Elliot Lurie: From Brooklyn to "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)"

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We love bring you stories about how songs are made. Also we love telling you stories about musicians and this time we bring you both probably brings us a story of a man who knew from a young age that a career in music was his future. Elliott Lurie is best known for writing and performing the looking glass is it song Brandy, you're a fine girl, but his career in music began years earlier.

Elliott tell his story.

I was lucky to grow up in a real special time and place I grew up in Brooklyn New York kinda came of age in the late 50s early 60s surrounded by great music.

We were blessed to New York to have four great top 40 radio stations and one R&B station to be able to grant from the New Jersey and I was hooked. I was back to clichéd kid and went to sleep with the transistor radio under his pillow and for my 12th birthday my parents got me while in fact reel to reel tape recorder. I used to take the alligator clips and hook them up to speak on the radio and when the song came on. I like that I recorded at one point and aunt of mine gave me ukulele birthday present for Obama, like that and then by accident I sat on my broken and I figured well and only has two more strings and that might be a little more fun so I got my mom to buy me a guitar and shortly after that I started lessons and I would love I had a very good teacher taught me how to read music taught me jazzed up all kinds and I got into bands pretty early on when I was 14 or 15, I started playing in some local bands and we do shows we do dances leaving the bar gig with five binaries to get into the far and I decided that that was really what I wanted to do to be a musician, which did not go over real well with my mom and dad plan a lot of bands locally at one of the bands there when I was in high school he got to do some demos of a capital record to try to get a record contract.

I really like it and want to become a musician, but the Vietnam War was happening and I was of draft age and I don't want to go there so I went up going to Rutgers University in New Jersey.

I went there for one semester and I really wasn't very happy there and I thought you know want him to drop out of here and I'll take my chances with the draft board. I've heard ever there certain things that you can do for a couple of days before he go to the draft language may yet make them inclined to cannot have you in the Army so I thought I would try that. I got a job as musician I found the guy was looking for backup musician I played I played baseball was like a little folk trio and we played really cool little places down the village played a bit of an all the old village folkie clubs down there and had a side project that was like a comedy and they made a novelty record which was basically the song wild thing done in the voice of the late Sen. Kent Weston late family was still alive and that in New York anyway became a big hit with a novelty.

They were put on a show that the famous New York this Jack K came from Winston to New York was the house that shacking used to put on these review shows that you can fax the Brooklyn Paramount. The RKO and in the past I got them escaped and they were like reviews of no change 12 acts I've seen of my nightstand little Stevie wonder which writer will only ask for the time and it was great. They show a movie in between the show that the five shows a day they go to movie and come in and stand in line in the morning at 9 o'clock in the morning to get in and as each show was over. Some kids would leave and you'd move up. So if you are willing to sit for the movie five times you would finally get to the five rows by the end of the day they will call the Harley with the players they got on the show they had this technology and I was the bass player and this was just one of these was transitioning 1968 and Murray was kinda getting hip to the fact that you know there was a new kind of music come around. He had the who and cream, which I think with their first appearance of the lease in New York of non-states and showing off seven days right break and the Harley with the players wound up sharing the dressing room with the who poorly and in a late at night after the shows were over people jamming one night with claymation Al Cooper from playing piano and I didn't really know about that was I had the balls to ask if I could use his guitar and his old psychedelic painting and whatnot before him on this and that that really that really submitted it for me. As if this is this is a great life. This is what I want to do the parents weren't thrilled that sometimes parents aren't thrilled with the choices their kids make and sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn't is great radio stations in New York at the time.

By the time he touched me in life playing dances and bar is in his mid teens. While that was it. When we come back more of Elliott Lurie story the writer a brand-new euro fine girl of life's tail worth telling his story continues here on our American store view of the great American stories we tell and love America like we do, or asking you to become a part of the all American stories family. If you agree that America is a good and great country.

