Randy VanWarmer; Independent obit
Hyfler/Rosner
Singer and country songwriter
16 January 2004
Randall VanWarmer, singer and songwriter: born Indian
Hills, Colorado 30 March 1955; married Suzi Blosser; died
Seattle, Washington 11 January 2004.
Randy VanWarmer was best known for his 1979 hit "Just When I
Needed You Most". Written when he was barely 18, it proved
an international success, finding its way into the upper
reaches of both the British and American pop charts and
becoming an enduring presence on easy-listening radio.
Born in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in 1955, Randall
VanWarmer was just 12 when his father died in a car crash
and his mother decided to relocate her family to Looe, in
Cornwall. He became a fixture at local folk clubs and began
to write songs, among them the future smash that would make
his name.
In 1978 he headed back across the Atlantic and settled in
New York State where, signed to the Woodstock-based
Bearsville label, he recorded a series of sides including
"Just When I Needed You Most". Featured on his début album,
Warmer (1979), it became something of a phenomenon, but he
was unable to build upon its success and subsequent singles
such as "Whatever You Decide" (1980) and "Suzi" (1981)
failed to make much of an impression. He later commented:
After that first record, I kind of wanted to move away from
that soft thing a little bit. I was young, not real
experienced in the business, and I've since learnt that, if
you do something well, that's what you should do. It took me
about eight or nine years to realise that.
Although he periodically returned to the adult contemporary
sound of "Just When I Needed You Most", notably on his 1995
album The Third Child, he eventually found his true niche as
a country songwriter. In 1984 the Oak Ridge Boys took his "I
Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes", a song written in
memory of his father, to the top of the country charts.
Encouraged by its success, he moved in 1985 to Nashville,
where he became a popular member of the city's songwriting
community and saw his songs recorded by a number of major
stars including Conway Twitty, Charley Pride, Johnny
Rodriguez and Dolly Parton.
In 1988 he signed to 16th Avenue Records, eventually
releasing the acclaimed album I Am. That year the Oak Ridge
Boys enjoyed chart success with another of his songs,
"Bridges and Walls" and the former Chad Mitchell Trio member
Michael Johnson took his "I Will Whisper Your Name" into the
country Top Ten.
Nineteen-ninety saw the release of his finest disc, Every
Now and Then, produced by Allen Reynolds, and in 1992
Alabama topped the country charts with VanWarmer's "I'm in a
Hurry (And I Don't Know Why)".
More recently, younger acts such as the Clark Family
Experience and Neil Coty have recorded VanWarmer songs. He
also returned to the recording studio himself recently,
cutting a duet, "Sandcastles", with the veteran hitmaker
Razzy Bailey which is due for release later this year.
Paul Wadey