Cynthia Weil, songwriter, Grammy winner, dies at

Cynthia Weil, New Yorkraised songwriter who penned numerous hit songs with husband Barry Mann, has died at age 82.

The two-time Grammy winner passed away on Tuesday, according to Deadline. Weil and Mann’s daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann, paid tribute to Weil in a statement, saying, “My mother, Cynthia Weil, was the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for. She was my best friend, confidante and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music.”

Weil and Mann — who were portrayed as supporting characters in Broadway’s “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” — wrote The Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” The Drifters’ “On Broadway,” Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again,” and The Ronettes’ “Walking in the Rain,” among with many other hits across 3½ decades.

Along with Phil Spector, the duo also wrote The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling,” which was used to memorable effect on the “Top Gun” soundtrack.

Weil and Mann’s other film credits include songs for the movies “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “A Troll in Central Park” and “Return to the Blue Lagoon.”

At the 30th Grammy Awards, Weil, Mann, and composer James Horner won two categories — Song of the Year and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motional Picture or Television — for their collaboration on Linda Ronstadt’s “Somewhere Out There” from the film “An American Tail.”

Weil met Mann in the early 1960s, as she recalled to Parade in 2015.

“The way Barry played and sang was amazing. He looked awfully cute. Barry wasn’t classically handsome. He was rugged and had a craggy face that I always liked. And he was a genius,” she said. “‘I fell in love at first sight.”

In addition to her music work, Weil also wrote “I’m Glad I Did,” a 2015 youngadult novel about a teenager starting a songwriting career in 1960s New York.

“When they are successful, songs are like little novels,” she explained in the Parade interview. “They have a beginning, a middle and an end. You feel what the person is feeling who’s singing it, and it paints a picture of the human condition.”