First class songwriter…
Composer Carole Bayer Sager enjoyed one of the longest hit streaks in contemporary pop, with her chart success spanning across several decades. Born March 8, 1947 in New York City, she wrote her first songs while attending New York’s High School of Music and Art during the early 1960s; discovered by producer Don Kirshner, she signed to his Screen Gems publishing company and in 1966 authored her first hit, the Mindbenders’ oft-covered “A Groovy Kind of Love.” After penning a number of songs for the Monkees, Sager wrote the lyrics for the 1970 off-Broadway hit Georgy; in 1975, she co-wrote “Midnight Blue” with singer Melissa Manchester, who took the song into the Top Ten. They later reunited on the smash “Don’t Cry Out Loud.” Sager’s own recording career was launched two years later, when she issued her self-titled debut LP on Elektra; the album scored a British hit with the single “You’re Moving Out Today.”
After writing Leo Sayer’s chart-topping “When I Need You,” Sager teamed with her husband, the celebrated composer Marvin Hamlisch, to write the popular Broadway musical They’re Playing Our Song, an autobiographical work exploring the romantic entanglements of a hit songwriting team. The couple later scored an Oscar nomination for “Nobody Does It Better,” the theme to the James Bond thriller The Spy Who Loved Me and a number two hit for singer Carly Simon. In 1981, Sager notched her biggest American solo hit with the single “Stronger Than Before,” from her third LP Sometimes Late at Night. She remained far better known as a writer, however, and after her marriage to Hamlisch ended, she began working with the brilliant Burt Bacharach, earning an Academy Award for 1981’s “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” a number one smash for Christopher Cross. A year later, Sager and Bacharach were married.
Sager’s partnership with Bacharach was among the most fruitful of her lengthy career. Perhaps their most notable collaboration was the song “That’s What Friends Are For”; originally written in 1982 for the comedy Night Shift, the couple revived the song as a “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” in 1986 to raise money for AIDS research. Recorded by Dionne Warwick and Friends (including Elton John), “That’s What Friends Are For” quickly hit number one, earning well over a million dollars for charity. With Neil Diamond, Sager, and Bacharach also composed the hit “Heartlight,” and later penned the Patti Labelle/Michael McDonald duet “On My Own.” In 1988 they collaborated on the soundtrack for the sequel Arthur 2: On the Rocks; that same year, they also authored a number of tracks on the Barbra Streisand LP Till I Loved You. In 1991, however, Sager and Bacharach divorced; she was relatively quiet in the years to follow, most notably writing songs for films including Beethoven’s 2nd and Junior.
Photo by: Murray Close. Words from allmusic.com Read more about Carole Bayer Sager at her official website.
Discography
Sometimes Late At Night
Iconoclassic Records 2023
Tracks: Prologue, I Won´t Break, Just Friends, Tell Her, Somebody´s Been Lying, On The Way To The Sky, You And Me (We Wanted It All), Sometimes Late At Night, Wild Again, Easy To Love Again, Stronger Than Before, You Don´t Know Me, Reprise, Conversation With Carole And Burt, Stronger Than Before (Single Version), Conversation With Carole And Burt, Easy To Love Again (Single Version) & Conversation With Carole And Burt.
Musicians on the Sometimes Late At Night album: Carole Bayer Sager, Jeff Porcaro, Lee Sklar, Lee Ritenour, Michael Lang, Burt Bacharach, Ed Walsh, George Young, Richard Page, Steve George, Jim Keltner, Reinie Press, Paul Jackson, Michael Jackson, David Foster, Paulinho Da Costa, Franne Golde, Joann Harris, Tim May, Fred Tackett, Ian Underwood, Dennis St. John, Neil Diamond, Richard Bennett, Doug Rhone, Tom Hensley, Alan Lindgren, King Errisson, Vince Charles, Melissa Manchester, Bruce Roberts, Warren Luening, Vennette Gloud.
