Alan Gordon (April 22, 1944 — November 22, 2008[1]) was an American songwriter best known for songs recorded by The Turtles, Petula Clark, and Barbra Streisand. Many of his songs were co-written with Garry Bonner, including The Turtles, "Happy Together" and Three Dog Night's "Celebrate".
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He was born Alan Lee Gordon on April 22, 1944 in Natick, Massachusetts.
He has worked with various popular musicians, including Blues Magoos, Alice Cooper, The Archies, The O'Jays, Lynn Anderson, Flo & Eddie, Frank Zappa, Helen Reddy, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Tammy Wynette, The Lovin' Spoonful, Bobby Darin and Freddy Fender.
In 1965, Alan, along with Garry Bonner formed the The Magicians, a group which would also include Allan "Jake" Jacobs and John Townley. They did release a single in November 1965, "An Invitation to Cry". The single did meet with some success, however their popularity remained primarily in the New York / New England area.[2]
He co-penned, with Bonner, "Happy Together", recorded by The Turtles - one of the biggest ever hits of popular music, persisting in various forms (including having a movie 'Happy Together' themed around it in 1997) right up to the present day and selling tens of millions of copies. The Turtles version followed The Beatles' "Penny Lane" into the #1 slot for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was named one of the Top 50 songs of the 20th Century by BMI; having generated over 5 million performances on American radio by 1999, placing it in the same league as the Beatles' "Yesterday" and "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon and Garfunkel.
Songs from Alan Gordon's catalogue have been featured in film, television, commercials and video games. Some of the films that featured Gordon penned songs include The Naked Gun, Muriel's Wedding, Shrek, The Simpsons Movie, 27 Dresses and Freaky Friday. Television programs include The Simpsons, That '70s Show, ER, Scrubs, The Wonder Years and American Idol.
Gordon died at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona on November 22, 2008 after a two year battle with cancer. He was 64 years old. He was survived by wife Annette, son Christian, daughter-in-law Giovanna and grandchild Joshua.