Biography
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Born
21 August 1938
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Born In
The Bronx, New York, New York, United States
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Died
8 July 2015 (aged 76)
Ernie Maresca (b August 21 1938, The Bronx, New York City), is an American songwriter, singer, and record company executive, best known for writing or co-writing some of Dion's biggest hits.
He began singing and writing in a doo-wop group, the Regents, who later had a hit with "Barbara Ann". His song "No-One Knows" came to the attention of Dion DiMucci, who recorded it successfully with the Belmonts on Laurie Records, the record reaching # 19 on the pop charts in 1958.
Maresca then began songwriting full time, writing "Runaround Sue" with Dion, and then "The Wanderer" - his biggest success, although his run of hits with Dion continued with "Lovers Who Wander" and "Donna the Prima Donna".
In 1961, he was offered a recording contract with Seville, a small New York label. His protestations that he wasn't much of a singer were brushed aside, and he wrote a hit for himself, "Shout Shout (Knock Yourself Out)". He continued to record, with less success, for the remainder of the 1960s, but also continued as a writer with hits including "Whenever a Teenager Cries" for Reparata and the Delrons.
By the 1970s he was head of Laurie Records' publicity department, and continued as a record company executive.
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