Childhood and early career Jerrold Laurence Samuels was born in
Manhattan and was raised in
the Bronx. He played the piano and wrote music throughout his childhood, and began his recording career in 1956 when he cut the single "Puppy Love" for the
Vik Records subsidiary of
RCA Victor Records. Samuels was an acclaimed songwriter during the early 1960s. Under the name Scott David (his son's name), he cowrote "As If I Didn't Know" with
Larry Kusik, a top-10 hit for
Adam Wade in 1961. Samuels also wrote "
The Shelter of Your Arms", a top-20 hit for
Sammy Davis Jr. in 1964.
Napoleon XIV In 1966, Samuels concocted "
They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" while working at
Associated Recording Studios in New York. The public found out his true identity when
Cousin Brucie of
WABC revealed his name. The record quickly climbed the charts, reaching the top ten nationally in just its third week on the
Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at #3 and sold over one million copies, and was awarded a
gold disc. In the
Cash Box Top 100 the record even climbed to No. 1 for one week in its second week on the charts. The success of the single inspired a
Warner Bros. album of the same name in 1966 (reissued by
Rhino in 1985), most of which continued the mental illness theme, for example: "Bats in My Belfry" and "I Live in a Split Level Head", the latter of which features different vocal parts in each stereo speaker. The following year, they confirmed that it was Samuels' long-lost second studio album, ''For God's Sake, Stop the Feces!'' The first disc of the album, recorded between April 1968 and December 1970, was rejected by Warner Bros. for its subject matter. Particularly controversial were tracks like "Rape", which provides a graphic account of a
sexual assault, and "The Note", which portrays a man writing a
suicide note. The second disc of the album features previously unreleased demos recorded by Samuels after 1970. These include
"In the Shelter of Your Arms", which had been a top-20 hit for
Sammy Davis Jr. in 1964, and "Bobbie's Song", a tribute to Samuels' second wife. ''For God's Sake,
Stop the Feces!'' was released on April 20, 2023, one month after Samuels' death.
Personal life and death Samuels was married twice: first to Rosemary Djivre, divorcing in 1968, and then to Bobbie Simon from 1996 until his death. He was also in a relationship with Petra Vesters from 1973 to 1987. He had a son from his first marriage and another from his relationship with Vesters. Another son predeceased him. Samuels died from complications of
Parkinson's disease dementia at a hospital in
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, on March 10, 2023, at the age of 84. ==Discography==