Alan O'Day obit

‘Undercover Angel’ Singer Alan O’Day Dies at 72

After crafting popular songs for artists like The Righteous Brothers and Helen Reddy, he scored a No. 1 hit of his own in 1977. 

He was not on the list.

Alan O’Day, who crafted popular songs for artists like The Righteous Brothers and Helen Reddy before scoring a No. 1 of his own with the bouncy 1977 hit “Undercover Angel,” lost his battle with cancer on Friday, his record label announced. He was 72.

The songwriter, producer and artist died at his home in Westwood, Calif., surrounded by family and friends.

“Alan continued to write and perform until his last days,” a statement from 1st Phase Records reads. “Alan was a generous man who gave his heart and soul to the music industry.”

The sentiment was echoed by O’Day’s close friend, award-winning songwriter Diane Warren: “My dear, dear friend and mentor Alan O’Day has passed away. ‘If you believe in forever, then life is just a one-night stand. If there’s a rock and roll heaven, well you know they’ve got one hell of a band.’ (From Alan’s song ‘Rock and Roll Heaven.’) Well the band just got better. Rest in Peace, my friend.”

O’Day signed with Warner Bros. in 1971, later writing “Train of Thought” for Cher, “Rock and Roll Heaven” for The Righteous Brothers, and the 1974 No. 1 “Angel Baby” by Helen Reddy. Three years later, he landed at the top of the Hot 100 with his own single “Undercover Angel.”

In the 1980s, O’Day teamed up with Janis Liebhart to co-write dozens of songs for the popular Muppet Babies cartoons.

Throughout his career, O’Day’s songs were performed by artists ranging from Johnny Mathis, the 5th Dimension, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, Tony Orlando, Three Dog Night and Paul Anka, among others.

O’Day is survived by his wife, Yuka. Funeral services are pending.

O'Day released his first solo album, Caress Me Pretty Music in 1973. The album was not a major commercial success and he temporarily put his recording career on hiatus.

In 1977, Warner Bros. Records formed Pacific Records as a label for their composers who also performed. O'Day was the first and only artist signed to the label, and its first release was "Undercover Angel." The song, which he described as a "nocturnal novelette," was released in February 1977. Within a few months it had become No. 1 in the country, and has sold approximately two million copies. It was also a hit in Australia, reaching No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart. ("Undercover Angel" also landed O'Day in an exclusive club as one of only a handful of writers/performers to pen a No. 1 hit for themselves and a No. 1 for another artist.)

A follow-up single, "Started Out Dancing, Ended Up Making Love" stalled at No. 73, marking O'Day's second and last appearance on the US chart. Three years later, in March 1980, a song called "Skinny Girls" reached No. 11 on the Australian Singles Chart. In 1981, O'Day co-wrote "Your Eyes" with singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, which became a hit in Japan. This was one of many collaborations between O'Day and Yamashita, including songs such as "Fragile" and "Theme From Big Wave".

O'Day left Warner Brothers in 1982 to write and self-publish. In 1983, he was invited to Tokyo to co-write six more songs with Yamashita for his album Big Wave. The collaboration yielded a Gold Disc Award in Japan.

In February 2013, the label 1st Phase Records released a new album titled Make Me Believe. Co-produced by Alan O'Day and Ken Kaufman featuring country music recording artist Paul Scott, including two new original songs co-written by O'Day: "Uh-Uh (What She Wants)," and an unofficial NASCAR national anthem titled "NASCAR CRAZY". NASCAR Crazy" is a co-write by Alan O'Day and Ken Kaufman.

In 1983, O'Day met San Francisco's singer-songwriter Janis Liebhart, with whom he co-wrote a children's song for a new Saturday morning animated TV show, Jim Henson's Muppet Babies. Within eight years they had written almost 100 songs for the program, which won an Emmy Award, and has since been syndicated internationally.

The collaboration continued after Muppet Babies, as O'Day and Liebhart co-wrote for other children-focused projects, including National Geographic's Really Wild Animals, a series of videos which they helped produce and on which they also sang. They also worked on some children's products for Alaska Video.

O'Day lived in Nashville, to write and perform, and was also a musical and creative consultant. In 2012, he wrote and sang the title tune for the film, You Don't Say.