Teddy Randazzo

American songwriter, singer, arranger and producer with Italian origins. Born May 13, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York. Died November 21, 2003 in Orlando, Florida, USA. Married to lyricist Victoria Pike (divorced 1977); their daughter is Elisa Randazzo. Best known for composing 1960s hit songs such as Goin' Out Of My Head, It's Gonna Take A Miracle and Hurt So Bad. In the early years of rock and roll, Randazzo played with a group called The Three Chuckles and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show numerous times. Their first hit Runaround, was a top 20 hit. He co-starred in rock revues staged by the legendary disc jockey Alan Freed, appearing with such artists as Chuck Berry and LaVern Baker. Randazzo also had some starring roles and often performed in such rock films as Hey, Let's Twist, The Girl Can't Help It, Rock, Rock, Rock and Mr. Rock And Roll in the late 1950s and early 1960s. With his composing partner, Bobby Weinstein he wrote a string of major hits for other artists. The two were inducted into the Songwriters' Hall Of Fame in 2007, fifty years after first composing together. Between 1959-1996, Randazzo had 56 songs hit the charts in the U.S. and 5 in the U.K. Tops among these were Goin' Out of My Head / Can't Take My Eyes Off You by The Lettermen (#7 overall, #2 adult contemporary, 1967, US) (co-Bobby Weinstein, Bob Gaudio & Bob Crewe), Pretty Blue Eyes by Craig Douglas (#4 UK, 1960) (co-written by Weinstein) and Yesterday Has Gone by Cupid's Inspiration (#4 UK, 1968) (co-written by Victoria Pike).