Guy Fletcher | |
---|---|
Birth name | Mervyn Guy Fletcher |
Born | St Albans, Hertfordshire, England | 21 April 1944
Genres | Pop, soft rock |
Occupation(s) | Record producer, singer, songwriter |
Years active | 1960s–present |
Website | Guyfletcher.com |
Mervyn Guy Fletcher OBE (born 21 April 1944) [1] [2] is an English record producer, singer and songwriter who, in partnership with Doug Flett, wrote several hits for other artists. [3] As a singer, he had a small hit in the Netherlands and other European countries with the song "Mary in the Morning" (1971). [4]
Fletcher was chairman of PRS for Music from 1 January 2011 until 31 December 2016. [5]
Fletcher was born on 21 April 1944 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. He was educated at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School. [6]
He worked as a session singer for the record producer Joe Meek, and as a jazz trumpet player. After deciding to turn to songwriting, he met lyricist Doug Flett in 1966 and their long partnership resulted in writing songs for several international artists. They were the first British writers to have a song recorded by Elvis Presley, when "The Fair's Movin' On" appeared on the B-side of his 1969 single "Clean Up Your Own Backyard". [7] Other Presley recordings followed, including "Wonderful World", the opening song in the film, Live a Little, Love a Little and "Just Pretend", featured in That's The Way It Is . [8]
Fletcher and Flett's first UK top 10 success was with the Hollies' "I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top" (1970), [9] and they also had hits with songs performed by Cliff Richard, "With the Eyes of a Child", "Sing a Song of Freedom", "Baby You're Dynamite" and "Power to All Our Friends", [10] [11] [12] [13] which was the UK entry for the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest, achieving third place.
Their greatest international success was with "Save Me", a No. 6 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, [14] when released in 1983 by Louise Mandrell. "Save Me" was also a Billboard Hot 100 entry for American stars Donna McDaniel and Merrilee Rush in 1977 [15] and was recorded by Helen Reddy for her 1981 album Play Me Out . In 1977, the South-African band Clout had a hit with it around Europe (No. 4 in Germany and Switzerland, No. 5 in Belgium, No. 6 in the Netherlands). Fletcher and Flett also wrote hits for Ray Charles ("Is There Anyone Out There"), [16] Tom Jones, [17] Joe Cocker ("Lady Put the Light Out") [18] and the Bay City Rollers ("Dedication"). [19] Fletcher and Flett also discovered, managed and published for Chris de Burgh. [6]
In 1975, Fletcher, former Onyx guitarist Al Hodge and John Hodkinson formed the soft rock trio Rogue, who released several singles, including "Cool Clear Air", "Lay Me Down", "Lady Put the Light Out", "Too Much Too Soon", "One to One", and "Borderline", and three albums. Their song "Fallen Angel" was a No. 12 hit in the Netherlands in January 1976; Frankie Valli's recording went to No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1976, [20] before being featured in the Broadway show Jersey Boys . The band disbanded in 1979.
In 1985, Fletcher sang vocals on various songs for the BBC Children's TV series Bertha .
Fletcher was chairman of PRS for Music [21] where he had been a director since 1998. He served six years as chairman and was succeeded by Nigel Elderton. Fletcher is chairman and managing director of the rights management company, Commercial Arts Ltd. [22] He was for twelve years the chairman of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, [6] where he led several campaigns against the erosion of composers' rights. He has won many awards including an ASCAP award in the US and an Ivor Novello Award in the UK. [6] Fletcher has also composed TV music, songs, commercials and music for the stage.
In 2005, he was honoured in HM the Queen's birthday honours list with an OBE for services to British music.
Fletcher has a nephew, also called Guy Fletcher, [1] who has been a longtime keyboardist for both Mark Knopfler and his former band Dire Straits.
He has five children (three daughters and two sons), [23] including children's television presenter Justin Fletcher. [1]
"Suspicious Minds" is a 1968 song written and first recorded by the American songwriter Mark James. After this recording failed commercially, it was recorded by Elvis Presley with the producer Chips Moman. Presley's version reached No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, his 18th and final no. 1 single on that chart. In 1999, the 1969 recording by Elvis Presley on RCA Victor Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Moody Blue is the twenty-fourth and final studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released in June 1977 by RCA Records, about two months before his death. The album was a mixture of live and studio work and included the four tracks from Presley's final studio recording sessions in October 1976 and two tracks left over from the previous Graceland session in February 1976. "Moody Blue" was a previously published hit song recorded at the earlier Graceland session and held over for this album. Also recorded at the February session was "She Thinks I Still Care". "Way Down" became a hit after Presley's death less than one month after this album's release. The album was certified Gold and Platinum on September 12, 1977, and 2× Platinum on March 27, 1992, by the RIAA.
