Ronnie Mack
| Ronnie Mack | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ronald Augustus Mack |
| Also known as | Rocco Mack |
| Born | July 11, 1940 |
| Origin | Harlem, New York City, United States |
| Died | 1963 (aged 23) |
| Genres | Doo-wop, R&B, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, singer |
| Years active | 1955–1963 |
| Associated acts | The Marquis Little Jimmy Rivers and the Tops The Chiffons |
Ronald Augustus "Ronnie" Mack (July 11, 1940 – circa late 1963) was an American songwriter, singer and talent manager who wrote "He's So Fine", a number one chart hit in 1963 for the Chiffons and the apparent inspiration for George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord". Mack's early death reportedly inspired Holland, Dozier and Holland to write the song "Jimmy Mack".
Ronnie Mack (known to his friends as Rocco) grew up in Harlem, New York City, and loved music from childhood, teaching himself to play piano. By the mid-1950s he started writing songs, and also performed in a doo-wop vocal group, the Marquis, which unusually for the time featured a female lead singer, June Bateman (who later married musician Noble "Thin Man" Watts). In 1956, the group recorded a song co-written by Mack, "Bohemian Daddy", for the Onyx record label. After the Marquis split up, Mack formed a new group, the Highlights, who included singer Joyce Peterson, but they never recorded.
Mack moved to the Bronx but kept in touch with his Harlem friends and continued writing songs. He started writing for, and managing, another vocal group, the Young Lads, featuring lead singer Jimmy Rivers, and suggested that they add a female singer, Joyce Peterson's younger sister Sylvia. The group then became Four Bees and a Gee (for four boys and a girl), and auditioned with several of Mack's songs for Richard Barrett at Gone Records. Barrett renamed the group the Tops, and recorded them on one of Mack's up-tempo songs, "Puppy Love" (not the song of the same name written by Paul Anka). The song was first issued in late 1958 on the V-Tone label, and then on several other labels credited to Little Jimmy Rivers and the Tops. In late 1961 it was re-promoted and reissued more successfully in Philadelphia, and Rivers appeared as a solo act performing it on American Bandstand, but it failed to make the national charts.
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