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BUNNY WALTERS
Brandy (Scott English - Richard Kerr) New Zealand 1972 #4 NZ Single on Impulse label by Auckland-based Maori singer, originally from Katikati, who had five charting records in New Zealand 1970-74. Listen: You can hear this fine version of Brandy at the igJukeBox: click on the photo of Bunny Walters to listen.
SCOTT ENGLISH
Brandy (Scott English - Richard Kerr) UK 1971 Original version #12 UK 91 USA #3 Sydney #4 Melbourne #11 Brisbane #26 Adelaide #8 Perth Single on Horse label (UK), a subsidiary of Trojan, reissued on Janus (USA). Scott English was working in Britain when he wrote Brandy with British pianist Richard Kerr. He also wrote with Albert Hammond in Britain, 1969-71. As a writer, Scott English later teamed with Larry Weiss, with whom he wrote such songs as Ciao Baby (Lynne Randell and others), Bend Me, Shape Me (American Breed, Amen Corner) , Help Me Girl (Animals) and Hi Ho Silver Lining (The Attack, Jeff Beck). Richard Kerr's other songwriting credits include Blue Eyes, a #3 UK hit for Don Partridge in 1968, and Somewhere In The Night, a US hit for both Helen Reddy (#19, 1976) and Barry Manilow (#9, 1979). See the All Music Guide's entry on Richard Kerr. Further reading: Dave at AllExperts has summarised the story of Brandy/Mandy using quotations from Scott English, Richard Kerr and Barry Manilow. Thank you to Joop Jansen for clarification and additional research.
BARRY MANILOW
Mandy (Scott English - Richard Kerr) USA 1974 #1 USA #11 UK #4 Melbourne #1 Brisbane #1 Adelaide #16 Perth #5 NZ Single on Bell, the label that became Arista. In this version the song became Mandy to avoid confusion with Brandy (You're A Fine Girl) by Looking Glass. First of a string of hits by classically trained pop and cabaret star who worked in television and wrote jingles before being hired as musical director by Bette Midler. See biography at All Music Guide. The mistaken idea that New Zealand singer Bunny Walters wrote the song and that it was unfairly appropriated by Barry Manilow probably arises because Scott English's earlier, original version was not so well-known to some New Zealanders. 
LOOKING GLASS
Brandy (You're A Fine Girl) (Elliot Lurie) USA 1972 Red herring #1 USA #7 Melbourne #1 Brisbane #3 Adelaide #12 Perth #5 NZ Similar title but not the same song as "Brandy" by Bunny Walters. New Jersey rock band first formed by university students in 1969. Elliot Lurie went on to a career in film, mainly as a musical supervisor. See his filmography at IMdB. Corrections or comments? Contact the writer. |