Mike Clifford

For other people named Mike Clifford, see Michael Clifford (disambiguation).

Mike Clifford (born November 5, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor known for his 1962 pop hit "Close To Cathy,” which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Early life

Mike Clifford was born in Los Angeles, California. His father, Cal Clifford, was a professional trumpeter. Clifford was interested in music at a young age and began taking voice lessons. While enrolled in school, he performed at school and community functions. By 16, he was performing at local nightclubs in Los Angeles. In 1959, he signed with Liberty and recorded his first single, "Should I" (produced by Mark McIntyre featuring Patience and Prudence and Eddie Cochran).

Helen Noga (who managed Johnny Mathis early in his career) became Clifford's personal manager and signed him to Columbia. Noga introduced Clifford to Ed Sullivan, who booked him for his TV debut; his first of three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Initial success

Clifford achieved initial success at age 18, when "Bombay" became a hit in Venezuela. Soon after, he appeared on the state-owned Venevision in his TV special.

However, Clifford's recordings for Columbia received little attention. In July 1962, he signed with United Artists. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller produced several songs for Clifford, including his most commercially successful single, "Close To Cathy", written by Earl Shuman and composed by Bob Goodman. The song reached number 12 in September of that year, remaining there for two weeks and charting for 12 weeks. On December 29, 1962, "What To Do With Laurie" entered the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 67. "One Boy Too Late" entered the Billboard Hot 100 on May 11, 1963, and was his last nationally charted record, though he subsequently had several songs that were regional hits in the U.S.

He also had hit records that gained popularity in Argentina, Brazil, and Canada, with some songs receiving recognition in Chile, the Philippines, and Japan.

In 1965, United Artists released Clifford's debut album, For The Love Of Mike, which was reviewed in the February 13, 1965, issue of Billboard.

Clifford appeared in the film Village of the Giants in 1965. He sang the love theme of the film, The Glass Sphinx in 1967, the title song to Dagmar's Hot Pants, "You Say Love" in 1971, the love theme for the film Necromancy, "The Morning After" in 1972, and for The Lord Of The Rings in 1978. In the 1978 film Sextette, Clifford sang "Love Will Keep Us Together," with Mae West, while actor Timothy Dalton lip-synced the words.

Tours

Clifford toured over one hundred cities during 1964 and 1965 with the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars while performing in Canada, France, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Mexico. He did commercials for Black Cow and Slowpoke suckers, Ortho Mattress and MJB coffee. American International Pictures purchased cartoon films from Japan and had the dialogue and songs translated into English. Clifford recorded the Guy Hemric-produced song "Rose Color Sky" and another song for the soundtracks, which were released to movie theaters and television.

In 1967, Clifford opened a two-week engagement at the Ye Little Club in Beverly Hills, California. Judy Garland attended his opening night and later hosted a gathering in his honor.

In the 1970s, Clifford played the dual role of Teen Angel and Johnny Casino in the first national tour of the Broadway musical, Grease, which also starred John Travolta.

In 1975, he appeared with the operatic tenor Jan Peerce in the Broadway production of Fiddler On the Roof as Motel, the timid tailor.

In 1976, he traveled to Paris, France, to co-star with Line Renaud in a show entitled Paris Line at the Casino de Paris. A cast album of the show was also recorded in Paris, featuring Clifford on several solos.

In addition, he also appeared and sang on American Bandstand and Where the Action Is (ABC-TV). He made multiple appearances on Baltimore’s Buddy Deane Show in 1962.

Songs

Clifford recorded the songs "Pretty Little Girl in the Yellow Dress" from the Universal Pictures The Last Sunset in 1961, "Look in Any Window" from the Allied Artists picture Look in Any Window in 1961, "Joanna" from the TV production Peter Gunn in 1961, "At Last" for the United Artist release The Last Time I Saw Archie in 1961, "It Had Better Be Tonight" from the Mirisch-G&E Production The Pink Panther in 1963, "Barbara’s Theme" from the motion picture Diary Of A Bachelor in 1964, "How to Murder Your Wife" and "Here's To My Lover" from the motion picture How To Murder Your Wife in 1965, "Magic Night" for the movie soundtrack Mondo Hollywood in 1967, "It’s a Dream Away" for the American International Pictures film The Glass Sphinx in 1967, "The Golden Breed" for the Hollywood International Production movie The Golden Breed in 1968, "Mary Jane", the title song for the American International motion picture Mary Jane in 1968, the theme from the motion picture, Those Fantastic Flying Fools, "You Say Love" for the Trans-American film Dagmar's Hot Pants Inc. in 1971, "The Morning After" for the Cinerama-Zenith International Production, and the theme for Necromancy in 1972.

