George Merrill (songwriter)
 |
George Merrill | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 January 1956 Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Origin | United States |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, singer |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
George Merrill is an American singer and songwriter whose songs have been recorded by Whitney Houston, Bette Midler, Graham Nash, Dolly Parton and Smokey Robinson, among others. He co-wrote "How Will I Know", which was a hit for Whitney Houston in 1986, as well as Houston's 1987 hit "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"[1].
From the mid-1980s to the present day, Merrill and writing partner Shannon Rubicam have been the vocal duo Boy Meets Girl, who are best remembered for the 1988 hit "Waiting for a Star to Fall".[1] They wrote the song and had initially offered it to Houston and Belinda Carlisle, but they both rejected it (though Carlisle did do a demo recording) and Boy Meets Girl decided to feature it on the next Boy Meets Girl album titled Real Life. Merrill and Rubicam also sang backing vocals for Deniece Williams' hit "Let's Hear It for the Boy".
Merrill has been married twice. His first marriage was with Rubicam from the mid-1980s until they divorced in 2000. Despite the divorce they have continued working together for various music projects. Merrill married his current wife, artist Rozalynd Roos Merrill, in 2004. He has a daughter, Hilary Rubicam Merrill (with Shannon Rubicam), and stepson Maxfield Roos Chandler. Hilary can be seen as the blond girl in her parents' video of "Waiting for a Star to Fall" also singing backing vocals on the Boy Meets Girl albums The Wonderground [2], Five [3], and the 2024 single, "We The People"[4].
Discography
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Albums and EPs
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| Year | Album | Record Label | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | |||
| 1985 | Boy Meets Girl | A&M Records (Universal) | 76 | — |
| 1988 | Reel Life | RCA/BMG (Sony) | 50 | 74 |
| 1991 | New Dream | RCA/BMG (Sony) | — | — |
| 2001 | The Wonderground | Independent | — | — |
| 2021 | Five (EP | Independent | — | — |
| 2022 | Five | Independent | ||
Singles
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| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US AC | AUS | UK | ||||
| 1985 | "Oh Girl" | 39 | — | — | — | Boy Meets Girl | |
| 1985 | "The Touch" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "Heartbreaker" | — | — | — | — | single only | |
| 1988 | "Waiting for a Star to Fall" | 5 | 1 | 35 | 1 |
|
Reel Life |
| 1989 | "Bring Down the Moon" | 49 | 28 | — | 92 | ||
| 1989 | "Stormy Love" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991 | "Waiting for a Star to Fall" (re-issue) | — | — | — | 76 | ||
| 2021 | "More Deeply (In Love With You)" [5] | — | — | — | — | Five | |
| 2021 | "Falling Hard" [6] | — | — | — | — | Five | |
| 2021 | "Gone" | Five | |||||
| 2022 | "Stars Are Falling" | ||||||
| 2022 | "How Will I Know (Martini Mix)" | Five (Deluxe Edition) | |||||
| 2024 | "We The People" [7] | — | — | — | — | ||
Songwriting Credits
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| Year | Song | Artist | Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "Falling Star" | Phyllis Hyman | Goddess of Love |
| 1983 | "Your Move My Heart" | Phyllis Hyman | Goddess of Love |
| 1984 | "Haunting Me" | Deniece Williams | Let's Hear It for the Boy |
| 1984 | "Don't Tell Me We Have Nothing" | Deniece Williams | Let's Hear it for the Boy |
| 1985 | "How Will I Know" | Whitney Houston | Whitney Houston |
| 1987 | "Love Finds You" | Deniece Williams | Love Finds You |
| 1987 | "I Know You By Heart" | Dolly Parton & Smokey Robinson | Rainbow |
| 1987 | "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) | Whitney Houston | Whitney |
| 1987 | "Simply Meant to Be" | Gary Morris & Jennifer Warnes | Blind Date Soundtrack |
| 1988 | "Best Intentions" | Russell Hitchcock | Russell Hitchcock |
| 1988 | "I Know You By Heart" | Bette Midler & David Pack | Beaches |
| 1989 | "When The Lights Go Down Low" | Herb Alpert | When The Lights Go Down Low [8] |
| 1990 | "Singer In The Storm" | Holly Near | Singer In The Storm |
| 1993 | "Bring Me Home" | Paul Young | The Crossing |
| 1995 | "Next To You" | Sheena Easton | My Cherie |
| 1996 | "Knee Deep" | Kermit the Frog | The Muppets at Walt Disney World |
| 1997 | "The Day I Get Over You" | Edyta Gorniak | Edyta Gorniak |
| 1997 | "The Story Of Love" | OTT | This One's For You |
| 1999 | "Sheila" | Danny O'Keefe | Runnin' From the Devil |
| 1999 | "Only An Ocean Away" | Danny O'Keefe | Runnin' From the Devil |
| 1999 | "7 Lonely Days" | Human Nature | Counting Down |
| 2000 | "We See It Differently" | Sister2Sister | One |
| 2000 | "Last One Standing" | Girl Thing | Girl Thing |
| 2004 | "Take Me To The Clouds Above" | LMC | Take Me To The Clouds Above |
| 2005 | "In My Arms | Mylo | In My Arms |
| 2005 | "Star2Fall" | Cabin Crew | Star2Fall |
| 2005 | "Falling Stars" | Sunset Strippers | Falling Stars |
| 2006 | "Dance!" | Fatman Scoop, Lumidee, Goleo | FIFA World Cup 2006 soundtrack |
| 2009 | "Girls Just Wanna Dance" | Royal Gigolos | Girls Just Wanna Dance |
| 2015 | "How Will I Know" | Sam Smith | The Lonely Hour (Drowning Shadows Edition) |
| 2015 | "Somebody" | Natalie La Rose, Jeremih | Somebody |
| 2018 | "In The Middle" | Em Rossi | In The Middle |
| 2021 | "If You Really Love Me (How Will I Know)" | David Guetta, MistaJam, John Newman | If You Really Love Me (How Will I Know) |
| 2021 | "Dance with You" | Laura Marano & Grey | Us |
| 2022 | "YAH Know" | Chance The Rapper | YAH Know |
| 2023 | "A Better Life" | Graham Nash | Now |
| 2024 | "The Wonderground" | Hopkinson & Boy Meets Girl | The Wonderground [9] |
References
[edit]- ^ Demalon, Tom. "Biography: Boy Meets Girl". AMG. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
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