Please make a donation monthly gift of $17.76 is fast becoming a favorite option for supporters to allow American stories.com now and go to the donate button and help us keep the great American stories coming out American stories.com and we continue with our American stories and Elliott Lurie's is best known for writing the looking glass its own brand euro fine girl left off the end of Elliott's high school career. After learning to play guitar, having played in local bands.

He knew he wanted to pursue a career in music.

Let's return Lurie and more of a story. Then the trapdoor called and I did all the things that I had been told would work and is classified when a call me to go over there so I hustled back to Rutgers University and available comfortable records afterwhile and met a couple guys start hanging out with Linda band. There, the personnel changed over time. We used to rehearse and in some of the student quarters that whenever public rooms daily takeover and playful onto they kicked us out and we started getting started getting lots of work. We worked a lot of fraternity parties at records and surrounding colleges would go down to Princeton PENNSYLVANIA to Lehigh and a lot of local clubs and were cover band you know we did for five cents a night. Everything from Rolling Stones to Buffalo Springfield to young rascals started to get quite a little following around the area. We start writing some songs that we would sorta sneak into the sats number time I was liberated. If any school I would say no sort of half of a performance was original songs I have covered some pretty good crowd some pretty good personnel changed from time to time that the final personnel that that became the looking glass to make a record was Larry gone skiing from Rikers play piano up your sleeve up for micros play base.

I played guitar and we had a number of drummers drumming wound up being the drummer in the band made the record with Jeff Groh also known as Jill asked to be and he went from a neighboring college, but he also had advanced we thought that we could take a shot at doing something with band. I said to my folks slid back want to try to get to see you when I get a real job and I got the degree that you want me to get it will be there but I think we can maybe make something of this. They want to pleased about that at that point, have a go along. We found a house to rent up in the northwest corner of New Jersey, an area called Hunterdon County and it's real beautiful. It's near the Pennsylvania border trees and rivers. Now it's not like the Newark area on the New Jersey Turnpike area really country it had three bedrooms upstairs, downstairs at bingo country kitchen and living room fireplace and acres and acres behind set up all the gear in the living room and on the weekends we pack it up in his van.

We go and we play games on the weekends and make enough to pay the rent by food and all. And then during the week we would write jam and we had four track Geac record is going make demos and try to see we can put together something that we can present to a record company and we know we play gigs on the weekends and then during the week would sleep late and make music late into the night. That was very very cool town of my life and that house is what I wrote Brandy I remember I was living in the upstairs bedroom and I had just gotten a you Gibson J 200 was nice to get back to management's 48th St., New York, and I was strong and and I was right in the way I usually do, which as you know, I just can't play around trying to chord progression on it, like in such repeat that over and over again. I have a girl that when I was in high school. Her name is Randy I just started singing over the chord changes. Randy this Randy that and then suddenly the story started to come together in the verses you know I have often been asked. You know what size sailor and merchant Marine waited the story come from the truth as it came out of thin air.

You know it's one of think that it hits you, and when I got the first verse in my head. I kinda knew the story was going. And at that point I said well I got a change Randy because first of all Randy is a weird name foil girl, and also shows them via barmaid.

She should be Brandy.

So I had back on the verse written on the I was stuck for a while and we had an upright piano downstairs living rehearse.

I can only play piano in the QC. I went and I have a verse on the guitar and Keeley went down to piano. I started playing around and I found some that I, like the chorus because the choruses it's more piano thing because it really is like a triad that stays on the top of the base that moves that makes the courts change which you can do on piano, but not really that great on guitar, so I would run up to the upstairs bedroom. I played the verse from and get the hang of that and run downstairs and I get the chorus working on the piano and I had the coursework and on piano and and then I worked a bridge at a panel in that way and finally realized idiot, you just bring your guitar dance to keep down the to get started rather quickly. I think I get the story going in the idea of how the car is probably a couple of days but completing it took quite a while. I remember it took me weeks to be able to get the story complete and with the rhyme scheme and that the tell the entire story in approximately three minutes, which was as long as a pop record could usually be in those days that I finally got that done and we headed to our repertoire in our dance and we put it on a little Geac gentlemen and we move forward and a few months after that I take the cheese.

