Voting Station

Mort Shuman

Please vote to return to collections.

Songwriter

The Resume

    (November 12, 1938-November 2, 1991)
    Born in Brooklyn, New York
    Frequently collaborated with Doc Pomus
    Songs written with Pomus include:
    ’Surrender,’ ‘Little Sister,’ ‘(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame’ and ‘Viva Las Vegas’ for Elvis Presley
    ’This Magic Moment’ and ‘Save the Last Dance for Me’ for the Drifters
    ’A Teenager in Love’ for Dion and the Belmonts
    ’Turn Me Loose’ and ‘Tiger Man’ for Fabian
    ’Can’t Get Used to Losing You’ for Andy Williams
    ’Hushabye’ for the Mystics
    With other partners wrote ‘Little Children’ for Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas and ‘Sha La La La Lee’ for the Small Faces
    Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2010)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was expelled from City College of New York for skipping classes to play piano in bars.
    He announced his decision to end his songwriting partnership with Pomus while Pomus was hospitalized after falling out of his wheelchair.
    His attempt to break into the English-language market as a singer was unsuccessful.
    Although he and Pomus are usually thought of as a team, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame separately (unlike, say, Leiber and Stoller or Goffin and King), with Shuman not making it in until nearly two decades after Pomus’ 1992 induction.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Dion said about his versatility, ‘He could take a guitar and suddenly become a flamenco virtuoso, or sit down at the piano and transform himself into a Mississippi blues master.’
    He launched a successful career as a chanson singer, earning six gold records in France.
    He translated the songs of Jacques Brel into English and created the successful musical revue ‘Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.’ (1968)

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 17 Votes: 5.88% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying