Ivan Ulz

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Ivan Ulz was born in Los Angeles, CA on May 4, 1944. After writing and recording his first song, "A Letter to Hayley" (released as a 45 rpm single by Bruce Belland's LarBell label) in 1962, Ulz decided to pursue a songwriting career. He spent the next couple of decades in and out of the folk-rock scene, living in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oklahoma, Alaska, etc. Although Ivan Ulz did not achieve lasting fame as a folk singer/songwriter, he did make some notable connections, including introducing Rickie Lee Jones to the now-legendary Chuck E., and giving an unknown comic named Steve Martin a spot in the open mic that Ulz was running at Coffee and Confusion in San Francisco. When living in "The City," the ever gregarious Ivan befriended a young itenerant bongo player on the streets of North Beach, brought him home to feed him, introduced him to some friends from L.A., and opened his door months later to a cleaned up, Beatle-suited Mike Clarke and his new band, The Beefeaters, which, months after that, signed their first recording contract as The Byrds.

In 1980, Ulz moved to New York City and changed his focus from folk rock to children's music. From 1997 to 1999, Ulz lived in Arroyo Grande California, where he recorded an album of children's music and hosted a children's radio show called "Treasure Ivan." Today Ulz splits his time between Greenwich Village and California's Central Coast, performing for toddlers and their families.

S. I. Hayakawa writes about Ivan Ulz in "The Quest for Instant Sartori," ETC, December 1965:

I shudder as I see in my mind's eye, sitting in the "chapel," the Jet Set and the Sin Crowd, "turned on" and "tripping through the Astral Plane," with the music of Recording Artist Ivan Ulz (whatever he sings or plays) crashing and reverberating through their skulls, each member with a dog-eared copy of this issue of ETC. in his pocket.

Songs by Ivan Ulz
To date, Ivan Ulz has written more than 100 songs, some of which have been recorded by Hoyt Axton, Glen Yarborough, Suzy Bogguss, Valerie Carter, Rod McKuen, and others. Ulz has co-written songs with Hoyt Axton, Lowell George, Steve Mann, and others. Ulz's most famous song is "Heartache," co-written with Lowell George and recorded by Suzy Bogguss in the 1990s. Bogguss's version of "Heartache" had considerable success on the country music charts. Most recently, Ulz's song "Fire Truck!" was published as a Sing-And-Read book by Scholastic. "Fire Truck!" is the only song that Ulz has written for children so far. Penned in 1990 on a red IBM Selectrix typewriter, the song has become an underground anthem among preschoolers across the nation.

Ivan Ulz Discography
Ulz is a BMI writer, and may be found online at www.ivanulz.com. He is also a performer and recording artist. He has released the following recordings:
"A Letter to Hayley", 45 rpm Single, LarBell, 1962
"Ivan the Ice Cream Man", LP album, Stanyan, 1970
"Songs From the Old School", CD & cassette, Ivan Ulz Songs, 1999

Interesting Note About Hayley Mills
Ivan Ulz's first song, "A Letter to Hayley," was dedicated to the young English actress who starred in "Tiger Bay," "Whistle Down the Wind," and various American movies made by Disney during the 1960s. In 2004, Ulz was finally introduced to Ms. Mills.