World / Music

'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling' writer Cynthia Weil dies, aged 82

07:01 am on 3 June 2023

Songwriters Barry Mann (L) and Cynthia Weil. Photo: MARK DAVIS / AFP

Cynthia Weil, the prolific songwriter behind 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling', has died aged 82, US media report.

Her daughter, Jenn Mann, told TMZ that her mother died on Thursday night.

She was "the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for", Mann said. "She was my best friend, confidant, and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music."

No cause of death for Weil was provided.

The Grammy winner was known for a number of hit songs, including 'On Broadway', 'Make Your Own Kind of Music', 'Walking in the Rain' and 'Uptown'.

She rose to prominence in the 1960s, when she co-wrote many hits with her husband Barry Mann, whom she was married to for 62 years.

The pair met while working at the Brill Building song factory in Manhattan and formed a writing partnership. It was around this time that they collaborated on several records with producer Phil Spector, who would gain notoriety decades later for the murder of Lana Clarkson in 2003.

Weil and Mann eventually became two of the most popular songwriters during the emergence of rock'n'roll.

They were invited into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

The pair worked with some of the most popular artists in the US, including Carole King, Dolly Parton, Neil Diamond and The Monkees.

A New York native, Weil initially trained as an actress and a dancer before discovering her passion for song writing.

- BBC