Richard Kerr (songwriter)

Richard Buchanan Kerr (born December 14, 1944)[1] is an English composer, who co-wrote "Mandy", "Looks Like We Made It" and "Somewhere in the Night" (all of which became hit singles for Barry Manilow)[2] and "I'll Never Love This Way Again", for Dionne Warwick.

Richard Kerr
Birth nameRichard Buchanan Kerr
Born (1944-12-14) December 14, 1944
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Songwriter, composer

Career

Kerr began his education at Bedford School.[3] After gaining an interest in music at school he went into songwriting. In the UK, he collaborated with musicians in the late 1960s and early 1970s such as Peter Green, Don Partridge and Scott English. The latter pairing resulted in the song "Brandy", which English released in 1971. This song later become a worldwide hit under the title "Mandy" for Barry Manilow in 1974, although Don Partridge's "Blue Eyes" was Kerr's first hit as a songwriter.

In 1976, Kerr's solo album, Richard Kerr (re-titled Somewhere in the Night in some territories) was released by Epic Records, and in 2014 it was released digitally on iTunes. Kerr's album Welcome to the Club (1978, A&M Records) featured songs co-written with John Bettis, Gary Osborne, and Will Jennings.[2] Kerr's other albums include From Now Until Then, No Looking Back, Songwriter, and Reflections of Richard Kerr.[2]

His most important collaboration has been with the American lyricist Will Jennings. They have written such popular songs as "Looks Like We Made It", a No. 1 hit for Barry Manilow, "Somewhere in the Night", which was a hit for Helen Reddy and later for Barry Manilow (1978), and "I'll Never Love This Way Again" for Dionne Warwick.

In 1997, along with lyricist Don Black, Kerr wrote "You Stayed Away Too Long", sung by 18 year old Joanne May, one of the four finalists in the Great British Song Contest, the UK heat for the Eurovision Song Contest. It came third.

Hit compositions

Other recorded songs

Discography (as artist)
  • 1973 – From Now Until Then – Warner Bros. Records
  • 1974 – Reflections of Richard Kerr – Rondor Music
  • 1976 – Richard Kerr (re-titled Somewhere in the Night in some territories) – Epic Records (album was reissued on iTunes in 2014 from the master tapes)
  • 1978 – Welcome to the Club – A&M Records
  • 1981 – Songwriter – Almo Irving Music [promotional LP only]
  • 1982 – No Looking Back – A&M Records[5]

References
  1. "Richard Buchanan KERR - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  2. "Biography by Ed Hogan". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  3. "Music Stars" Archived 10 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Aspire: Newsletter from Bedford School Foundation, Winter 2004 Issue. Accessed 17 July 2012.
  4. "Allmusic ((( Richard Kerr > Songs > Songs Composed By )))".
  5. "Allmusic ((( Richard Kerr > Discography > Main Albums )))".
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