|
|
Mort Shuman, Singer, Songwriter, Off-Broadway Sensation, and French Pop Star
| by Michael Macomber |
Mort Shuman
Nov 12, 1936 to
Nov 3, 1991
|
Mort Shuman is often mentioned in the context of being the second half of the phrase "Pomus-Shuman," referring to his songwriting partnership with the legendary Doc Pomus. While his years with Pomus represent some of Shuman's most amazing work, it would be a shame to overlook the fact that Shuman also did some fascinating and unique work on his own. In addition to his stellar reputation as a hit songwriter, Shuman is also responsible for creating one of the longest running off-Broadway musicals in history, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. |
|
Like Pomus, Shuman's story begins with a kid and a dream. Born in Brooklyn to Jewish immigrant parents, Shuman developed a deep love for rhythm and blues music as a child, and by his teens, he was hanging around clubs in Harlem, soaking it all in. His sophisticated taste and musical knowledge caught the attention of Pomus, who was some 15 years his senior. Despite their age difference, they struck up a friendship and a partnership that would last for 9 years.
As a team, they had the Midas touch, turning out solid gold for the likes of Bobby Darin, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Dion, and so many others. They created songs that became part of the fabric of American popular culture: Save the Last Dance for Me, Teenager in Love, Suspicion, and Can't Get Used to Losing You, to name a few. Like Lieber and Stoller, Pomus and Shuman were leading lights of the Brill Building crowd, always on the charts and the radio.
When the Pomus-Shuman partnership came to an end, Shuman kept on writing, supplying compositions for Janis Joplin, The Small Faces, and the Hollies.
He was also doing quite a lot of traveling at this time, and it was on a trip to Paris where he happened to hear the work of the great Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel. Shuman was immediately taken with the passion, intelligence, and humanity in Brel's lyrics. He returned home with a new project, translating Brel's songs and presenting them to the American public.
The ultimate result of this effort was Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, a musical review that premiered on January 22nd, 1968 in a Greenwich Village nightclub. Brel's music drew heavily on cabaret styles, and so it was ideal for such a theatrical production. The cast consisted of only four performers; Elly Stone, Shawn Elliott, Allison Whitfield, and Shuman. When the show finally closed, over 1800 performances later, it had become a smash hit and a national sensation. Productions were subsequently mounted in major cities across the U.S., in Canada, and around the world.
Not long after the success of Jacques Brel, Shuman's love for Paris drew him back to the city, where he embarked on a second career, as a popular recording artist. He became of one France's most well known personalities, scoring six gold albums and countless hits.
Shuman enjoyed 15 solid years of success in France, before moving to London to pursue his English language songwriting and recording career. In 1991, Atlantic released Distant Drum, his debut album for the label.
Like his partner Pomus, Shuman has left behind an incredible legacy, a tender, touching, and powerful body of work to be treasured for eons to come. |
|
 |
Mort Shuman songs on Darin LPs:
Bobby Darin (Atco 33-102, September 1958)—(Since You're Gone) I Can't Go On (Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman)
For Teenagers Only (Atco SP-1001, September 1960)—I Ain't Sharin' Sharon (Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman)
The Bobby Darin Story (Atco 33-131, 1961)—Plain Jane (Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman)
Twist with Bobby Darin (Atco 33-138, December 1961)—I Ain't Sharin' Sharon (Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman)
Things and Other Things (Atco 33-146, July 1962)—Sorrow Tomorrow (Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman)
18 Yellow Roses and 11 Other Hits (Capitol 1942, July 1963)—Can't Get Used To Losing You (Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman) |
 |
Mort Shuman Selected Discography:
Mort Shuman: Mort Shuman (Philips 700005, 1973)
Mort Shuman: Imagine (Philips 9101029, 1976)
Mort Shuman: My Name Is Mortimer (Philips 9101107, 1977)
Mort Shuman: Distant Drum (Atlantic 82290-2, 1991) |
Mort Shuman Links:
Mort Shuman at the Songwriters Hall of Fame |
|
|
|
|
