Michael Masser, top songwriter of 1970s and ’80s, dies at 74

Michael Masser in 2007, the year he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Mr. Masser died on July 9. (Ryan Born/Wire Image for Songwriter's Hall )

Michael Masser, a songwriter who composed several No. 1 hits in the 1970s and 1980s and who helped launch the career of singer Whitney Houston by writing and producing some of her most popular songs, died July 9 at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was 74.

His death was first reported by the Desert Sun newspaper of Palm Springs, Calif. He had complications from a stroke suffered three years ago.

A stockbroker before he turned to music, Mr. Masser first found success as a songwriter with “Touch Me in the Morning,” which became a No. 1 hit for Diana Ross in 1973.

He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1976 for Ross’s “Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To?),” written with lyricist Gerry Goffin, and he later wrote and produced three No. 1 hits for Houston.

“Michael Masser’s wonderful melodies are memorable and hypnotic,” music producer and record-company executive Clive Davis said in a statement. “He is and was truly an all-time great composer.”

Mr. Masser wrote the music while collaborating with several lyricists, including Goffin, Will Jennings and Linda Creed. In his 20 years as a songwriter, he worked with such well-known performers as George Benson, Natalie Cole, Robert Flack, Peabo Bryson, Gladys Knight, Crystal Gayle and Barbra Streisand. Mr. Masser was named to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007.

His songs typically began with a quiet keyboard introduction before layers of lush strings and synthesizers built to a soaring climax. His slickly produced style of pop music found a vast audience in the 1970s and 1980s, but Mr. Masser considered himself an heir to the tradition of George Gershwin, Cole Porter and his onetime mentor, Johnny Mercer.

Mercer, who wrote the lyrics to such classic songs as “One for My Baby” and “Skylark,” encouraged Mr. Masser early in his career and invited him to stay at his Hollywood guest house in the early 1970s.

“The biggest thing I got from Johnny was, ‘Don’t rush a song,’ ” Mr. Masser told the Desert Sun in 2002. “And the thing I ran up against was everybody wanted a song so fast. It took me two years to finish ‘Touch Me in the Morning.’ ”

That song, with lyrics by Ron Miller, became a signature tune for Ross and was one of her biggest hits. Motown studio head Berry Gordy said that he had Mr. Masser mix 79 versions of the tune before everyone was satisfied.

“Then he applied that kind of philosophy to all of his stuff,” Gordy told the Desert Sun, “and he went on to become the genius that he became.”

Mr. Masser wrote the score of the 1975 film “Mahogany,” directed by Gordy and starring Ross. The theme song received an Oscar nomination.

Masser's top twenty hits in the U.S. and U.K.:

Touch Me In the Morning (Diana Ross / 1973 / #1 Pop / #1 Adult Contemporary (AC) / #5 R&B / #9 U.K.)
Last Time I Saw Him (Diana Ross / 1974 / #14 Pop / #1 AC / #15 R&B / #35 U.K)
Last Time I Saw Him (Dottie West / 1974 / #8 Country)
Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right (Diana Ross / 1975 / #17 AC / #23 U.K.)
Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To) (Diana Ross / 1975 / #1 Pop / #1 AC / #14 R&B / #5 U.K.)
I Thought It Took a Little Time (But Today I Fell in Love) (Diana Ross / 1976 / #47 Pop / #4 AC / #61 R&B / #32 U.K.)
So Sad the Song (Gladys Knight and the Pips / 1976 / #47 Pop / #3 AC / #12 R&B / #20 U.K.)
The Greatest Love of All (George Benson / 1977 / #24 Pop / #22 AC / #2 R&B / #27 U.K.)
Someone That I Used to Love (Natalie Cole / 1980 / #21 Pop / #3 AC / #21 R&B)
It's My Turn (Diana Ross / #9 Pop / #9 AC / #14 R&B / #16 U.K.)
Tonight I Celebrate My Love (Roberta Flack & Peabo Bryson / 1983 / #16 Pop / #4 AC / #5 R&B / #2 U.K.)
In Your Eyes (George Benson / 1983 / #30 AC / #7 U.K.)
If Ever You're In My Arms Again (Peabo Bryson / 1984 / #10 Pop / #1 AC / #6 R&B)
Hold Me (Teddy Pendergrass / 1984 / #46 Pop / #6 AC / #5 R&B / #45 U.K.)
A Long and Lasting Love (Crystal Gayle / 1985 / #5 Country)
Nobody Wants to Be Alone (Crystal Gayle / 1985 / #3 Country)
Saving All My Love For You (Whitney Houston / 1985 / #1 Pop / #1 AC / #1 R&B / #1 U.K.)
Greatest Love of All (Whitney Houston / 1986 / #1 Pop / #1 AC / #3 R&B / #8 U.K.)
In Your Eyes (Jeffrey Osborne / 1987 / #15 AC / #82 R&B)
Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You (1987 / #12 Pop / #4 AC / #1 U.K.)
Didn't We Almost Have It All (Whitney Houston / 1987 / #1 Pop / #1 AC / #2 R&B / #14 U.K.)
Miss You Like Crazy (Natalie Cole / 1989 / #7 Pop / #1 AC / #1 R&B / #2 U.K.)
Starting Over Again (Natalie Cole / 1989 / #5 AC / #56 U.K.)
Heard 'Em Say (Kanye West / 2005 / #26 Pop / #17 R&B / #22 U.K.)

Oh wow! If there was ever a master of great, syrupy Pop ballads, it was Masser. They don't make songwriters like him any more. God rest his soul.

I thought of Mr. Masser songs were rather romantic...

I admired Masser's tight and almost perfect music arrangements and melondies. You listen to the different versions of "Touch Me in The Morining" or "The Theme From Mahogany"... brilliant.

RIP

JoeBala said:

Someone That I Used to Love (Natalie Cole / 1980 / #21 Pop / #3 AC / #21 R&B)
Heard 'Em Say (Kanye West / 2005 / #26 Pop / #17 R&B / #22 U.K.)

Okay, Kanye sampled Natalie, but point taken.

"The Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" is one of the greatest songs ever

1986 interview

Posting her TV Land Awards performance since it contains two of his best songs. You'll see castmembers from Grey's Anatomy,.Batman, Cheers and Good Times in the audience since those were among the shows honored that night.

Michael Masser was "Someone That I Used To Love!" (Natalie Cole, 1980)