I don't really remember how we met him after New Jersey believed that a fella named Mike Gershwin who had been a big time publicist in the music business in LA and he was looking for something really want to move back was from another came out to show the Patty said fate. I think that's pretty good I like a manager like try to get you done a couple things you said okay go look at this and one thing led to another and Mike got on demos to Clive Davis at CBS records in New York and Clive like to demos well enough that he set up a showcase for us at the Café a go go down in Greenwich Village.

We open for Buddy Guy, believe, and he came down Harrison EE he liked it and he offers the only sign with epic records signed out and deal with them I guess is 19 70 1/2 maybe 1971 and signed us up to do now is fill it down hundred and County took about 15 minutes driving to New York. No traffic was great. So we start to put the album plans in place. Clive said that I think you guys should go down to Memphis and Steve cropper, Steve cropper caused the MGC wrote: although Otis Redding had seen a fabulous thrill great and we went down to Memphis and since we get down to Memphis. There were curfew split in place because there was a little bit of the racial stuff going on, so they had shut down Memphis so instead of being able to see the town and hang out in, were allowed to go from the holiday into the studio and back and that was about it for the week or 10 days that we spent Memphis. We cut close to a real happy and we went back and schedule meeting with Clive to listen back. I only played it back in his office. He said, and we all agreed.

He said guys these are real good recordings that sound like a really well recorded Barbie which is what we were and that is not exactly what you want to hear from Clive Davis. After spending a lot of label money going down to Memphis you want to hear something original, only come back more of Elliott Lori story here on our American story about American stories and the story of Elliott Lori member of the band looking glass of a hit song Brandy refined girl despite the hit song was before they recorded the final version they were told that they sounded well like a well-run first Barbie return to the rest of the recording of their hit song in the touring that came after that. Also, like cats and I think a couple of these can be hits. I think that some branding me hit me.

Pointed to know is I think this can be hits, but they need to hit production and end this decision so we can agreed we want we want disappointed and we were looking for head main knowing what that hit record that was our goal. So Clive put us with a guy named Sandy Linzer and Sandy Linzer had been very involved with the four seasons.

He cowrote some of their hits you been in the in the New York pop world and that he was firmly rooted in that the New York Brill building pop world, which I did my I would love that stuff in my adult child king and the writers again my Brill building that was Sandy came out of the house in Hunterdon County and we ran through it and he really helped a great deal in putting the arrangements together. For instance believe we did. Brandy will record with Steve cropper. It started with the verse little instrumental piece of the verse that whole great intro that hit record and show that you record nothing notes so much and we came up with that that at the front leading. That was Sandy's idea about great great pop your producers upfront to me and helped us in any produce a written track and vocal and do the horns and strings boarding arranger with very reputable arranger and Sandy want to put a ship's bell on the on the intro and you arrangement the guy had written the guys start playing it and we hated it. It was, it sounded like every other pop record to get here in the early 70s with a little slot, contained in the arranger that want to offend them but very well-known arranger hated micromanagement and we went up to Clive for clad taken direction I like and it's really taken one hit but when I went out about sound like that he said will you want to do well you know put together a nice rhythm track and step up when I really had Linda vocally get some ideas from background vocals that may work in. We hate the one string arrangement and that you would like to go back to the rhythm track it and maybe take it from there you guys want to do what will do it with the engineer from an incredibly said okay with you know a lot of people over the years and have said that that Clive can be very strong-willed about certain things and he can and this is so we went back to finish the record we stripped it down at the original rhythm track with redid the lead vocal came up with all the background of those we called in another major newborn child like that one either. So we went up humming the horn parts that you are on the record. We hung those to the horn players and they was John down on the on the notepaper you know if they want sections like seven guys and that's expensive to regulate activities here are recent near humming on parts of the guys in their job and downplaying them to get into little overtime, but the end result was good. So the final record that you hear is that original rhythm track with all the new vocals that we did horn arrangement that we did and that's the record that came out to get you know on that one hit we could sell out like a large club or small place for 500 people, but there weren't enough of those to really sustain tour so we would open for much bigger ship and sometimes appearing for well we get a cup of shows and greatly help them in different combinations that I level must be open for Alice Cooper and this is the announcement on the full-blown show with the guillotine is we got up there and we got off in a hurry so the road, the road had ups and downs but it was great. I got to see a lot of the country they been to the Midwest and South. We get out to California you know it wasn't with my first class touring with use definitely holiday and a lot of driving. Find a big town like Chicago you rent a van drive all through Illinois and Ohio and maybe sometimes over to Minnesota and spent a lot of time in Ohio got along very well and having a first, second, and we had one song on there that I had written called Jimmy loves Marianne and we thought that would be the single came out and it did okay.

