Michael Masser

Michael Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer, and record producer renowned for crafting lush, orchestral ballads that became signature hits for female vocalists in the 1970s and 1980s. Born in Chicago to a Jewish family, Masser initially pursued a career in finance and entertainment after attending the University of Illinois, working as a stockbroker and theatrical agent in New York City before transitioning to music as a self-taught pianist. His breakthrough came in 1973 with the composition and production of "Touch Me in the Morning" for Diana Ross, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and marked the start of a prolific partnership with Motown artists.

Masser’s catalog includes several No. 1 hits, such as "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To?)" for Diana Ross in 1975, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, and Whitney Houston’s "Saving All My Love for You" in 1985, along with "Greatest Love of All" in 1986, the latter holding the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. He also penned enduring duets like "Tonight I Celebrate My Love" for Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson in 1983, and collaborated with artists including Gladys Knight, Barbra Streisand, and Dionne Warwick, often emphasizing emotional depth and sweeping arrangements suited to quiet storm and urban R&B radio formats. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007, Masser established the Johnny Mercer Scholarship Fund at the ASCAP Foundation to support emerging songwriters, in honor of his mentor Johnny Mercer. He died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 74 from complications of a stroke.