 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Mike Clifford (born 5 November 1943) [1] is an American singer, songwriter and actor [2] known for his 1962 pop hit "Close To Cathy" which reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. [3]
Mike Clifford was born in Los Angeles, California, [4] the son of Cal Clifford, a professional trumpeter. Clifford developed an interest in music at a young age and started taking voice lessons. While still in school, he began to perform at school and community functions and by the age of 16 he was performing at local nightclubs in Los Angeles. [4] In 1959 he signed with Liberty Records and recorded his first single "Should I" (produced by Mark McIntyre and featuring Patience and Prudence and Eddie Cochran).
Helen Noga (known for discovering a young Johnny Mathis) [5] became Clifford's personal manager and signed him to Columbia Records. [4] She took Clifford to meet Ed Sullivan, who booked him for a TV debut, his first of three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Clifford's first taste of success came at age 18 when "Bombay" became a hit in Venezuela. He appeared on the state-owned Venevision in his own TV special.
However, Clifford's recordings for Columbia received little attention and in July 1962, he signed with United Artists Records. [4] Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller produced several songs for Clifford, including his biggest hit "Close To Cathy", [4] written by Earl Shuman and composed by Bob Goodman. [6] The song reached number 12 in September of that year, and stayed there for two weeks and remained on the charts for 12 weeks. On December 29, 1962, "What To Do With Laurie" entered the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number No. 67. "One Boy Too Late" entered the Billboard Hot 100 on May 11, 1963, and was to be his last nationally charted record. He subsequently had several songs that were regional hits in the U.S.
He had hit records in Argentina, Brazil, and Canada, as well as It Had Better Be Tonight in Chile, See You in September in the Philippines, and How to Murder Your Wife in Japan.
In 1965, United Artists released Clifford's debut album, For The Love Of Mike, which was reviewed and a spotlight pick in the February 13, 1965 issue of Billboard .
Clifford appeared in the films Village of the Giants in 1965, and also sang the love theme of the film, The Glass Sphinx in 1967, the title song to Dagmar's Hot Pants, "You Say Love" in 1971, The love theme for the film Necromancy , "The Morning After" in 1972, and for The Lord Of The Rings in 1978. In the 1978 film Sextette , Clifford sang "Love Will Keep Us Together," with Mae West, while actor Timothy Dalton lip synched the words.
Clifford toured over one hundred cities during 1964 and 1965, with the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars and perform in Canada, France, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Mexico. He did commercials for Black Cow and Slowpoke suckers, Ortho Mattress and MJB coffee. American International Pictures purchased cartoon films from Japan and had the dialogue and songs translated into English. Clifford recorded the Guy Hemric-produced song "Rose Color Sky" and another song for the soundtracks. They were released to movie theaters and television.
In 1967, Clifford opened a two-week engagement at the Ye Little Club in Beverly Hills, California. One of the celebrities who came to his opening night was Judy Garland. Clifford sang "My Best Girl" from Mame to her, after which she insisted on throwing him an opening night party.
The 1970s also saw Clifford play the dual role of Teen Angel and Johnny Casino in the first national tour of the Broadway musical, Grease , [4] that also starred John Travolta. [7]
In 1975, he appeared with the operatic tenor Jan Peerce in the Broadway production of Fiddler On the Roof as Motel, the timid tailor.
In 1976, he traveled to Paris, France, to co-star with Line Renaud in a new two-hour extravaganza entitled Paris Line at the Casino de Paris. A cast album was also recorded in Paris of the show where Clifford was featured on several solos.
He also appeared and sang on American Bandstand and also Where the Action Is (ABC-TV). He was a favorite on Baltimore's Buddy Deane Show (1962).
Clifford recorded the songs "Pretty Little Girl in the Yellow Dress" from the Universal Pictures The Last Sunset in 1961, "Look in Any Window" from the Allied Artists picture Look in Any Window in 1961, "Joanna" from the TV production Peter Gunn in 1961, "At Last" for the United Artist release The Last Time I Saw Archie in 1961, "It Had Better Be Tonight" from the Mirisch-G&E Production The Pink Panther in 1963, "Barbara’s Theme" from the motion picture Diary Of A Bachelor in 1964, "How to Murder Your Wife" and "Here's To My Lover" from the motion picture How To Murder Your Wife in 1965, "Magic Night" for the movie soundtrack Mondo Hollywood in 1967, "It’s a Dream Away" for the American International Pictures film The Glass Sphinx in 1967, "The Golden Breed" for the Hollywood International Production movie The Golden Breed in 1968, "Mary Jane", the title song for the American International motion picture Mary Jane in 1968 the theme from the motion picture, Those Fantastic Flying Fools, "You Say Love" for the Trans-American film Dagmar's Hot Pants Inc. in 1971, "The Morning After" for the Cinerama-Zenith International Production, and the theme for Necromancy in 1972.
In the early 1970s, Clifford and Lu Ann Simms were called to record a new version of the Beach Party album music, after Frankie and Annette recorded the final versions for the films. These recordings were released as Summer Fun by the Columbia House mail order division as a bonus gift.
