film songs "Goldfinger" and "You Only Live Twice"; "Can You Read My Mind? " from Superman; and "Le Jazz Hot!" from Victor/Victoria.
Basil Glen Ballard Jr. is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill, which won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and Album of the Year, and was ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Ballard was involved in the recording and writing of Michael Jackson's albums Thriller, Bad, and Dangerous. As a writer, he co-wrote songs including "Man in the Mirror" (1987) and "Hand in My Pocket" (1995). He is the founder of Java Records. He won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "Believe".
Leo Robin was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song "Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross in the film The Big Broadcast of 1938, and with Jule Styne on "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," a song whose witty, Cole Porter style of lyric came to be identified with its famous interpreter Marilyn Monroe.
John Francis Burke was an American lyricist, successful and prolific between the 1920s and 1950s. His work is considered part of the Great American Songbook.
Sammy Fain was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre. Fain was also a popular musician and vocalist.
Matt Monro was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career. AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the most underrated pop vocalists of the '60s", who "possessed the easiest, most perfect baritone in the business". Frank Sinatra said of Monro after his death: “If I had to choose three of the finest male vocalists in the singing business, Matt would be one of them. His pitch was right on the nose; his word enunciations letter perfect; his understanding of a song thorough.”
Charles Hart is an English lyricist, librettist and songwriter best known for his work on The Phantom of the Opera as well as a number of other musicals and operas for both stage and television.
Harold Campbell Adamson was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s.
Monty Norman was a British film score composer and singer. A contributor to West End musicals in the 1950s and 1960s, he is best known for composing the "James Bond Theme", first heard in the 1962 film Dr. No. He was an Ivor Novello Award and Olivier Award winner, and a Tony Award nominee.
Frank Wildhorn is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical Jekyll & Hyde ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the #1 International hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for Whitney Houston.
Sir Christopher James Hampton is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play Les Liaisons Dangereuses based on the novel of the same name and the film adaptation. He has thrice received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay: for Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Atonement (2007) and The Father (2020); winning for the former and latter.
Norman Gimbel was an American lyricist and songwriter of popular songs and themes to television shows and films. He wrote the lyrics for songs including "Ready to Take a Chance Again" and "Canadian Sunset". He also co-wrote "Killing Me Softly With His Song". He wrote English-language lyrics for many international hits, including "Sway", "Summer Samba", "The Girl from Ipanema", "How Insensitive", "Drinking-Water", "Meditation", "I Will Wait for You" and "Watch What Happens". Of the movie themes he co-wrote, five were nominated for Academy Awards and/or Golden Globe Awards, including "It Goes Like It Goes", from the film Norma Rae, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for 1979. Gimbel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984.
Robert Jason Sherman, known as Robbie Sherman, is an American songwriter based in London. He was born in Los Angeles to Joyce and Robert B. Sherman, the youngest of four siblings. Stemming from a long line of songwriters and composers, spanning more than four generations, at 16 Sherman became one of the youngest songwriters ever invited to join BMI and is an alum of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. He is perhaps best known for his work on Love Birds: The Musical, which premiered at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.