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Mitch Murray
Mitch Murray was born on 30 January 1940 in Hove, Sussex. He established himself as a songwriter in the early 190s when he penned 'How Do You Do It', which he gave to Dick James to publish. James presented it to George Martin who saw its potential as a hit for his new signings the Beatles. The Beatles didn't like the song, but Martin insisted that they recorded it - they did produce a half-hearted rendition. Martin challenged them to come up with a better song and they produced 'Please Please Me'. Martin was nevertheless convinced of the commercial potential of 'How Do You Do It' and recorded it with Gerry and the Pacemakers, who topped the charts with the song. Murray teamed up with Peter Callender and continued to pen a string of pop hits including 'Bonnie and Clyde' and 'The Night Chicago Died' which resulted in his songs topping the 100 million sales mark. Murray's 1964 book, How To Write A Hit Song famously inspired Sting - then a 12 year-old schoolboy - to start writing songs. |
