Peter Callander
Encyclopedia
Peter Callander is a British
songwriter
and record producer
.
s that have been performed by recording artists
such as Cilla Black
, Tom Jones
, Cliff Richard
, Shirley Bassey
, and The Tremeloes
, among many others.
Callander has often worked in conjunction with Mitch Murray
with Murray writing the music and Callander the lyrics
for their compositions. The two have also teamed together to produce recording artists such as Paper Lace
, Tony Christie
, and The Brothers
.
While Callander was especially prolific during the 1960s and 1970s, his oeuvre continues to be performed and recorded today. In 2005, Tony Christie
spent seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart
with the Murray and Callander produced tune, "Is This the Way to Amarillo
." Also in 2005, Swedish
pop
singer Agnetha Fältskog
recorded the tune, "A Fool Am I," for her successful comeback album, My Colouring Book
, a collection of covers
of classic 1960s pop tunes. Callendar provided the English language
lyrics to what had originally been an Italian language
song.
In an interview in The Times
(of London) in which he described another Murray-Callander penned tune, "Las Vegas," Tony Christie noted that the two "were the star songwriters of the day."
"They write brilliant, melodic, story-based songs," he stated. "To this day I still write with Peter."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
Career
Active from the 1960s to the present day, Callander has written or co-written songSong
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s that have been performed by recording artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
such as Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, and The Tremeloes
The Tremeloes
The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, Essex, and still active today.-Career:They formed as Brian Poole and the Tremoloes influenced by Buddy Holly and The Crickets...
, among many others.
Callander has often worked in conjunction with Mitch Murray
Mitch Murray
Mitch Murray , is an English songwriter, record producer and author.-Musical career:...
with Murray writing the music and Callander the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
for their compositions. The two have also teamed together to produce recording artists such as Paper Lace
Paper Lace
Paper Lace are a Nottingham based pop group, formed in 1969. They are known to Americans as a one-hit wonder; however, in the UK they were a "classic two and a half hit wonder".-History:...
, Tony Christie
Tony Christie
Tony Christie is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his track, "Is This The Way To Amarillo", a double UK chart success.-Career:Tony Christie has sold over 10 million albums Worldwide...
, and The Brothers
The Brothers (band)
The Brothers were a UK-based band that scored a top ten hit on the British chart with the song, "Sing Me." The sprightly, reggae-inflected song reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart in the Spring of 1977.The Brothers recorded for Bus Stop, a UK record label founded by Mitch Murray and Peter...
.
While Callander was especially prolific during the 1960s and 1970s, his oeuvre continues to be performed and recorded today. In 2005, Tony Christie
Tony Christie
Tony Christie is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his track, "Is This The Way To Amarillo", a double UK chart success.-Career:Tony Christie has sold over 10 million albums Worldwide...
spent seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
with the Murray and Callander produced tune, "Is This the Way to Amarillo
Is This the Way to Amarillo
In the United States, a version by the writer of the song Neil Sedaka made to number 44 in the Billboard charts in 1977, and the title was shortened to "Amarillo".-Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay version:...
." Also in 2005, Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...
recorded the tune, "A Fool Am I," for her successful comeback album, My Colouring Book
My Colouring Book
My Colouring Book is the name of a 2004 album by Swedish singer Agnetha Fältskog. It was her first album release for 17 years and was well received by ABBA fans, as well as the general music press, with renditions of songs which she had listened to during her teenage years in the 1960s.Hit singles...
, a collection of covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of classic 1960s pop tunes. Callendar provided the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
lyrics to what had originally been an Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
song.
In an interview in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
(of London) in which he described another Murray-Callander penned tune, "Las Vegas," Tony Christie noted that the two "were the star songwriters of the day."
"They write brilliant, melodic, story-based songs," he stated. "To this day I still write with Peter."
As songwriter
- "A Fool Am I"; originally written by F. Carraresi (music) and A. Testa (lyrics); English lyrics by Peter Callander; recorded by Cilla Black and Agnetha Fältskog
- "Give Me Time"; originally written by Alberto Morina, Amedeo Tommasi & Pietro Melfa; English lyrics by Peter Callander; recorded by Dusty SpringfieldDusty SpringfieldMary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
and P. J. ProbyP. J. ProbyP.J. Proby is an American singer, songwriter, and actor, who has portrayed Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison in musical theater productions as well as enjoying a successful recording career in his own right.... - "The Night Chicago DiedThe Night Chicago Died"The Night Chicago Died" is a song by the British group Paper Lace, written by Peter Callander and Mitch Murray. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in 1974, reached number 3 in the UK charts, and number 2 in Canada. It is about a fictional shoot-out in Chicago...
" (1974); written by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander; recorded by Paper LacePaper LacePaper Lace are a Nottingham based pop group, formed in 1969. They are known to Americans as a one-hit wonder; however, in the UK they were a "classic two and a half hit wonder".-History:... - "Billy, Don't Be a Hero" (1974); written by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander; recorded by both Paper Lace and Bo Donaldson and The HeywoodsBo Donaldson and The HeywoodsBo Donaldson and The Heywoods are an American pop music group, known mainly for their 1970s hit singles, "Billy Don't Be A Hero" and "Who Do You Think You Are".-History:The band was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1965 by their leader Bo Donaldson...
- "Beautiful" (1977); written by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander; recorded by The Brothers
- "Monsieur DupontMonsieur Dupont (Sandie Shaw song)"Monsieur Dupont" is the twenty-first single by British singer Sandie Shaw. Originally sung by German singer Manuela in 1967, Shaw's version became her last big hit of the 1960s. It reached number six in the UK charts, making it her eighth Top 10. In English, Monsieur Dupont means Mr...
" (1969); originally written by Christian Bruhn; English lyrics by Peter Callander; recorded by Sandie ShawSandie ShawSandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
As producer
- "Sing Me," The Brothers (1977) (with Mitch Murray)
- "Beautiful," The Brothers (1977) (with Mitch Murray)
External links
- Official website
- [ Peter Callander songlist] at Allmusic websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...