I recently started listening to the CD by She and Him. “She” in this case is Zooey Deschanel, best known as an actress (Elf, The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Weeds, and Tin Man (and also Emily Deschanel’s sister). Not only does she sing wonderfully, but she wrote most of the songs on the album.
So I was wondering about others.
For instance, Mel Brooks wasn’t known for a songwriter, but eventually wrote the music for two Broadway musicals. Eric Idle wrote some songs for Monty Python, including “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.”
What other celebrities best known for other talents also have had success as a songwriter?
There’s also Adam Busch, probably best known as Warren on season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He’s in a band called “Common Rotation”; and all their original songs are credited to the band as a whole.
Kaye Thompson, who is probably best known as the author of the Eloise books, about a little girl who lives in the Plaza Hotel, but also has been a dancer, actress, songwriter, arranger, and godmother to Liza Minnelli.
The playwright John Guare won a Drama Desk Award for his work as lyricist of Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Ogden Nash was the lyricist of One Touch of Venus.
Langston Hughes served as lyricist for four different Broadway musicals over a sixteen-year period.
P. G. Wodehouse, however, probably wins the game of “Best Broadway lyricist you didn’t know was a Broadway lyricist”. In the period of around a decade, no fewer than sixteen Broadway musicals employed him as at least a partial lyricist. Some of these shows were among the most influential of their time, and he is often credited as being a major influence on the lyricists of the 1920s. In spite of all this, his Broadway work would still probably finish third in things associated with him.
Mike Reid, former All-Pro defensive tackle with the Bengals. He’s made even more money from writing Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and Ronnie Milsap’s “Stranger in my House”, though.
I thought of another one: William Saroyan. He’s best known as a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, but he also cowrote* a top-40 hit for Rosemary Clooney: “Come on-a my House.”
Just wanted to second how awesome that CD is. The songs are light and fun, and Zooey has a gorgeous voice (and is pretty gorgeous herself). I’m sure she’s busy acting and recording, but I’d love to see She and Him head out on tour at some point.
Michael O’Donoghue, edgy comedy writer for National Lampoon and Saturday Night Live, wrote “Single Bars and Single Women,” a surprise hit for Dolly Parton.
Chuck Barris wrote “Palisades Park,” a big hit for Jay and the Americans, as well as the theme music for some of his game shows. Not a milestone, but it was one of his less shlocky ventures, all things considered.
Charles Dawes, who was Calvin Coolidge’s Vice President and formed the Dawes Plan to economically revive Weimar Germany, wrote a song called “Melody in A Major” in 1912. Lyrics were added to the song in 1951 and retitled “It’s All in the Game”. Tommy Edwards had a big hit with it as a pop tune, then had an even bigger hit when he cut it as a rock ballad in 1958.
Steve Allen, onetime host of The Tonight Show, is supposed to have copyrighted hundreds of songs. At least a couple of them became well-known: South Rampart Street Parade and This Could Be the Start of Something Big.
Morey Amsterdam, the comedic actor best known for his role on The Dick Van Dyke Show, co-wrote the hit song Rum and Coca Cola. The song was the subject of a plagiarism lawsuit in which the court found that the melody was taken from a copyrighted calypso song by Lionel Belasco called L’Année Passée.
Chuck Barris, the game show mogul (and self-proclaimed CIA hit man), wrote Palisades Park.
Charlie Chaplin wrote the music for Smile (“Smile, though your heart is breaking. . .”).
Queen Liliuokalani, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, wrote Aloha Oe and many other songs.
He also wrote “Never Been to Spain,” another hit for Three Dog Night.
Barbra Streisand, well-known as a singer and actress, co-wrote the hit single “Evergreen” from A Star Is Born, along with Paul Williams, who has also done some acting.
Keith carradine wrote his Oscar-winning song, “I’m Easy,” from Nashville.
Actors Jeff Daniels and Ronny Cox are both accomplished (and touring) singer/songwriters. Mr. S and I have seen Jeff Daniels (and were even invited up on stage to do the “Big Bay Shuffle”) and can vouch for his talent. Excellent musical performer. Never saw Ronny Cox yet, but we have tickets for an August show.
