George Merrill (songwriter)

George Merrill
Born (1956-01-10) 10 January 1956 (age 68)
Seattle, Washington, United States
OriginUnited States
Occupation(s)Songwriter, singer
Years active1980s–present

George Merrill is an American singer and songwriter whose songs have been recorded by Whitney Houston, Bette Midler, Graham Nash, Dolly Parton and Smokey Robinson, among others. He co-wrote "How Will I Know", which was a hit for Whitney Houston in 1986, as well as Houston's 1987 hit "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"[1].

From the mid-1980s to the present day, Merrill and writing partner Shannon Rubicam have been the vocal duo Boy Meets Girl, who are best remembered for the 1988 hit "Waiting for a Star to Fall".[1] They wrote the song and had initially offered it to Houston and Belinda Carlisle, but they both rejected it (though Carlisle did do a demo recording) and Boy Meets Girl decided to feature it on the next Boy Meets Girl album titled Real Life. Merrill and Rubicam also sang backing vocals for Deniece Williams' hit "Let's Hear It for the Boy".

Merrill has been married twice. His first marriage was with Rubicam from the mid-1980s until they divorced in 2000. Despite the divorce they have continued working together for various music projects. Merrill married his current wife, artist Rozalynd Roos Merrill, in 2004. He has a daughter, Hilary Rubicam Merrill (with Shannon Rubicam), and stepson Maxfield Roos Chandler. Hilary can be seen as the blond girl in her parents' video of "Waiting for a Star to Fall" also singing backing vocals on the Boy Meets Girl albums The Wonderground [2], Five [3], and the 2024 single, "We The People"[4].

Discography

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Albums and EPs

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Year Album Record Label Chart positions
US UK
1985 Boy Meets Girl A&M Records (Universal) 76
1988 Reel Life RCA/BMG (Sony) 50 74
1991 New Dream RCA/BMG (Sony)
2001 The Wonderground Independent
2021 Five (EP Independent
2022 Five Independent

Singles

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Year Song Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US US AC AUS UK
1985 "Oh Girl" 39 Boy Meets Girl
1985 "The Touch"
1986 "Heartbreaker" single only
1988 "Waiting for a Star to Fall" 5 1 35 1 Reel Life
1989 "Bring Down the Moon" 49 28 92
1989 "Stormy Love"
1991 "Waiting for a Star to Fall" (re-issue) 76
2021 "More Deeply (In Love With You)" [5] Five
2021 "Falling Hard" [6] Five
2021 "Gone" Five
2022 "Stars Are Falling"
2022 "How Will I Know (Martini Mix)" Five (Deluxe Edition)
2024 "We The People" [7]

Songwriting Credits

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Year Song Artist Release
1983 "Falling Star" Phyllis Hyman Goddess of Love
1983 "Your Move My Heart" Phyllis Hyman Goddess of Love
1984 "Haunting Me" Deniece Williams Let's Hear It for the Boy
1984 "Don't Tell Me We Have Nothing" Deniece Williams Let's Hear it for the Boy
1985 "How Will I Know" Whitney Houston Whitney Houston
1987 "Love Finds You" Deniece Williams Love Finds You
1987 "I Know You By Heart" Dolly Parton & Smokey Robinson Rainbow
1987 "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) Whitney Houston Whitney
1987 "Simply Meant to Be" Gary Morris & Jennifer Warnes Blind Date Soundtrack
1988 "Best Intentions" Russell Hitchcock Russell Hitchcock
1988 "I Know You By Heart" Bette Midler & David Pack Beaches
1989 "When The Lights Go Down Low" Herb Alpert When The Lights Go Down Low [8]
1990 "Singer In The Storm" Holly Near Singer In The Storm
1993 "Bring Me Home" Paul Young The Crossing
1995 "Next To You" Sheena Easton My Cherie
1996 "Knee Deep" Kermit the Frog The Muppets at Walt Disney World
1997 "The Day I Get Over You" Edyta Gorniak Edyta Gorniak
1997 "The Story Of Love" OTT This One's For You
1999 "Sheila" Danny O'Keefe Runnin' From the Devil
1999 "Only An Ocean Away" Danny O'Keefe Runnin' From the Devil
1999 "7 Lonely Days" Human Nature Counting Down
2000 "We See It Differently" Sister2Sister One
2000 "Last One Standing" Girl Thing Girl Thing
2004 "Take Me To The Clouds Above" LMC Take Me To The Clouds Above
2005 "In My Arms Mylo In My Arms
2005 "Star2Fall" Cabin Crew Star2Fall
2005 "Falling Stars" Sunset Strippers Falling Stars
2006 "Dance!" Fatman Scoop, Lumidee, Goleo FIFA World Cup 2006 soundtrack
2009 "Girls Just Wanna Dance" Royal Gigolos Girls Just Wanna Dance
2015 "How Will I Know" Sam Smith The Lonely Hour (Drowning Shadows Edition)
2015 "Somebody" Natalie La Rose, Jeremih Somebody
2018 "In The Middle" Em Rossi In The Middle
2021 "If You Really Love Me (How Will I Know)" David Guetta, MistaJam, John Newman If You Really Love Me (How Will I Know)
2021 "Dance with You" Laura Marano & Grey Us
2022 "YAH Know" Chance The Rapper YAH Know
2023 "A Better Life" Graham Nash Now
2024 "The Wonderground" Hopkinson & Boy Meets Girl The Wonderground [9]

References

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  1. ^ Demalon, Tom. "Biography: Boy Meets Girl". AMG. Retrieved 12 May 2010.