Kal Mann

2025-03-09T20:18:45Z

2601:249:8B00:2730:B877:241:DBA1:9975: /* Biography */ fixed the phrase describing Bernie Lowe and his relationship to Mann, which wasn't idiomatic

{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Kal Mann
| image =
| caption =
| background = non_performing_personnel
| birth_name = Kalman Cohen
| birth_date = {{birth date|1917|05|06|mf=y}}
|birth_place =[[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2001|11|28|1917|05|06|mf=y}}
|death_place = [[Pompano Beach, Florida]], U.S.
| genre = [[Rock and roll]], [[popular music]]
| occupation = [[Lyricist]], [[songwriter]]
| years_active = 1950s-1960s
}}

'''Kal Mann''' (born '''Kalman Cohen'''; May 6, 1917 – November 28, 2001)<ref name="Dead">[http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/2001.html Thedeadrockstarsclub.com] - accessed June 2010</ref> was an American [[lyricist]]. He is best known for penning the words to [[Elvis Presley]]'s "[[(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear|Teddy Bear]]", plus "[[Butterfly (1957 song)|Butterfly]]", a hit for both [[Charlie Gracie]] and [[Andy Williams]], and "[[Let's Twist Again]]", sung by [[Chubby Checker]], which won the 1962 [[Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Song|Grammy Award for Best Rock & Roll Recording]].

==Biography==
Born in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], Mann began his career in entertainment as a comedy writer for [[Danny Thomas]] and [[Red Buttons]], until a friend, songwriter [[Bernie Lowe]], encouraged him to try writing [[lyrics]] for the [[music industry]].<ref name="Dead"/> Mann co-wrote [[song]]s with Lowe and [[Dave Appell]], yielding a number of major [[rock and roll]] [[hit record|hits]] such as [[Charlie Gracie]]'s "[[Butterfly (1957 song)|Butterfly]]," which sold more than two million copies and also become a million seller for the [[crooner]], [[Andy Williams]], and also a minor hit for [[Bob Carroll (singer/actor)|Bob Carroll]], whose [[cover version]] peaked at #61.<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book
| first= John
| last= Tobler
| year= 1992
| title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years
| edition= 1st
| publisher= Reed International Books Ltd
| location= London
| page= 42
| id= CN 5585}}</ref> In addition he co-wrote [[Elvis Presley]]'s "[[(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear|Teddy Bear]],"<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years"/> [[Bobby Rydell]]'s "[[Wild One (Bobby Rydell song)|Wild One]]" and "[[The Cha-Cha-Cha]]", and [[Chubby Checker]]'s "[[Let's Twist Again]]" and "[[Limbo Rock]]." Mann wrote a number of songs for Checker, including "[[Popeye the Hitchhiker]]" and "[[Slow Twistin']]" plus [[Pat Boone]]'s "[[Remember You're Mine]]", and the much covered "[[You Can't Sit Down]]".<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p101468/songs/songs-composed-by|pure_url=yes}}|title=Allmusic ((( Kal Mann > Songs > Songs Composed By )))}}</ref> He also wrote "[[Bristol Stomp]]" for [[The Dovells]] with David Appell.

"[[Fabulous (Charlie Gracie song)|Fabulous]]", another Charlie Gracie track (and in 1999 [[cover version|covered]] by [[Paul McCartney]]) sold nearly one million copies upon release.

Some songs such as "[[Limbo Rock]]" were credited under the [[pseudonym]] of Jon Sheldon. This enabled him to be affiliated with both ASCAP and BMI.<ref>{{cite web|title=www.rockabilly.nl|url=http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/kal_mann.htm|website=www.rockabilly.nl|access-date=February 19, 2018}}</ref>

==Record label ==
Mann and Lowe teamed up to form [[Cameo-Parkway Records]] in 1956.

==Death ==
Kal Mann died in 2001 from [[Alzheimer's disease]], at the age of 84.

==See also==
{{Portal|Philadelphia}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Kal}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American lyricists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Jewish American songwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century American songwriters]]

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Kal Mann