Barry De Vorzon

Barry Devorzon
Background information
Born (1934-07-31) July 31, 1934 (age 90)
New York City, U.S.
GenresFilm score, rock
Occupation(s)Composer, singer, songwriter

Barry Devorzon (born July 31, 1934; surname also appears as De Vorzon or DeVorzon) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, composer, label owner, and music publisher. He has composed hit songs, contributed to film and television soundtracks, and has won Grammy and Emmy awards.

Career

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DeVorzon's earliest hit compositions were "Just Married" (1958), written with Al Allen[1] and recorded by Marty Robbins, which reached number 26 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart and number one on the Country chart;[2] and "Dreamin'" (1960), written with Ted Ellis,[3] recorded by Johnny Burnette, and charting at number 11 on the Hot 100.[4] Dorsey Burnette (whom he was managing) and Devorzon co-wrote several of Dorsey's hits ("Hey, Little One"; "Big Rock Candy Mountain"; "Red Roses"; "Noah's Ark").

Devorzon co-founded Valiant Records with publishing associate Billy Sherman in 1960.[5][6] During the 1960s, he signed the Association to Valiant, and produced its first single, a cover of the Bob Dylan tune "One Too Many Mornings".

Devorzon wrote "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" for the Cascades, but the group did not record it. In 1963, Devorzon made his own recording of the song with his group Barry & the Tamerlanes. Also in 1963 he co-wrote the ballad "Shy Girl", which was recorded by The Cascades.

Devorzon wrote the tune "Girls" for Johnny Burnette. It reached No. 37 in the UK 1961 charts.

He composed the soundtracks to many 1970s and 1980s films, and one of the tunes, "Cotton's Dream" (from Bless the Beasts and Children) was retitled "Nadia's Theme" and re-released by A&M Records for the television soap opera The Young and the Restless. "Nadia's Theme" hit No. 8 on the US Top 40 in 1976 and the album from which it was taken peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard 200; in 1977, it won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement. The main title song, "Bless the Beasts and Children," was recorded by the Carpenters and received an Academy Award nomination.

Devorzon composed the tune "It's Christmas Once Again in Santa Barbara," which was re-recorded with various other city names, such as San Francisco and San Diego. He also wrote the "Theme from S.W.A.T." and co-wrote the Eagles' hit "In the City" with Joe Walsh. In 1979 he wrote the music for the movie The Warriors.

Devorzon was one of the developers of the MasterWriter creative software for songwriters and lyricists.[7]

Awards and nominations

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Soundtracks

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References

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  1. ^ "Just Married", BMI work number 788447, writer credits at BMI Repertoire database. Retrieved January 2, 2016
  2. ^ Marty Robbins: Billboard chart placings at AllMusic.com. Retrieved January 2, 2016
  3. ^ "Dreamin'", BMI work number 342471, writer credits at BMI Repertoire database. Retrieved January 2, 2016
  4. ^ Johnny Burnette: Billboard chart placings at AllMusic.com. Retrieved January 2, 2016
  5. ^ "Valiant Label Discography – USA – 45cat". 45cat.com. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  6. ^ "Sherman-De Vorzon Music". discogs.com. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  7. ^ "MasterWriter About Us page". About us. Archived from the original on December 23, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  8. ^ "All Grammy Awards and Nominations for Barry De Vorzon". Grammy Awards. Recording Academy. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c aboutus Archived December 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. masterwriter. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
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