Al Cleveland
Among his most popular co-compositions are 1967's "I Second That Emotion" and 1969's "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" performed by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and 1971's "What's Going On" performed by Marvin Gaye. Cleveland was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, to Alfred W. and Dorothy Cleveland. Al has two sisters, Edna Grate and Mamie Jett, as well as one brother, Robert Cleveland.
Al Cleveland
- Name
- Al Cleveland
- Birth Name
- Alfred W.
- Born
- 11 March 1930
- Died
- 14 August 1996
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- composer · songwriter
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wikidata · Q4703683 · wikipedia · Al Cleveland
In this article
Biography
Biography
His sons Alfred D Cleveland and Theodore Mills survive him. He had a long and distinguished writing career, initially for New York artists on the Scepter/Wand labels such as Dionne Warwick and Tommy Hunt, as well as Gene Pitney before moving to Motown, where he provided songs for Smokey & The Miracles, The Marvelettes, David Ruffin, the Four Tops and Chuck Jackson before hitting the big time with a co-authorship of Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On?" and "Save the Children." In later years, he produced Native American music. He died of heart disease in Las Vegas at the age of 66.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Al Cleveland • Birth Name — Alfred W. Cleveland • Born — 11 March 1930 • Died — 14 August 1996 • Genre — * Motown • soul • dancehall
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Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Al Cleveland, revision 1347493154 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Marsh, Dave. The heart of rock & soul: the 1001 greatest singles ever made. Da Capo Press. 183. 6 May 1999. 978-0-306-80901-9.
- 2.Thompson, Dave. Funk. Hal Leonard Corporation. 66. 2001. 978-0-87930-629-8.
- 3.Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. Chronicle. Rolling Stone. 744. 32. October 3, 1996.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 31 August 2026.
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