Mike Rashkow
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Michael Rashkow is an American songwriter and record producer. He wrote "Mary in the Morning" with Johnny Cymbal. It was recorded by Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, Al Martino, Dire Straits's Guy Fletcher, and many other artists. He formed Pineywood Productions with Ellie Greenwich in the late 1960s. Among the artists they wrote for and produced were Dusty Springfield, The Daily News, The Definitive Rock Chorale, The Fuzzy Bunnies, The Whatnauts and The Other Voices as well as Ellie Greenwich herself. Their publishing arm Pineywood Music published their own material and songs by other writers including several songs written by Paul Levinson, a member of The Other Voices.
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[edit] Early Years
Michael Rashkow was born July 18, 1941, in New York City. As a child and young man, he grew up in New York and Florida, and he served in the U.S. Air Force as a psychiatric medic.
Rashkow came to the music business without any background or credentials in the industry, having been a golf professional and a golf equipment manufacturer's rep from 1960 through 1965. His entree was via the recording studio and he became a recording engineer who worked at Bell Sound, Studio 76, Sounds On Broadway, National Recording and Broadway Recording. His first songwriting partner was Mikie Harris, a noted NYC background singer of the 1960s who was later assistant to John Hammond.
Rashkow and Harris married in 1966 and had two children, Randy and Roger (Duke). Though signed as staff writers to Pamco Music, the BMI wing of ABC-Paramount Records, they were not successful as a writing team.
[edit] Mary in the Morning
Rashkow began writing with his friend Johnny Cymbal, whom Rashkow had brought to ABC from Cymbal's previous staff position at South Mountain Music, the Don Costa/Teddy Randazzo firm. They soon wrote "Mary in the Morning," which became a world-wide hit. It has sold in excess of 10,000,000 recordings, attained BMI's Million Performance status for radio airplay, and in 2006 is approaching two million perfomances. Rashkow and Cymbal wrote numerous other songs including "Julie On My Mind" which, as recorded by Adam Wade, became a hit in the Caribbean Islands and is today still well known among reggae enthusiasts.
During this period, under the name "Mike Lendell," Rashkow wrote, produced and sang lead on a novelty tune "Please Phil Spector" which was not released in the U.S., but received airplay overseas. That recording was subsequently included in a BBC documentary film about Phil Spector and more recently a tribute compilation CD titled " Phil's Spectre" on ACE Records. Contractual issues stalled the Cymbal/Rashkow writing partnership shortly thereafter, although in 1983 Cymbal and Rashkow reunited and wrote a number of songs for the Nashville market.
[edit] Partnership with Ellie Greenwich
In 1967, Rashkow formed Pineywood Productions and Pineywood Music with Ellie Greenwich. This was Rashkow's most productive period. In addition to the artists mentioned above, Rashkow and Greenwich signed Steve Tudanger as a writer and producer. Tudanger was a founder of the seminal doo-wop group The Four Evers and had been a voice in the Archies. As an artist, Tudanger had releases on Mercury Records and Wes Farrell's Chelsea label; though well-received, these were not successful. His song "Let Me Be Forever," as recorded by Steve Feldman, became a #1 hit in several South American countries. The Definitive Rock Chorale was a studio group and a vehicle for the Rashkow/Greenwich writing team, and utilized the vocal talents of NYC "A List" background and jingle singers, including Ron Dante, Toni Wine, Jimmy Radcliffe, Tony Passalaqua, Cashman, Pistilli and West and Ellie Greenwich herself. Their release "Variations On A Theme Called Hanky Panky" charted and became a minor cult classic. Rashkow and Greenwich also wrote and produced music for The Hardy Boys, an animated TV series.
[edit] Later Years
Alone, Rashkow produced the radio personality and author Jean Shepherd and film personality Jason Holliday in spoken-word/comedy format, as well as Jesse Henderson, a Newark-based soul artist.
Shortly thereafter Rashkow left the music business and went into advertising as a copywriter. He later formed his own advertising/graphic design firm specializing in marketing for the race horse industry. That agency, started in 1981, was sold in 1999.
In 1985, Michael Rashkow was among the founders of New Era Bank, Somerset, NJ. He was elected to the Board of Directors and continued on that Board until 1993 when the bank was sold. For five of those years he served as Vice-Chairman of the Board and also directed the marketing for the bank's credit card division.
Rashkow is retired and resides with his current wife, Barbara, in the Blue Ridge foothills of North Carolina. He is a regular contributor to the Spectropop music website and newsgroup.
