Brian Potter (musician)

Brian August Potter(born 1939) is a British-born Americanpop musicsongwriterandrecord producer.With his writing partner,Dennis Lambert,Potter wrote and produced hits songs for theFour Tops,Tavares,the Grass Roots,Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds,Evie Sands,Coven,Hall and Oates,andGlen Campbell.Potter and Lambert were nominated for aGrammy Awardfor their production onRhinestone Cowboy.

Career

Hailing fromBillericayinEssex,England, Potter began his music career in the 1960s inLondon.In 1969, whileDennis Lambertwas in London, the two met, with Potter eventually moving to the U.S. to begin their songwriting partnership. By 1972, they were both working forABC Dunhill RecordsinLos Angeles,California,who had signed the Four Tops, after the group's decision to leave Motown Records. Lambert and Potter changed the group's sound to a West Coast R&B style, then wrote and produced theKeeper of the Castlealbum.Their writing credits on the album included the top-ten hits "Keeper of the Castle"and the million-seller,"Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)."They continued in the same vein with follow-up albums,Main Street People(1973) andMeeting of the Minds(1974).

In 1974, Potter and Lambert began working withGlen CampbellatCapitol Recordson aconcept albumbased on the idea of an over-the-hill country musician who is uneasy about his previous fame.The effort resulted in the titular number-one single, "Rhinestone Cowboy",the success of which gave credence to claims that Potter and Lambert revived Campbell's career.The single was nominated for theGrammy Award for Record of the Year.Potter and Lambert received nominations forProducer of the Yearat the18th Annual Grammy Awards.

Selected discography

Songwriting credits

• "Whatcha Gonna Do About It"(Small Faces,1965)
• "One Tin Soldier"(the Original Caste,1969; Coven, 1971;Skeeter Davis,1972)
• "To Love You"(Country Store, 1969;Tavares,1974)
• "It's a Cryin' Shame" (Gayle McCormick,1971;Conway Twitty,1972)
• "Don't Pull Your Love"(Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds,1971; Glen Campbell, 1976)
• "Two Divided by Love"and" The Runway "(The Grass Roots,1972)
• "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)"and"Keeper of the Castle"(the Four Tops,1972)
• "Are You Man Enough" (the Four Tops, 1973, from the filmShaft in Africa)
• "Ashes to Ashes"(The 5th Dimension,1973)
• "Who Gets Your Love" (Dusty Springfield,1973)
• "Rock and Roll Heaven"(the Righteous Brothers,1974)
• "Dream On"(the Righteous Brothers, 1974)
• "Look in My Eyes Pretty Woman" (Tony Orlando & Dawn,1974)
• "Mama's Little Girl" (Linda George,1974) (also in the filmFelicity,1979)
• "This Heart"(Gene Redding,1974)
• "It Only Takes a Minute"(Tavares,1975)
• "You Brought the Woman Out of Me" (Evie Sands,1975)
• "Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.)"(Glen Campbell, 1975)
• TunnelVision(movie soundtrack, 1976)
• "Perfect Dancer" (Marilyn McCoo,1979)

Production credits

• Keeper of the Castle(the Four Tops, 1972)
• Cameo(Dusty Springfield, 1973)
• Hard Core Poetry(Tavares,1974)
• In the City(Tavares,1975)
• Rhinestone Cowboy(Glen Campbell, 1975)
• Bloodline(Glen Campbell, 1976)
• "Baby Come Back"(Player,1977)
• Inner Secrets(Santana,1978)

External links

Brian PotteratIMDb