In the early 1970s, Clifford and Lu Ann Simms recorded a new version of the Beach Party album music after Frankie and Annette recorded the final versions for the films. These recordings were released as Summer Fun by the Columbia House mail order division as a bonus gift.

Clifford continued performing, having started his nightclub and concert career at the Elegante Club in Brooklyn, New York, alongside Totie Fields.

He has toured with his singing partner, Sandy Zacky. The two released a collaborative album in 2007, titled Love Is Everything. In 2010, Clifford recorded "Mack The Knife", released as an mp3 by Hired Gun Records.

In 2015, Clifford traveled to Long Island, New York for the annual doo-wop show, where he headlined with Jimmy Clanton, Johnny Tillotson, and Chuck Jackson, among others. In 2017, Clifford released "What A Wonderful World" dance mix version, his first video that he co-produced, directed, and starred in. He also recorded a ballad version of the song with just piano accompaniment by Ben DiTosti. Both songs were made available for download. In late 2017, Clifford produced his second music video, a remake of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song," arranged by Ben DiTosti and co-produced by Maurice Gainen for Clifford's new label, Grover Stew Music.

In 2018, Clifford recorded a new version of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," featuring Ben DiTosti on piano, with a full orchestra arranged and produced by Maurice Gainen and Clifford. He then created a new video for this song, co-produced by Maurice Gainen. The audio version reached Top Ten on the Reverb Nation LA Jazz Music Chart.

On the 50th anniversary of Judy Garland’s passing, Clifford released a new recording and video of 'Over The Rainbow.'

In late 2019, Clifford reunited with his singing partner Sandy Zacky in a tribute to the late Doris Day. They recorded a new version of her first hit song "Sentimental Journey", and a new video was also produced by DiTosti, Gainen, and Clifford. Released in late November, "Sentimental Journey" reached top-five status on the Reverb Nation LA Jazz Music Chart within six weeks. As of January 2020, the song was still listed in the top 10.

In the fall of 2021, Mike released a new video and audio recording of a Livingston and Evans song, "His Own Little Island". This jazzy Bossa nova production hit the Reverb Nation LA Jazz Chart Top Ten in less than one week of release.

In December 2021, Mike released a new recording of the classic "Ave Maria" sung in Latin, arranged by Ben DiTosti and produced by Maurice Gainen.

In June 2023, Mike released a new version of the classic ballad, "A Time for Love" featuring a flute solo by Maurice Gainen. The song and video were both produced by Mike Clifford and Maurice Gainen. Within two weeks, 'A Time for Love' was listed among the top five songs on the Reverb Nation LA Jazz Chart.

In June 2024, Mike released a tribute to the late composer Burt Bacharach. Co-produced with Maurice Gainen, he recorded a rendition of "(They Long to Be) Close To You", a song written by Bacharach, which had reached number 1 on the Billboard Top 100 when performed by the Carpenters in 1970. Within two weeks, 'Close To You' entered the top 10 on the LA Jazz Reverb Nation Chart.

Discography

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions		Record Label	B-side	Album
		US Pop	US AC
1959	"Should I"	—	—	Liberty	"Whisper Whisper"
	"I'm Afraid to Say I Love You"	—	—		"I Don't Know Why"
1960	"Poor Little Girl"	—	—	Columbia	"Stranger"
1961	"Uh Huh"	—	—		"Look in Any Window"
	"Pretty Little Girl in the Yellow Dress"	—	—		"At Last"
	"Bombay"	—	—		"When We Marry"
1962	"Joanna"	—	—		"Mary, Mary"
	"Close to Cathy"	12	4	United Artists	"She's Just Another Girl"	For the Love of Mike
	"What to Do With Laurie"	68	—		"That's What They Said"
1963	"One Boy Too Late"	96	—		"Danny's Dream"
	"Gee, I Don't Remember"	—	—		"Cotton Dresses"
1964	"All the Colors of the Rainbow (Turn to Blue)"	—	—		"It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)"	For the Love of Mike
	"One by One the Roses Died"	—	—		"See You in September"
	"Don't Make Her Cry"	—	—		"Barbara's Theme"
1965	"How to Murder Your Wife"	—	—		"Here's to My Lover"
	"Before I Loved Her"	—	—	Cameo	"Shirl Girl"
	"Out in the Country"	—	—		"Countin'"
1967	"Send Her Flowers"	—	—	Sidewalk	"This Time, Time May Be Wrong"
1970	"Broken Hearted Man"	—	—	American International	"When Cindy When"
	"You Better Start Singing Soon"	—	—		"Do Your Own Thing"

External links

• Mike Clifford at IMDb
• Mike Clifford's comprehensive discography