Allan Rich is a two time Academy Award, Grammy and Golden Globe nominee, whose songs have sold over 65 Million copies.
Allan has written hits for everyone from:
NATALIE COLE (“I Live For Your Love”)
JAMES INGRAM (the #1 pop hit “I Don’t Have The Heart To Hurt You”)
WHITNEY HOUSTON (“Run To You” from the movie “The Bodyguard” which sold 30 Million CD’s and got Allan his first Oscar and Grammy nomination)
KENNY LOGGINS (“For The First Time” from the Michelle Pfeiffer/George Clooney movie “One Fine Day” which got Allen another Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe nomination)
‘NSYNC (“I Drive Myself Crazy” from their 10 million selling debut CD)
….as well as songs recorded by
BARBRA STREISAND
TINA TURNER
ROD STEWART
LUTHER VANDROSS
DOLLY PARTON
PATTI LA BELLE
GLADYS KNIGHT
BARRY MANILOW
….and many others!
So many Sunday mornings as a little child in Brooklyn, my dad would make my brother and I bullseyed eggs for breakfast and then take us to our bedroom where the Victrola was and proudly share his favorite 33’s.
The first song he ever played us was Billie Holiday’s “Hush Now Don’t Explain.” Then there was Sarah Vaughn’s “Pennies From Heaven,” Frankie Laine’s “Jezebel,” Lionel Hampton, Billy Eckstine, Cab Calloway, Johnny Mathis’ “Chances Are” and SO many other greats.
That was my introduction to music. By the time I was 5, I knew that I wanted to be in the music industry. I would sing along with all the records and spent a lot of time after school dreaming of being a “STAR.”
When I was in elementary school, my mother would teach my twin brother and I song and dance routines and we’d go from classroom to classroom performing them in our brightly striped sport jackets. Our big hit was “Though we ain’t got a barrel of money……SIDE BY SIDE.”
When I was a freshman in high school, there were auditions for a Board Of Education radio station in New York City, WNYC, where I auditioned to be a member of an ensemble of actors vying for parts on each week’s show. To my surprise, I GOT ACCEPTED. Once a week, I’d leave school early, take the subway to the station in Brooklyn and audition for whatever part I was right for that week. One of the parts I played was ‘Robin’ in the “Batman & Robin” series.
The following year, the actors at the radio station were talking about this new N.Y. Television and Theatre Workshop which provided for free acting, singing and dancing lessons at Lincoln Center every Saturday and Sunday. TWO THOUSAND auditioned for 100 spaces. I did a dramatic improvisational acting/singing & dance audition (I was always dramatic….and STILL am). I was one of the lucky 100. I got accepted and took the bus and subway from Queens to Lincoln Center every Sat. & Sun for 8 hours of training every week.
Creativity must have run in our family because my twin brother Lawrence was one of only 2 kids in our whole J.H.S. to get accepted to the High School of Music and Art AND the High School of Art & Design, two extremely prestigious schools for talented art students. And, my younger sister Nadeen fronted a rock band as lead vocalist.
I stayed in our regular H.S. in Springfield Gardens, Queens, and proceeded to get the part of ‘Constable Warren’ in our senior play “Our Town.” I forgot all 9 lines on stage EVERY PERFORMANCE.
At 18 years old, I entered the ‘BEST NEW TALENT CONTEST IN THE CATSKILL MOUNTAINS’ while I worked at The Pines Hotel holidays, winter and summer breaks.
I won my week’s contest singing a medley of “Portrait Of My Love” and “Gina.” At the end of my 10 weeks, the finals came along and all ten week’s winners got a chance to perform in front of 1000 people, with a full band…A REAL LIVE BAND! I was so excited. The night came and yours truly won the finals. I was so thrilled to be a part of it that I didn’t even hear them call my name. I just kept applauding for the winner until I realized that IT WAS ME. It was a truly thrilling evening.
That was the win I needed to convince my parents that I was serious about being a singer and they couldn’t ignore it anymore.
The following years were filled with voice lessons with Dr. White, my dance lessons with the wonderful and tough Phil Black and acting classes with David Le Grant.
There were concerts in N.Y.’s best clubs, ‘Grand Finale,’ ‘Reno Sweeney,’ where I opened and headlined for everyone from Barbara Cook, Holly Woodlawn and Cissy Houston.
There were tours in a pop group to Puerto Rico, Reno and Florida…and I got my Actors Equity Card from being in the chorus of “No No Nannette” at the North Shore Music Theatre, a theatre in the round. It was my first professional show and since every aisle looked the same, when the stage went dark….I could NEVER find my way onstage.
When I graduated from college, I started writing songs. I had my first song published a month after I graduated entitled “I’ll Be Glad To Grow Old With You.” It took 6 years though, before I got my first record, published by Love Zager Music (home of the “disco’ hits “Lets All Chant”).
Then on a two week vacation to Los Angeles, I was included in an ASCAP workshop, and was Steve Dorff, Dino Fekaris and several other prominent songwriters. I couldn’t believe I was meeting them and two weeks later, I MOVED to Los Angeles.
During the day, I would write songs, and during the night, I did what all aspiring show biz dreamers do when they hit L.A…….I WAS A WAITER. On the weekends I sold shoes on the boardwalk at Venice Beach…..and Venice Beach CHANGED MY LIFE. I sold a pair of shoes to Producer Howie Rice and told him I was a songwriter. He asked me to send him a tape and one night at 3am, my phone rings. Its Howie calling to say how much he liked my songs. Within that year, STILL selling shoes, I had two songs on Patti LaBelle’s Platinum Record (“Winner In You”), a NUMBER 1 R & B hit for Gladys Night (“Lovin’ on Next To Nothin'”), the theme song of the movie “Outrageous Fortune” (“Something Special’s Gonna Happen Tonight”) and 3 songs co-written with Barry Manilow for his “Manilow” record. A Hollywood dream come true if ever there was one.
That started the ball rolling.
Gaylon Horton (may he rest in peace) signed me to my first publishing deal at Welk Music. Then publishing deals followed with Carol Ware and Leeds Levy signing me to MCA Music, where I spent 6 wonderful years. Then 3 years at EMI Music and 2 years at BMG Music. Because of the success I had during those years, I got to travel the world with an elite group of writers and recording artists, spending a week with CHER in the south of France at Miles Copeland’s writing castle, and traveling with Alan Scott’s organization ‘Music Bridges’ promoting harmony through music, brought me to such places as London, Ireland, Indonesia, Bali, Russia and Switzerland.
In 1989, again, my life changed for the better when Cathy Spanberger, President of Peer Music, introduced me to one of her new writers…..JUD FRIEDMAN… my “Burt Bacharach.” The first song we ever wrote became a #1 hit record, James Ingram’s “I Don’t Have The Heart.” ….and the rest…as they say…..is history. 15 years later, we are STILL writing songs together and are great friends…a RARITY in this business.
So I hope you will enjoy this website and the songs I’ve written in the past 25 years, may of which you can listen to on this site by clicking the CLIPS MENU BUTTON below.
I’m also hoping you will listen to my NEW FUTURE HIT SONGS as well (click the FUTURE MENU BUTTON BELOW).
Thank you for your interest, love & support.