Teddy Randazzo

RANDAZZO, TEDDY, Grammy Award nominated songwriter, Teddy Randazzo, died Friday evening, November 21st at his home in Orlando, FL. He was 68. The announcement came from his longtime co-writer and friend, Bobby Weinstein, also of Orlando. Randazzo, a native of Brooklyn, was born into a musical family and at age 15, began his career in music as lead singer with the group, The Three Chuckles, whose first hit, with Randazzo as vocalist, was the song, "Runaround." Later becoming a solo artist, he recorded such hits as "Little Serenade" and "Way of a Clown." He appeared as a headliner with numerous shows staged at The Brooklyn Fox and Brooklyn Paramount Theaters, starring the legendary disc jockey, Alan Freed, in the heyday of the Freed-inspired rock and roll revolution. Randazzo found time to train at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music in New York. He also appeared in starring roles in such motion pictures as "Hey, Let's Twist", "The Girl Can't Help It", "Rock, Rock, Rock" and "Mr. Rock and Roll." He made seven appearances on the then major television variety program, The Ed Sullivan Show, which later would become the prime American showcase for The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Randazzo and Weinstein co-authored a number of major chart hits, including "Goin' Out of My Head", "Hurt So Bad", "Gonna Take a Miracle", "I'm on the Outside Looking In", "Pretty Blue Eyes" and "Have You Looked into Your Heart", for such hit acts as Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Royalettes, The Temptations, The Stylistics, The Manhattans and Frank Sinatra, among others. Randazzo and Weinstein, as songwriters, were affiliated with Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI). Quiet as a team for a number of years, Randazzo and Weinstein had recently resumed their successful partnership and had produced a number of songs with recording plans already in the works. Randazzo is survived by his widow, Shelly; sons, Alika, Joshua and Giovanni; and daughters, Skye and Dominique, all of whom reside in the Orlando area; and by an earlier marriage, a son, Teddy Randazzo Jr. and a daughter, Elisa Rose Schwartz, both of California. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, gifts may be sent to Musicares, in care of The National Academy of Recorded Arts and Sciences. Plans for a service were incomplete at press time.