Margo Guryan

Best known as the composer of the mid-1960s pop single "Sunday Mornin'," Margo Guryan enjoyed a short run as a solo artist while also focusing on her work as a songwriter and lyricist for other performers. A native of New York City, New York, she was born on September 20, 1937, and studied a mix of classical and jazz music during her college years. She was still a student when jazz vocalist Chris Connor covered her song "Moon Ride" in 1958. Four years later, Harry Belafonte recorded another Guryan original, "I'm on My Way to Saturday," further cementing her reputation as a go-to writer. Signing with Bell Records as a solo artist, she released her sole album, Take a Picture, in 1968, mixing jazz influences with the baroque and sunshine pop trends of the era. The album featured her song song "Sunday Mornin'," which the band Spanky and Our Gang recorded and released that same year on the group's second album, Like to Get to Know You. Sparky and Our Gang's version of "Sunday Mornin'" became a crossover hit, peaking at Number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Number 39 on America's Easy Listening chart. One year later, the pop singer Oliver released that song again, hitting Number 35 on the Hot 100 and Number 14 on Easy Listening. Unwilling to undergo the heavy touring that a successful solo career required, Margo Guryan retired as a solo artist, with artists like Cass Elliot and Julie London covering her material in the early 1970s. After spending the rest of the 20th century in relative obscurity, Margo Guryan experienced a resurgence in popularity during the early 2000s, releasing archival recordings like 2001's 25 Demos and newer material like 2007's "16 Words." She lived until she was 84 years old, passing away in Los Angeles, California, on November 8, 2021.