Clifford continues to have a nightclub and concert career, that began on his 18th birthday at the Elegante Club, Brooklyn, New York co-starring with Totie Fields.
He has toured with his singing partner, Sandy Zacky. The two released a collaborative album in 2007, titled Love Is Everything. In 2010, Clifford recorded a brand new mp3 release, "Mack The Knife", on the Hired Gun Records label.
In 2015, Clifford traveled to Long Island, New York for the annual doo-wop show, where he headlined along with Jimmy Clanton, Johnny Tillotson, and Chuck Jackson, among others. In 2017, Clifford released his first video that he co-produced, directed, and starred in "What A Wonderful World" dance mix version. He also recorded a ballad version of the song with just piano accompaniment by Ben DiTosti. Both songs were made available for download. In late 2017, Clifford produced his second music video, a remake of the Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song." This new version was arranged by Ben DiTosti and co-produced by Maurice Gainen for Clifford's new label, Grover Stew Music.
In 2018, Clifford recorded a new version of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," featuring Ben DiTosti on piano, with full orchestra arranged and produced by Maurice Gainen and Clifford. He then proceeded to create a new video for this song, co-produced by Maurice Gainen. The audio version achieved Top Ten status on the Reverb Nation LA Jazz Music Chart.
On the 50th anniversary of her death, Clifford created a tribute to Judy Garland, with the release of a new recording and video of "Over The Rainbow".
In late 2019, Clifford reunited with his singing partner Sandy Zacky in a tribute to the late Doris Day. They recorded a new version of her first hit song "Sentimental Journey." A new video was also produced by DiTosti, Gainen, and Clifford. Released in late November, within six weeks "Sentimental Journey" achieved top five status on the Reverb Nation LA Jazz Music Chart and, as of January 2020, the song was still listed in the top 10.
In the fall of 2021, Mike released a new video and audio recording of a Livingston and Evans song, "His Own Little Island." This jazzy bossa nova production hit the Reverb Nation LA Jazz Chart Top Ten in less than one week of release.
In December 2021, Mike released a new recording of the classic "Ave Maria" sung in Latin, arranged by Ben DiTosti and produced by Maurice Gainen.
In June 2023, Mike released a new version of the classic ballad, "A Time for Love" featuring a flute solo by Maurice Gainen. The song and video were both produced by Mike Clifford and Maurice Gainen. Within two weeks, "A Time for Love" reached the top five in the Reverb Nation LA Jazz Chart.
In June of 2024, Mike released a tribute to the late composer Burt Bacharach. Co-produced with Maurice Gainen, he recorded a rendition of "(They Long to Be) Close To You", a song written by Bacharach which had originally reached number 1 on the Billboard Top 100 when performed by the Carpenters in 1970. Within two weeks, "Close To You" hit the top 10 on the LA Jazz Reverb Nation Chart.
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Record Label | B-side | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop | US AC | |||||
| 1959 | "Should I" | — | — | Liberty | "Whisper Whisper" | |
| "I'm Afraid to Say I Love You" | — | — | "I Don't Know Why" | |||
| 1960 | "Poor Little Girl" | — | — | Columbia | "Stranger" | |
| 1961 | "Uh Huh" | — | — | "Look in Any Window" | ||
| "Pretty Little Girl in the Yellow Dress" | — | — | "At Last" | |||
| "Bombay" | — | — | "When We Marry" | |||
| 1962 | "Joanna" | — | — | "Mary, Mary" | ||
| "Close to Cathy" | 12 | 4 | United Artists | "She's Just Another Girl" | For the Love of Mike | |
| "What to Do With Laurie" | 68 | — | "That's What They Said" | |||
| 1963 | "One Boy Too Late" | 96 | — | "Danny's Dream" | ||
| "Gee, I Don't Remember" | — | — | "Cotton Dresses" | |||
| 1964 | "All the Colors of the Rainbow (Turn to Blue)" | — | — | "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" | For the Love of Mike | |
| "One by One the Roses Died" | — | — | "See You in September" | |||
| "Don't Make Her Cry" | — | — | "Barbara's Theme" | |||
| 1965 | "How to Murder Your Wife" | — | — | "Here's to My Lover" | ||
| "Before I Loved Her" | — | — | Cameo | "Shirl Girl" | ||
| "Out in the Country" | — | — | "Countin'" | |||
| 1967 | "Send Her Flowers" | — | — | Sidewalk | "This Time, Time May Be Wrong" | |
| 1970 | "Broken Hearted Man" | — | — | American International | "When Cindy When" | |
| "You Better Start Singing Soon" | — | — | "Do Your Own Thing" | |||
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide.
Aaron Joseph Neville is an American R&B and soul singer. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. "Tell It Like It Is", from 1966, also reached the top position on the Soul chart for five weeks.
"Stand by Me" is a song originally performed in 1961 by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King and written by him, along with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who together used the pseudonym Elmo Glick. According to King, the title is derived from, and was inspired by, a spiritual written by Sam Cooke and J. W. Alexander called "Stand by Me Father", recorded by the Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead.
