Mike Hazlewood

Mike Hazlewood
Birth name Michael Edward Hazlewood
Born (1941-12-24)24 December 1941
Cuckfield, West Sussex, England
Died 6 May 2001(2001-05-06) (aged 59)
Florence, Italy
Genres Pop music
Occupation(s) Singer, composer, songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 1966–2001
Associated acts The Family Dogg, Hammond & Hazlewood

Michael Edward "Mike" Hazlewood[1] (24 December 1941[2] — 6 May 2001)[3] was an English singer, composer and songwriter. He variously worked with Albert Hammond, T-Bone Burnett, Van Dyke Parks and Harry Nilsson.[4]

Biography

Educated at Hazelwick School, in Crawley, West Sussex, Hazlewood began his career as a DJ at the radio station Radio Luxembourg in the early 1960s. In 1966 he founded the group The Family Dogg, together with Albert Hammond and Steve Rowland.[5] In addition, he often wrote songs in collaboration with Hammond such as "Little Arrows" for Leapy Lee,[6] "Gimme Dat Ding" for The Pipkins,[7] and "The Air That I Breathe" for Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers,[8] for his 1973 solo album Star Spangled Springer. The latter song was recorded by and a hit for The Hollies.[9]

Hazlewood's collaboration with Hammond resulted in co-composed songs for the latter such as "It Never Rains in Southern California"[10] and "The Free Electric Band".[3][11]

Hazlewood and Hammond also wrote the international hit song "Make Me An Island" for the Irish singer Joe Dolan in 1969,[12] as well as his follow-up singles, "Teresa"[13] and "You're Such a Good Looking Woman".[14] The latter became a signature hit for Dolan, topping the Irish charts twice, in 1970 and 1997 when he re-recorded it with Dustin the Turkey. Hazlewood also wrote the song "Southern Lady", which was recorded by Rita Coolidge.[15]

During the late 1980s, Hazlewood held the theatrical rights to Mervyn Peake's novel Mr. Pye, and completed a musical theatre version of the book in collaboration with Howard Lee Sloan, the American-born pianist and composer.

Hazlewood and Hammond are also credited as co-writers of the 1992 Radiohead song, "Creep". Due to similarities to "The Air That I Breathe", Radiohead was successfully sued for plagiarism.[16][17] "Creep" used a chord progression taken from "The Air That I Breathe" in its verse, and a melody from the latter in the bridge following the second chorus.[18]

On 6 May 2001, Hazlewood died aged 59 from a heart attack, during his holiday in Florence, Italy.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Mike Hazlewood Discography at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  2. ↑ Michael Edward Hazlewood entry at Geni.com (pictured). Retrieved on 2014-08-25.
  3. 1 2 Mike Hazelwood - Credits. AllMusic (2001-05-06). Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  4. 1 2 The Dead Rock Stars Club 2001. Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  5. ↑ The Family Dogg - Music Biography, Credits and Discography. AllMusic (1944-05-18). Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  6. ↑ Leapy Lee - Little Arrows (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  7. ↑ Pipkins, The - Gimme Dat Ding (Vinyl) at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  8. ↑ Phil Everly - The Air That I Breathe (Vinyl) at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  9. ↑ Hollies, The - The Air That I Breathe (Vinyl) at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  10. ↑ Albert Hammond - It Never Rains In Southern California (Vinyl) at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  11. ↑ Albert Hammond - The Free Electric Band (Vinyl) at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  12. ↑ Joe Dolan - Make Me An Island (Vinyl) at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  13. ↑ Joe Dolan - Teresa (Vinyl) at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  14. ↑ Joe Dolan - You're Such A Good Looking Woman (Vinyl) at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  15. ↑ Rita Coolidge - We're All Alone / Southern Lady (Vinyl) at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  16. ↑ Wardle, Ben. (2009-05-12) Get off Coldplay's case – similar songs can co-exist peacefully | Music | guardian.co.uk. Guardian. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  17. ↑ Albert Hammond Official Website. Alberthammond.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.
  18. ↑ English, Tim (2007). Sounds Like Teen Spirit: Stolen Melodies, Ripped-Off Riffs, and the Secret History of Rock and Roll, p.149. ISBN 9781583480236.
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