Elliot Wolff

{{Short description|American musician (1955–2016)}} {{Distinguish|Eliot Wolf}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Elliot Wolff | image = | image_size = | landscape =  | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Elliot Marvin Wolff | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date|1956|1|29}} | birth_place = [[Oklahoma]] | origin = | death_date = {{death date and age|2016|6|25|1956|1|29}} | death_place = [[Santa Fe National Forest]], [[New Mexico]] | genre = | occupation = Musician, songwriter, music producer | instrument = | years_active =  | label = | website = {{URL|http://www.elliotwolff.com/}} }} '''Elliot Marvin Wolff''' (January 29, 1956 – June 7 or 25, 2016) was an American musician, songwriter, and [[music producer]]. Born in [[Oklahoma]], he was raised in [[Silver Spring, Maryland]]. His music catalog is represented by [[Downtown Music Publishing]].

==Career== Wolff was the musical director for [[Peaches & Herb]] on tour from 1979 to 1982, traveling to Asia and Africa. He also toured with [[Chaka Khan]] as a [[keyboard player]]. Moving from the [[Washington, DC]] area to [[Los Angeles]], he became a staff writer for producer [[Freddie Perren]]. He wrote [[Johnny Gill]]'s top ten hit "[[Super Love (Johnny Gill song)|Super Love]]" for Gill's self-titled 1983 album.

After hearing a demo for Wolff's "[[Straight Up (Paula Abdul song)|Straight Up]]", [[Paula Abdul]] recorded it and also Wolff's "[[Cold Hearted (Paula Abdul song)|Cold Hearted]]" for her album ''[[Forever Your Girl]]''. Both songs charted at number one on ''Billboard''.<ref name="abdul1">Bronson, Fred. [https://books.google.com/books?id=PgGqNrqfrsoC&dq=%22Elliot+Wolff%22&pg=PT749 ''The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits''], 5th ed., 2003, p.740.</ref>

[[Taylor Dayne]] recorded Wolff's song "[[Heart of Stone (Taylor Dayne song)|Heart of Stone]]" for her second album ''[[Can't Fight Fate]]''.

Other artists who have recorded his songs include [[Aretha Franklin]], [[Debbie Gibson]], [[Gregg Tripp]], [[Joey Lawrence]], [[Atlantic Starr]], [[Chynna Phillips]], [[Color Me Badd]], [[The Corrs]], [[Dave Koz]], [[A'Me Lorain]], [[Jennifer Holliday]], and Stacey Piersa.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.elliotwolff.com/html/biography.html |title= Elliot Wolff Music |accessdate=2016-06-27}}</ref>

==Death== He died at the age of 60 sometime between June 7 and June 25, 2016, while on a solo camping and hiking trip near [[Pecos, New Mexico]] in [[Santa Fe National Forest]].<ref name = SF2>{{cite web |url= http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/briefs/body-found-in-forest-suspected-to-be-missing-music-producer/article_9c59114e-29ce-5ef4-86d9-bfa2fe4069d6.html |title=Body Found in Forest Suspected to be Missing Producer |year=2016 |publisher=Santa Fe New Mexican |accessdate=2016-06-27}}</ref> New Mexico state police had reported that he was last seen on June 7, 2016; they suspended ground and helicopter searches for him on June 12.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/producer-missing-near-pecos-wilderness/article_27c30281-0a05-5f75-b0c6-b7069e93435b.html |title=Producer Missing Near Pecos Wilderness |author=Andrew Oxford |year=2016 |publisher=Santa Fe New Mexican |accessdate=2016-06-14}}</ref> On June 25, a body was discovered in the forest; based on identification found, it was believed to be Wolff.<ref name = SF2/>

==Selected songs== Wolff wrote or co-wrote the following songs: *"[[Super Love (Johnny Gill song)|Super Love]]" – [[Johnny Gill]] (1983) *"[[Straight Up (Paula Abdul song)|Straight Up]]" – [[Paula Abdul]] (1988)<ref name="abdul1"/> *"[[Cold Hearted (Paula Abdul song)|Cold Hearted]]" – Paula Abdul (1989) *"Whole Wide World" – [[A'Me Lorain]] (1990) *"[[Heart of Stone (Taylor Dayne song)|Heart of Stone]]" – [[Taylor Dayne]] (1990) *"Follow My Heartbeat" – A'Me Lorain (1990) *"[[I Don't Want to Live Without You (Gregg Tripp song)|I Don't Want to Live Without You]]" – [[Gregg Tripp]] (1992) *"Not One More Time" – Stacey Piersa (1994) *"I'll Remember You" – [[Atlantic Starr]] (1994) *"The Earth, the Sun, the Rain" – [[Color Me Badd]] (1996) *"Love Gives Love Takes" – [[The Corrs]] (1997)

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.elliotwolff.com/ Official website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Elliot}} [[Category:1955 births]] [[Category:2016 deaths]] [[Category:American keyboardists]] [[Category:American male songwriters]] [[Category:Jewish American songwriters]] [[Category:People from Silver Spring, Maryland]] [[Category:Record producers from Maryland]] [[Category:Record producers from Oklahoma]] [[Category:Songwriters from Maryland]] [[Category:Songwriters from Oklahoma]] [[Category:21st-century American Jews]]