It entered the top 40 which you when people call us when the great one hit wonders at her that technically to be a one hit wonder.

You can only have one song that entered the top 40 soup technically we had to, although it was said is quite apparent to me while known as a one at one of the one. It is so huge was very indiscreet density charts got some play in certain cities that English top 10 Chicago and never had nearly grew disappointed in that we thought we did a real good with the somewhere and I didn't happen.

And at that point will time an interesting juncture because the band always had kind of a split personality's weevil who played bass and also wrote some song from their but with quite a different style than my writing and singing. So when you go back and you listen to the looking glass or if you came to see his if you came to hear and see Brandy. You were a little disappointed because you know half of the stuff kind of sounded in that vein, so it's pretty eclectic kind of stuff and it didn't really have a damage sound like they should wrap his arms around and you're listening to Elliott. Lori told the worry of a very brief brush with pop stardom and music stardom and like so many so many bands that have a hit. Maybe a second. It's a rare thing and it's a good thing. But what happens after that's the question we love pursuing that question here on the show we talked to any number of folks involved in hit TV shows. It records and the like, and then have to live the rest of their lives. Is it just doesn't happen again.

What do they do they live the rest of our lives and how they deal with all only come back more of Elliott Lurie story here on our American story back with our American stories and the conclusion of Elliott Lurie story, the man who wrote and performed the looking glass is hit Brandy, you're a fine girl band realize that they weren't going to get much traction beyond Brandy Elliott finish telling his story also that anybody who thought of looking glass. By then, but it Brandy and that was the sound so like I said you guys listen I said, you have disbanded the Democratic band Pete right stuff. I would have to stop.

It's not like we divided up one on piece of paper you get five -5 way came out but if you know everybody thinks looking glass is Brandy. So maybe this is not really work so I went off on my own. They continue practice charts of that.

I think I went on did so for epic Clive sent me at the LA LA producer were some of the best session Like the band was like half Todo and happy jazz crusade, but the album I find most of it unlistenable. Now when I go back there a couple tracks on it that I like but it's one of those albums. We hope you looking for hit single and you do like contracts like eight of them are near miss hit singles and it's a real crap. By that point and moved into Manhattan apartment on the website and I would kinda drift a little bit didn't know what I was going to and the late 70s and nightfall in the late night a group of people late 70s New York is probably more stuff – and I finally said that this is an work.

We gotta get out of, so a friend of mine had moved to LA to be produced. I knew I grew up with. Went to grade school together so my best friend today. He said that no one actor who is doing a play in New York and he is looking for an apartment in New York is willing to do a switch for helping comfortable – he's got a house over here you can take a fancy switch like so I said okay girl is turned out to be my first wife.

We moved out to LA and one united front 30 had a hit since you know in seven or eight years. Nobody was knocking down my doors.

Courtney so I really know what is. And I was about to take a job at RadioShack's cell. My friend Stan set up department.

