Remembering 2023’s Music Losses: Cynthia Weil

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Another round of the “white death” (as a putting buddy of mine calls it) has struck. I have 2.5” of the evil fluff on the ground here, but what’s worse is the wind chill advisory that comes with it. To warm you up, I present some great music. Here’s another major loss from the world of music that happened in 2023. Cynthia Weil Who? By the time you finish reading you will probably be weeping over the magnitude of talent that we lost when this woman passed away on June 1, 2023. To give you some indication: it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to call her “the female Burt Bacharach.” In fact, she and her songwriting partner/husband, Barry Mann (of “Who Put the Bomp [in the Bomp Bomp Bomp]” fame), worked out of the same New York City songwriting center as Bacharach, Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield, AND Carole King & Gerry Goffin! That gives you an indication of this woman’s significance in music. If it didn’t, take a gander at some of these songs that she co-wrote with her husband: “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration” (both hits for the Righteous Brothers), the Grammy-winning “Somewhere Out There” by Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram; and, for you country music fans, “Here You Come Again” by Dolly Parton! I could go on, but I think you get the idea. From rockers (“Kicks” by Paul Revere & the Raiders) to country (Leroy Van Dyke’s hit “If a Woman Answers [Hang Up the Phone]”) to soul (Ray Charles’ “None of Us Are Free”) to pop (“Blame It on the Bossa Nova” by Eydie Gormé), Cynthia Weil had a major influence in the music of the past 60 years. That’s one of the reasons I do these lists: this woman was an incredible songwriter (inducted into both the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame) who gave us much great music in her life. Cynthia Weil October 18, 1940 - June 1, 2023 (age 82) HALL OF FAME: Rock and Roll, 2010; Songwriters, 2011 (both with Barry Mann) To show you the versatility of Cynthia Weil’s songwriting, here’s the Pointer Sisters’ hit “He’s So Shy,” co-written with Tom Snow: