Richard Addrisi obit

Richard Addrisi, “Never My Love” Songwriter, Dies at 84

He and his late older brother, Donald, wrote the enduring pop classic for The Association, and it would be recorded by hundreds of other acts over the years. 

He was not on the list.

Richard Addrisi, the singer-songwriter best known for teaming with his older brother, Don, to pen the mega-selling pop standard “Never My Love,” died Tuesday at his home in Miami, a family spokesperson announced. He was 84.

While writing songs for other acts and recording at Valiant Records in the 1960s, the Addrisi Brothers also were given the responsibility for discovering new talent, and that led to a partnership with The Association, who already had No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Cherish” in September 1966 and “Windy” in July 1967.

The brothers wrote “Never My Love” for the pop group, and they would take it to No. 2 on the Hot 100 in October 1967.

The enduring “Never My Love” would go on to enter the Top 15 with versions by The 5th Dimension in 1971 and by the Swedish rock band Blue Swede in 1974. In 1978, Vern Gosdin & Janie Fricke released a duet that made it to No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot Country chart.

In 1977, the Addrisi Brothers’ version peaked at No. 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Over the years, “Never My Love” has been recorded by more than 300 notable artists, among them Norah Jones & Jacob Dylan, Bryan Adams, Belinda Carlisle, Rita Wilson, Nina Simone, Etta James, Barry Manilow, Donny Hathaway, Kathy Troccoli, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, Vicky Carr, Petula Clark, Engelbert Humperdinck, Chill Factor, Henry Mancini, The Temptations, The Lettermen, the Four Tops, The Sandpipers, The Impressions, The Flirtations and Audra Mae & the Forest Rangers, featuring Billy Valentine.

In 1999, BMI noted that “Never My Love” was the No. 2 most-played song of all time in U.S. radio/television history, trailing only “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” made famous by The Righteous Brothers.

Natives of Winthrop, Massachusetts, Richard and Donald (three years older) participated in their family’s acrobatic group, the Flying Addrisis. They came to Los Angeles to try out for The Mickey Mouse Club but ended up appearing on The Adventures of Spin and Marty, the series of shorts that starred Tim Considine and emerged from the ABC kids show in 1955.

Meanwhile, Richard enrolled at the Hollywood Professional School, where many child actors, including Mouse Club star Annette Funicello, attended.

The brothers were just teenagers when their first Del-Fi single, “Cherrystone,” peaked at No. 62 on the Hot 100 in 1959.

After “Never My Love,” they wrote “Time for Living,” which The Association took to No. 27 in 1968.

As the 1970s began, the brothers wrote and performed the theme song to the ABC show Nanny and the Professor, starring Juliet Mills and Richard Long.

In 1972, the Addrisis scored their first Top 40 hit as recording artists/songwriters with “We’ve Got to Get It on Again,” which climbed to No. 25 on the pop chart. They found further success in 1977 with “Slow Dancin’ Don’t Turn Me On,” which would get to No. 20.

The brothers also wrote “I Believe You,” which was a hit for Dorothy Moore in 1977 that made it to No. 5 on the Billboard R&B Soul chart. Karen Carpenter recorded it as well. The two continued to write and record until Don’s death from cancer in November 1984 at age 45.

Described as “a funny, warm soul who could light up any room,” Richard spent many years traveling and enjoying time spent at his home in Los Angeles, his condo in Buenos Aires and his place on the water in Miami.

Survivors include his life partner, music executive Kay Douglass; Agustina Bianculli, who was “like a daughter to him,” and her son, Sebastian; and nieces Amity Addrisi (an Emmy-winning journalist) and Alexis.