His Greatest Love of All. Songwriter Michael Masser gave up a successful Wall Street career to be true to his creative spirit
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Complex chord structures, frequent modulations, and much counterpointing of chorus against verse are signature Masser techniques. ``I'm definitely a romantic,'' he says, ``no doubt about it.''
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What is perhaps his most ``romantic'' hit, ``The Greatest Love of All,'' was first recorded by George Benson in 1975, but it had enough staying power to hit the top with Whitney Houston's rendition two years ago.
Breaking the rules imposed on him by society is what set his musical career in motion. ``I left an office at the top of the Pan Am Building, a nine-room apartment, and a farm in Vermont because I was aching inside,'' he recalls. ``It took an analyst to tell me I could write a note of permission to become a musician and sign it.''
In 1971, he moved into the Los Angeles guesthouse of one of the great American songwriters, Johnny Mercer, who recognized his talent and became his mentor. Two years later, after a couple of flops, Masser's career took off, when ``Touch Me in the Morning'' hit the top of the charts. The song began a long-term relationship between Masser and Motown Records. After that, he began to write more and more ballad-style songs with sweeping melodies.
``His last 15 years of writing are affirmative evidence that great old-fashioned standards can still make it in today's market,'' says Paul Zollo, editor of Songtalk, the National Academy of Songwriters (NAS) bimonthly magazine. ``He's done his own thing without paying attention to trends like disco and dance music. That's why his career just keeps going.'' MOST recently Masser has been on the charts with Whitney Houston's ``Didn't We Almost Have It All?'' (co-written with Will Jennings) and Glenn Medeiros's ``Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You'' (co-written with Gerry Goffin). All along, most of his hits have been with black artists.
``I think growing up in inner-city Chicago had something to do with that,'' says Masser, describing a rough neighborhood with gangs and zip guns. ``I also think there is an edge to the voices of Natalie [Cole], Roberta [Flack], Diana [Ross], and Whitney [Houston] that keeps my songs from not sounding too operatic.''
Masser's latest project was serving as artistic director for the recording of Charles Aznavour's ``For You, Armenia.'' It was performed by 100 Hollywood celebrities, and its proceeds went to the relief effort for that earthquake-torn region.
He has also produced two cuts on Natalie Cole's forthcoming album, ``Good to Be Back.'' His next goal is to assault what is, for him, the Everest of songwriting: Broadway and a film musical.
``Because I've had so many hits, I've got to watch myself that I don't aim for them,'' he says. ``It's got to be what I feel and for the reason of the music itself. Otherwise, I would become a clone, the very antithesis of everything I've worked to be....
``There is too much pressure from agents to turn out lots of songs, when I say: Just give me one good one,'' he says. ``People need to learn how to discipline themselves for great songs and take their time doing it.''
Masser has a special interest in developing young songwriters. Besides appearing on many Songtalk panels sponsored by the NAS, he speaks frequently on songwriting and record producing for extension courses at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Last year he endowed a new ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) Foundation program. The fund will be used to get handicapped children interested in music and to provide scholarships for music students and a commission program to encourage the writing of high-quality music for children.