Carole Bayer Sager/Too/Sometimes Late At Night
Raven 2012
Tracks: Disc 1: Come In From The Rain, Until Next Time, Don´t Wish Too Hard, Sweet Alibis, Aces, I´d Rather Leave While I´m In Love, Steal Away Again, You´re Moving Out Today, Shy As A Violet, Home To Myself, To Make You Smile Again, It´s The Falling In Love, Peace In My Heart, Shadows, You´re Interesting, There´s Something About You, It Doesn´t Add Up, I Don´t Wanna Dance No More, One Star Shining & I´m Coming Home Again. Disc 2: Prologue, I Won´t Break, Just Friends, Tell Her, Somebody´s Been Lying, On The Way To The Sky, You And Me (We Wanted It All), Sometimes Late At Night, Wild Again, Easy To Love Again, Stronger Than Before, You Don´t Know Me & Reprise.
Musicians on the Carole Bayer Sager/Too/Sometimes Late At Night album: Carole Bayer Sager and others.
Sometimes Late At Night
Reach Entertainment 1981
Tracks: Prologue, I Won´t Break, Just Friends, Tell Her, Somebody´s Been Lying, On The Way To The Sky, You And Me (We Wanted It All), Sometimes Late At Night, Wild Again, Easy To Love Again, Stronger Than Before, You Don´t Know Me & Reprise.
Musicians on the Sometimes Late At Night album: Carole Bayer Sager, Jeff Porcaro, Lee Sklar, Lee Ritenour, Michael Lang, Burt Bacharach, Ed Walsh, George Young, Richard Page, Steve George, Jim Keltner, Reinie Press, Paul Jackson, Michael Jackson, David Foster, Paulinho Da Costa, Franne Golde, Joann Harris, Tim May, Fred Tackett, Ian Underwood, Dennis St. John, Neil Diamond, Richard Bennett, Doug Rhone, Tom Hensley, Alan Lindgren, King Errisson, Vince Charles, Melissa Manchester, Bruce Roberts, Warren Luening, Vennette Gloud.
Too
Elektra Records 1978
Tracks: To Make You Smile Again, It´s The Falling In Love, Peace In My Heart, Shadows, You´re Interesting, There´s Something About You, It Doesn´t Add Up, I Don´t Wanna Dance No More, One Star Shining & I´m Coming Home Again.
Musicians on the Too album: Carole Bayer Sager, Marvin Hamlish, Nino Tempo, Ed Greene, David Hungate, David Foster, Steve Lukather, Steve Forman, Michael McDonald, Bill Champlin, Jim Gordon, Reinie Press, Melissa Manchester, Thom Rotella, Lee Ritenour, Steve Porcaro, Paul Buckmaster, Bruce Roberts, Alice Cooper, Russ Kunkel, Lee Sklar, Craig Doerge, Ira Newborn, David Campell, Johnny Vastano, Art Smith, Alan Estes, Brenda Russell, Jennifer Sloan, Carmen Twilee, Weddy Gloud, Jerry Hey, Gary Crant, Bill Reichenbach, George Bohannon, Kim Hutchcroft, Larry Williams, Richie Zito, Jim Highart, Skip Redwine, & Michael Rubini.
Carole Bayer Sager
Elektra Records 1977
Tracks: Come In From The Rain, Until Next Time, Don´t Wish Too Hard, Sweet Alibis, Aces, I´d Rather Leave While I´m In Love, Steal Away Again, You´re Moving Out Today, Shy As A Violet & Home To Myself.
Musicians on the Carole Bayer Sager album: Carole Bayer Sager, Melissa Manchester, Lee Sklar, Lee Ritenour, Nicky Hopkins, Artie Butler, Johnny Vastano, Russ Kunkel, Peter Allen, Bob Cranshaw, Allan Schwartsberg, Alan Estes, Abigail Haness, Brenda Russell, Tony Orlando, Marvin Hamlish, Emory Gordy, Jim Keltner, Bob Margouleff, Paul Buckmaster, Bruce Roberts, Will Lee, Al Gorgoni, Ray Markowitz, Jerry Friedman, Madeline Kahn, Thom Rotella, Hugh McCracken, Garnett Brown, Andy Newmark & Bette Midler.