For this edition of our series about hits by songwriters who most people do not know by name, we look at some of the hits written or co-written by Tony Macaulay. The songwriter, who was born with the name Anthony Gordon Instone on April 21, 1944 in England, wrote a number of catchy songs you know.
He provided two hits to The Foundations: “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” and “Build Me Up Buttercup.” Macaulay co-wrote “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” with John MacLeod, and The Foundations released their recording of the song as their debut single. The song eventually was a number one hit on the British charts and a hit in the U.S. too.
Decades later, Alison Krauss also had a country hit with her version of the song as the title track of her 1995 album Now That I’ve Found You: A Collection.
The Foundations created a classic with their 1968 release of “Build Me Up Buttercup,” a song Macaulay co-wrote with Mike d’Abo. You also may remember the song from when it appeared before the end credits for the Farrelly Brothers’ movie, There’s Something About Mary (1998). It is one of the most effective uses of a song at the end of the movie, and I would bet that you were humming it and smiling when you left the theater.
The hits kept coming in the 1970s. The 5th Dimension had a hit with Mcaulay’s “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All,” a song the band released in 1972.
The Farrelly Brothers must have a thing for Macaulay’s pop sound because they also used another one of his songs over the end credits of another movie, Shallow Hal (2001). Macaulay wrote “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” with Barry Mason, and the song became a hit for Edison Lighthouse.
Talented lead singer Tony Burrows sang the version of “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” that we all know, but by the time this video was recorded, he had left the band. So Macaulay, who had the rights to the band’s name, put together other musicians for the video.
If you were around in 1976, you could not miss Macaulay’s song that he produced for singer-actor David Soul, “Don’t Give Up On Us.” If you mention the song today, people in the U.S. will remember it as the one hit by “Hutch” from the TV show Starsky & Hutch, which starred Soul and Paul Michael Glaser, who is still close friends with Soul.
But Soul also had other hits in the U.K., and he pursued singing even before he was on the popular TV show. “Don’t Give Up on Us” was huge, and I even remember having a songbook for my trombone that included the song. Believe me, you would rather hear the David Soul version instead of my trombone version.
Macaulay has used his talents in a number of ways, including writing novels and recently writing music for the play Sherlock in Love. For more about him, check out his website.
What is your favorite Tony Macaulay song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
“Soon is slipping away” is my absolute favourite, recorded by Francoise Hardy. I much prefer the US version to the UK one, but YouTube seems to have blocked it.
I had not heard it before, but “Soon Is Slipping Away” has some beautiful lyrics. I have not heard a U.S. version by Francoise Hardy, but for anyone who is interested, below is the UK version. Thanks for the tip!
You are most welcome.