ABBA

Arranger, multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter from New York City who learned how to play accordion, bass, drums, guitar, piano, trombone and trumpet before he even made it to high school. Once there, he spent his days making music at school and his nights making music on the local club circuit.

He cut his first record in the early 1960s and it became a hit in Maryland and was heard by a music publisher by the name of Shapiro Bernstein who gave him a job as a songwriter. It was back to the Apple for Randell, whose interest in arranging and producing paid dividends when working with other artists and songwriters.

Al Kasha, Artist & Repertory point-man and producer with CBS, introduced him to his partner, Bob Gaudio. Gaudio was working with The Four Seasons and hired him to arrange and conduct sides such as “Big Man in Town”, “On Broadway Tonight”, and “Save it for Me”. He even played the Democratic Convention in 1964 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as Lynda Bird Johnson was a fan of the quartet.

Through Kasha and Bob Crewe, producer of The Four Seasons, Randell was introduced to fellow songwriter Sandy Linzer and they hit it off right away with a pair of chart-busters in 1965: “Let’s Hang On!” by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons and “A Lover’s Concerto”, based on Bach’s “Minuet in G”, by The Toys. Other hits penned by the pair include The Four Seasons’ “Opus 17 (Don’t Worry ‘bout Me)” and “Workin’ My Way Back to You”. They also co-wrote a couple of songs for The Monkees, “The Day We Fall in Love” and “I’ll Be Back up on My Feet”.

In 1969, Randell made the great egress to Los Angeles, California. It was here that he found himself in demand as an A&R man, first at RCA, then at Warner/Discreet, where his boss was none other than Frank Zappa. They collaborated with Tim Buckley on his album, Sefronia, which charted on the Billboard Top 200. Then Frank entrusted Ruben and the Jets’ second album to Randell, this time giving him production responsibilities.

Randell brought his newly acquired experience back to The Big Apple, where he co-penned “Native New Yorker” with his old partner-in-crime, Sandy Linzer. It was a hit for Odyssey and turned up on the soundtrack of The Eyes of Laura Mars in 1978. In 1980, The Spinners scored an international hit with their rendition of “Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me Girl”.

Randell wrote or co-wrote four tracks for inclusion in the horror comedy, An American Werewolf in London. He also got his teeth into a pair of movie-themed projects, Meco’s Pop Goes the Movies and “Themes from E.T.” which is credited to Denny Randell & The Rockophonic Orchestra.

In the 1980s, he began a creative and personal partnership with singer-songwriter Biddy Schippers, and the pair of them pooled their electronic resources and released a number of techno dance tracks, such as “Alice in Wonderland” and “Love Jam”. Working together led to living together and eventually wedding bells rang for the do-it-yourselfers, who recorded out of a makeshift studio in their own home.

Always staying relevant, whether keeping up with the latest technology or recognizing new talent, Randell enjoyed international success through his collaborations with Boyzone and Kelly Chen. In 1999, Backstreet Boys recorded Linzer’s and Randell’s “Spanish Eyes” on their Millennium CD.

The turn of the millennium found his name on a list of many credited with the Busta Rhymes/P. Diddy ditty, “Pass the Courvoisier”, a #11 hit on the Billboard singles chart. He has a new group called Soul Tempo whose song “You’ll Never Be Alone” received airplay in 2002.

In 2005, plans were underway to release another Soul Tempo album, as well as a Randell & Schippers CD containing previously released and unreleased material. He can also officially say that he has made it on Broadway: Three of the songs he co-wrote with Sandy Linzer for The Four Seasons made the cut in the Tony Award-winning musical, Jersey Boys.

The Spinners recordings

Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me Girl (Sandy Linzer/Denny Randell/Michael Zager)

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