Mike Hazlewood

For the water skier, see Mike Hazelwood.

Michael Edward Hazlewood^[1] (24 December 1941^[2] – 6 May 2001)^[3] was a British singer, composer and songwriter. He variously worked with Albert Hammond, T-Bone Burnett, Van Dyke Parks and Harry Nilsson.^[4]

Mike Hazlewood
Birth name	Michael Edward Hazlewood
Born	(1941-12-24)24 December 1941 Cuckfield, West Sussex, England
Died	6 May 2001(2001-05-06) (aged 59) Florence, Italy
Genres	Pop music
Occupation(s)	Singer, composer, songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1966–2001

Biography

Educated at Hazelwick School, in Crawley, West Sussex, Hazlewood began his career as a DJ at the radio station Radio Luxembourg in the early 1960s. In 1966 he founded the group the Family Dogg with Albert Hammond and Steve Rowland.^[5] In addition, he often wrote songs in collaboration with Hammond such as "Green Green Trees" or "Little Arrows" for Leapy Lee,^[6] and "Gimme Dat Ding" for the Pipkins.^[7] He wrote "The Air That I Breathe" for Phil Everly's 1973 solo album Star Spangled Springer.^[8] The song was subsequently a huge hit for The Hollies.^[9]

Hazlewood's collaboration with Hammond resulted in co-composed songs for the latter such as "It Never Rains in Southern California"^[10] and "The Free Electric Band".^[3][11]

Hazlewood and Hammond also wrote the international hit song "Make Me an Island" for the Irish singer Joe Dolan in 1969,^[12] as well as his follow-up singles, "Teresa"^[13] and "You're Such a Good Looking Woman".^[14] The latter became a signature hit for Dolan, topping the Irish charts twice, in 1970 and 1997 when he re-recorded it with Dustin the Turkey. Hazlewood also wrote the song "Southern Lady", which was recorded by Rita Coolidge.^[15]

During the late 1980s, Hazlewood held the theatrical rights to Mervyn Peake's novel Mr. Pye, and completed a musical theatre version of the book in collaboration with Howard Lee Sloan, the American-born pianist and composer.

Hazlewood and Hammond are also credited as co-writers of the 1992 Radiohead song, "Creep". Due to similarities to "The Air That I Breathe", Radiohead was successfully sued for plagiarism.^[16][17] "Creep" used a chord progression taken from "The Air That I Breathe" in its verse, and a melody from the latter in the bridge following the second chorus.^[18]

On 6 May 2001, Hazlewood died aged 59 from a heart attack, during his holiday in Florence, Italy.^[4]

References

1. Mike Hazlewood Discography at Discogs. discogs. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
2. Michael Edward Hazlewood entry at Geni.com (pictured). Retrieved 25 August 2014.
3. Mike Hazelwood – Credits. AllMusic (6 May 2001). Retrieved 4 January 2013.
4. The Dead Rock Stars Club 2001. Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
5. The Family Dogg – Music Biography, Credits and Discography. AllMusic (18 May 1944). Retrieved 4 January 2013.
6. Leapy Lee – Little Arrows (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs. discogs. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
7. Pipkins, The – Gimme Dat Ding (Vinyl) at Discogs. discogs. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
8. Phil Everly – The Air That I Breathe (Vinyl) at Discogs. discogs. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
9. Hollies, The – The Air That I Breathe (Vinyl) at Discogs. discogs. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
10. Albert Hammond – It Never Rains In Southern California (Vinyl) at Discogs. discogs. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
11. Albert Hammond – The Free Electric Band (Vinyl) at Discogs. discogs. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
12. Joe Dolan – Make Me An Island (Vinyl) at Discogs. discogs. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
13. Joe Dolan – Teresa (Vinyl) at Discogs. discogs. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
14. Joe Dolan – You're Such A Good Looking Woman (Vinyl) at Discogs. discogs. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
15. Rita Coolidge – We're All Alone / Southern Lady (Vinyl) at Discogs. discogs. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
16. Wardle, Ben. (12 May 2009) Get off Coldplay's case – similar songs can co-exist peacefully | Music | guardian.co.uk. The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
17. Albert Hammond Official Website 11 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Alberthammond.com. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
18. English, Tim (2007). Sounds Like Teen Spirit: Stolen Melodies, Ripped-Off Riffs, and the Secret History of Rock and Roll, p.149. ISBN 9781583480236.