You can do that you can't set me up with an agent at CAA economies, composers and things like that so went to see him and he said that I said you know we get what you want to try to write music for movies you know I can read and write music that I can't do that kind of writing and compete like a Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams. I can text me or maybe like to be a music supervisor with you and I said what is that I know what that was love music supervision. It's kind of a new field in Hollywood and are only a couple of people would doing it successfully. Right now Lisa said one of them is governmental whose name at that time I didn't know anything. The other one is this woman Becky Chicago Becky Chicago Becky Chicago used to work for epic records that here in LA he said yeah he said she just supervised music for two soundtrack. She did urban cowboy and footloose. Some of those pretty good so I called her up and I thought I should Becky on that email.

I am looking for something, do it, and doing the step you need any help, so I'll work for you for nothing. If you teach me and she said I could really could use some help. I can't pay a lot of money but you know if the if what you said is true work for little money will be happy to have you help me out and she would move that my wife, we rented an apartment, and sure enough I learned the business. I sat across the desk from old-fashioned telephone like Lincoln did light up line and I was listening to stuff and I start to get a music supervision is different from moving to move in those days with Becky. A lot of it has to do with getting soundtrack on together. Try to sell albums but more importantly from the movie's point of view to try to promote the movie and then these agents who represented Becky. There were two openings at two of the studios in town for a head of music staff position at the studio being the head of the music department studio one was Universal Pictures and was 20th Century Fox that went to each of the interviews and I was actually offered the job at posteriors at Universal and Fox and I chose Fox and I suddenly I was the executive in charge of music you 20th Century Fox. I was succeeding the legendary Lionel Newman of the Newman family, which included Alfred and vinyls nephews are Randy Newman and that Tom Newman and David Newman, the great music composer legendary music family and I'm supposed to step into discussion, but I do know anything much about orchestral reporting and scoring of things like that in the Lionel who I succeeded five keys to be able to get up and stand conductor 60 because you know so that all the studios were changing that job because you didn't have to actually compose music, but if you get them couple had soundtrack that was a cool that I went to work for Fox.

The base my first real job outside of being a musician. I like to say was being a senior executive multinational media Corporation. That's what I was I was hired as a VP and I was there for 10 years. When I left I was an executive VP. I love that.

After that I went back to FL a flocculant back to independent music and did that for about another 10 years worked on hundreds of movies and TV shows. If you are 12-year-old girl back in 2000. Remember Shoko Lizzie McGuire of the theme song to the Lizzie McGuire show. But when the record business change the soundtrack business changed when Laura went to digital first to the downloads and then to streaming sounder bits become a lot more difficult. Love eccentric peacemaker. Basically, compilation albums and you go to the movie and you see the movie and want to go and get Gallagher's glycosides will now with iTunes is going.

I couldn't bite something like by the whole soundtrack out so the business changed completely.

Once again I didn't know I was going to do now in my 60s and frankly, clean working at Fox and and Brandy getting use and for some reason hanging in there as well as it had was rich but I know I could probably relax a little bit and not worry about myself and my family. I got a call from a band in Atlanta called the yacht rock review young guy name Peter also got me on the phone.

He said that we got not review. We play yacht rock music. I said what is that and explained to me that yacht rock with this sub genre of music that is like this very well produced pop music Hall and Oates, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, that's the pantheon yacht rock Christopher Cross. The name comes from what kind of music you listen to you moron yacht in 1980 and apparently they had found his niche and they will become really successful is basically a cover band category government and they were doing so well that they were beginning to invite some of the original vocalist from the records that they covered to join them in constantly asking if I would come to Atlanta if I would place you should place you in ages. I got my chops up. Then I went down and had like 4000 people, and they were people my age. They were people like in their 20s, 30s early 40s and having a fantastic time listening to songs like like Brandy my friend Peter Beckett is on the show's baby come back with their tune and they had a Robbie Dupree steal away and they started calling me from time to time and I got back into doing some performing and then once I got into it. I started doing some singer-songwriter shows in small clubs.

I started doing the other review shows but you like it would got enough of those to keep busy. I still write and I'm happy lucky 71-year-old guy something we can all hope say about ourselves, happy lucky 71-year-old guy at this point and that's what life's about his finding that spot we can say something like that in your life and meaning a great job as always to Robbie on the production of the peace and finding Elliott Lori story here on our Americans