English was born in
Brooklyn, New York City. In 1960, he released his first
single, "4,000 Miles Away", on
Dot Records. In 1964, English had a regional
doo-wop hit called "High on a Hill", written by Frank Cariola and A. Mangravito. "High on a Hill" has consistently been voted an all-time top song on oldies radio stations in the
Pittsburgh metropolitan area. It also reached No. 3 in popularity on the
San Francisco Bay Area radio charts, and peaked at #4 in Los Angeles (source: KRLA Top 30 Survey, Feb.-Mar. 1964). With
Larry Weiss, he wrote "
Bend Me, Shape Me", which became a hit for the
Chicago-based band
the American Breed, reaching No. 5 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968 and also becoming a hit in the UK for
Amen Corner. The song had been recorded a year earlier by
the Outsiders as an album track on
In (1967). English and Weiss, whom he met through arranger
Claus Ogerman, became good friends. Together, they penned "
Help Me Girl" (1966), which was a hit for two acts in late 1966:
Eric Burdon (solo for Decca, a UK No. 14 hit) and the Outsiders. They also penned
Lynne Randell's "
Ciao Baby" (1967) and
Jeff Beck's hit "
Hi Ho Silver Lining", originally recorded by English group
the Attack in early 1967. English produced the song "West Virginia" by the Elves in 1969 (a band later known as Elf) which featured
Ronnie James Dio on bass and vocals. He later produced
Thin Lizzy's eponymous debut album
Thin Lizzy (1971). He co-wrote the song "Words Don't Mean a Thing" with
Lynsey de Paul, who released her version of the song on her album
Just a Little Time. The song was also featured on the 2008 album
Songs from the British Academy, Vol. 1. A Spanish version was released by Cadafal on their album
En La Carretera. In 1998, English was credited as a co-writer with Simon Stirling and Phil Mankiza on the
UK entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, "
Where Are You?", performed by
Imaani. In 2014, English appeared on
BBC Radio London's
Jo Good Show, debuting new song "Holla" which he wrote for WestWay Beats. English died in England on November 16, 2018, at the age of 81, from complications of
hip surgery. ==Discography==