Maurice White was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey.
"California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper and producer Dr. Dre. The song was released December 3, 1995 as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first single as the newest artist of Death Row Records. The original version is featured on the UK version of his fourth album, All Eyez on Me (1996), and is one of 2Pac's most widely known and most successful singles. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and also topped the charts of Italy, New Zealand, and Sweden. The song was posthumously nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997.
"Lovesong" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released as the third single from their eighth studio album, Disintegration (1989), on 21 August 1989. The song saw considerable success in the United States, where it reached the number-two position in October 1989 and became the band's only top-10 entry on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, the single charted at number 18, and it peaked within the top 20 in Canada and Ireland.
"I'm Coming Out" is a song recorded by American singer Diana Ross. It was written and produced by Chic members Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, and released on August 22, 1980, as the second single from Diana’s self-titled eleventh album, Diana (1980).
"Easy" is a song by American band Commodores from their fifth studio album, Commodores (1977), released on the Motown label. Group member Lionel Richie wrote "Easy" with the intention of it becoming another crossover hit for the group given the success of a previous single, "Just to Be Close to You", which spent two weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977.
"After the Love Has Gone" is a song by Earth, Wind & Fire, released in 1979 as the second single from their ninth studio album I Am on ARC/Columbia Records. The song reached No. 2 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, No. 3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. "After the Love Has Gone" was certified gold in the US by the RIAA and silver in the UK by the BPI.
"Missing You" is a song co-written and recorded by English musician John Waite. It was released in June 1984 as the lead single from his second album, No Brakes (1984). It reached number one on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks and on the Hot 100, as well as number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. "Missing You" was the only record in 1984 to spend only a single week at the top of the Hot 100. The song was nominated for the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance Male.
"It's in His Kiss" is a song written and composed by Rudy Clark. It was first released as a single in 1963 by Merry Clayton that did not chart. The song was made a hit a year later when recorded by Betty Everett, who hit No. 1 on the Cashbox magazine R&B charts with it in 1964. Recorded by dozens of artists and groups around the world in the decades since, the song became an international hit once again when covered by Cher in 1990.
"This Is Me" is a song by American girl group Dream. It was released on February 27, 2001, as the second single from their debut album It Was All a Dream (2001). It was written in by Steve Kipner, David Frank and Pamela Sheyne, the same team that wrote their debut single "He Loves U Not".
"You Light Up My Life" is a ballad written by Joseph Brooks, and originally recorded by Kasey Cisyk for the soundtrack album to the 1977 film of the same title. The song was lip synced in the film by its lead actress, Didi Conn. The best-known cover version of the song is a cover by Debby Boone, the daughter of singer Pat Boone. It held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for ten consecutive weeks in 1977 and topped Record World magazine's Top 100 Singles Chart for a record 13 weeks.
"Lara's Theme" is the name given to a leitmotif written for the 1965 film Doctor Zhivago by composer Maurice Jarre. Soon afterward, the leitmotif became the basis of the song "Somewhere, My Love". Numerous versions, both orchestral and vocal, have been recorded, among the most popular was the version by Ray Conniff Singers.
Linda Clifford is an American R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "Runaway Love" and "Red Light".
"(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" is a song by the American pop duo the Righteous Brothers. It was the group's first hit after leaving their long-time producer Phil Spector. The song was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who also wrote the group's first hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" along with Phil Spector. It is the title track of their album. The single peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 3 single for 1966.
"Home" is a song by Canadian singer Michael Bublé, and released on January 24, 2005, as the first single from his fourth studio album, It's Time. The song was written by Bublé, along with co-writers Alan Chang and Amy Foster-Gillies. Bublé's version was a number-one single on the Adult Contemporary chart formats of both Canada and the United States, in addition to certifying platinum in both countries as well as finding chart success internationally. Following his original version in 2005, two cover versions were successful by other artists: one by Irish group Westlife in 2007, and one by American singer Blake Shelton in 2008.
"This Is Acid", also known by its full title, "This Is Acid (A New Dance Craze)", is a song by Chicago house music DJ and producer Maurice Joshua, who recorded the track under his first name "Maurice". It reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in April 1989 and stayed there for two weeks.
"What You Won't Do for Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bobby Caldwell. It was released in September 1978 as the lead single from his eponymous debut album (1978). It was written by Caldwell and Alfons Kettner, and produced by Ann Holloway. The song has been covered and sampled numerous times, including by Tupac Shakur in the posthumous 1998 hit "Do for Love".
"Night and Day" is a 1991 song by Bette Midler written by Roxanne Seeman and Billie Hughes. It is the second single from Some People's Lives produced by Arif Mardin with Marc Shaiman as associate producer. "Night and Day" was arranged by Arif Mardin, Billie Hughes, and Joe Mardin. Jack Joseph Puig was the recording and mix engineer. "Night and Day" was also released as a single in Japan.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