"Don't Be Cruel" is a song that was recorded by Elvis Presley and written by Otis Blackwell in 1956. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, it was listed #197 in Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"In the Ghetto" is a 1969 song written by Mac Davis and recorded by Elvis Presley. It was a major hit released in 1969 as a part of Presley's comeback album, and was also available on the single release of "Any Day Now" as the flip side.
"Love Letters" is a 1945 popular song with lyrics by Edward Heyman and music by Victor Young. The song appeared, without lyrics, in the film of the same name released in October 1945. A vocal version by Dick Haymes, arranged and conducted by Young, was recorded in March 1945 and peaked in popularity in September. "Love Letters" was subsequently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1945, but lost to "It Might as Well Be Spring" from State Fair.
"Wooden Heart" is a pop song recorded by Elvis Presley. The composition is based on a German folk song "Muss i denn" and it was featured in the 1960 Elvis Presley film G.I. Blues. The song was a hit single for Presley in the UK Singles Chart, reaching No. 1 for six weeks in March and April 1961.
Anthony Toby Hiller was an English songwriter and record producer. He was best known for writing and/or producing hits for Brotherhood of Man, including "United We Stand" (1970) and "Save Your Kisses for Me" (1976).
"Moody Blue" is a song made famous by Elvis Presley. The song was written by Mark James who recorded the original version of the song, which reached #15 in South Africa during the summer of 1976. James also penned Elvis' "Suspicious Minds".
"(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" is a popular song written by Bill Trader and published in 1952. Recorded as a single by Hank Snow it peaked at number four on the US country charts early in 1953.
"Flying Machine" is a song by British singer Cliff Richard, released as a single in June 1971. It peaked at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Richard's first UK single to not make the Top 30.
"Why Me" is an American country and gospel song written and recorded by American country music singer and songwriter Kris Kristofferson.
"I Got Stung" is a 1958 song recorded by Elvis Presley and released as a single written by Aaron Schroeder and David Hill and published by Elvis Presley's company Gladys Music, Inc. It was a number one hit in the UK in 1959 and again in 2005 as a double A-side single.
"It's Now or Never" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and released as a single in 1960. The song is one of the best-selling singles by Presley, and one of the best-selling physical singles of all time. It was recorded by Bill Porter at RCA Studio B in Nashville. It is written in E major and has a tempo of 80 BPM.
"And I Love You So" is a popular song written by folk singer and guitarist Don McLean and released on his 1970 debut album, Tapestry. Its chorus features an unusual rhyming scheme for a popular song: ABBA versus the usual AB(C or A)B.
"You'll Be Gone" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music and released in 1965 on the Girl Happy soundtrack album and as a 45 single. The song was recorded in 1962 and was one of very few which Presley was involved in writing; his co-writers were his bodyguard Red West and Charlie Hodge. The other song that Elvis Presley composed was "That's Someone You Never Forget" in 1961 with Red West, which was on the Pot Luck LP released in 1962. The song was recorded on Sunday, March 18, 1962, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee.
"I'm Yours" is 1961 song recorded by Elvis Presley which appeared on the Pot Luck with Elvis album. The recording was released as a single in 1965. It was written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair.
"Wonderful World" is a song written by Guy Fletcher and Doug Flett and first recorded and released by British singer Cliff Richard.
"Memories" is a 1968 song originally recorded by Elvis Presley.
"It's Only Love'" is a 1969 song by B. J. Thomas from his LP Young and In Love. Elvis Presley made the song a top hit in the UK, reaching No. 3 in 1980.
Douglas Jackson Flett was an Australian songwriter based in the UK, best known for his collaborations with longtime songwriting partner, Guy Fletcher. Collectively, the duo have also been known as Fletcher & Flett. Since the mid-1960s, they wrote and composed hit songs for many artists.