Although Newman typically found it difficult to write (even when isolated), he did make an effort to collaborate with other writers in and outside Metric, particularly on his very early songwriting efforts -- often written with his father, Irving, and/or his younger brother, Alan -- and (often for contractual obligations) on some of his early soundtrack work for television and film.
The aforementioned "Who's Gonna Teach You About Love," an early song cowritten by Randy, Irving, and Alan Newman, was recorded by the Fleetwoods, possibly around the time of "They Tell Me It's Summer" (1962), but went unreleased until their 1983 Buried Treasures LP.
Acetates exist for two other songs cowritten by Randy with his father: "So Goes My Love," a romantic ballad, and "Senti Caro," an Italian-styled tune. Set to an attractive piano melody, the first song sounds more self-consciously poetic than standard Newman ("So goes my love/As goes the tide out to sea/As goes the wind cool and free.."), likely a result of the generational lyric gap. Complete with strumming mandolins, the airy "Senti Caro" would do any Doris Day movie proud: "Senti/Senti caro/Do you hear/What my heart longs to say.../Listen/Listen darling/How it beats/Beats for you night and day..." Both songs were performed by unidentified vocalists (male and female, respectively) on the demos; no recorded covers have been traced.
Randy's brother Alan is also known to have sung on some Newman-penned Metric demos, (specifically, "Snow" and "She Doesn't Love Me"). Randy helped out on a Waronker-produced single of the Warren & Dubin standard, "Forty-Second Street" (Reprise 0823), from 1969 that Alan (under the pseudonym Lionel Reeves) sings with Beau Brummel Sal Valentino's girlfriend, Deirdre La Porte (pseudonym Stella Parker). Randy contributes some whistling to an instrumental break.
The earliest printed mention ofa Newman collaboration dates from an article in the June 26, 1959 issue of the New York Journal-American, where gossip columnist Louis Sobol reported that Roger Gordon (then 16 year-old son of Mack Gordon) and Randy had "combined as a song- writing team -- the first which they sold promptly is a rock n' roll number, 'Laurie'.." Sadly, this effort has not been traced to any official commercial release or demo; Newman claims to recall nothing about the song or collaboration.
Perhaps the earliest "collaboration" between Newman and Lenny Waronker was on a 1960 lite-pop single "Lover Doll," performed by vocalist Pat Carter. The song (a non-Newman comp-osition) was recorded at Liberty studios, with Waronker producing and Newman arranging.
Newman's first cowriting efforts with another Metric writer were with Jackie DeShannon in 1964. Two previously discussed songs, "She Don't Understand Him Like I Do" and "Hold Your Head High," seem tentative musically and lyrically; neither made the charts. DeShannon also sings on the demo for a DeShannon/Newman composition from 1964, "There's Just No Pleasing You."
Newman's finest collaborative effort may have been on a 1964 song performed by Irma Thomas, "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)," on her second Imperial single, 66041 (the flip, "Time Is On My Side," reputedly inspired the Stones cover). Newman vaguely recalls cowriting the song with three female Metric colleagues: Metric demo singer (and Eddie Cochran steady) Sharon Sheeran, Metric secretary Judith Arbuckle (who subsequently married Dick Glasser), and future Monument/Decca country singer, Jeannie Seeley. The song's lyrics concern the hurt love will bear ("You can blame me/Try to shame me/And still I'll care for you..") and the title, a lover's rationale ("The world may think I'm foolish/They can't see you like I can"). Built gradually over gentle melodic and rhythmic patterns, the song is sophisticated in structure and haunting in its melody; the reading by Thomas is near sublime.
Another song from 1965, "I Can't Remember (Ever Loving You)," was co-written with Janis (Jan) Walner, an ex-stewardess from Texas who joined Metric, and covered that year by Petula Clark on her album My Love (Warner Brothers 1630). While undeniably catchy, the tune sounds suspiciously as if the writing partners had been listening to some uptempo Burt Bachrach / Hal David songs prior to knocking it off. Regardless, Petula's infectious enthusiasm makes for some worthwhile listening. Subsequent covers were released by Teresa Brewer and Lainie Kazan.
Most of Randy's other mid-to-late-60's collaborations were done in the context of movie or television soundtrack work. "Look At Me" was cowritten with Bobby Darin for the soundtrack of The Lively Set (Decca 9119), a 1964 teen flick featuring post-Gidget James Darren as a Bonneville race car driver. Sung by Wink Martindale in the film, Darin actually does a better job crooning the song in his swingin' post-Sinatra style on his LP, From Hello Dolly To Goodbye Charlie (Capitol ST 2194); predictably, the result has few of Newman fingerprints on it.
Newman collaborated with established film scorer Jerry Goldsmith on one upbeat dance instrumental for Goldsmith's soundtrack of the 1966 James Coburn spy spoof Our Man Flint (20th Century Fox 3179/M-4179/S), "Galaxy a Go-Go! -or- Leave It To Flint." The album remains fairly collectable, but hardly for Newman's contribution.
Randy worked with his uncle Lionel on "Blue Skies, Green Meadows," a song recorded by Ed Ames for a 1967 episode of the Daniel Boone television show entitled "Beaumarchais." No known recording of the song has ever been commercially released.
Curiously, Newman acted only as collaborating lyricist on two obscure songs featured in equally obscure movies. "Something Here Inside Me" (music by Billy May), has a brief moment in Tony Rome, a pleasurably bad 1967 film casting Frank Sinatra as a tough private eye (daughter Nancy sings the movie's absurd title theme on Reprise). Newman's campy lyric is set to '40's-style barbershop harmonies and serves as background radio distraction while Tony puts the make on his gal. Regrettably, no soundtrack has ever surfaced, but the movie does turn up periodically in late night TV listings. The title theme (music by Fred Karlin) from a 1970 film, Cover Me Babe, did make it to a 45 (Trump 2890), as performed by the lysergically-named Sunshine Trolley in what should have been their final appearance on vinyl. This meandering tune has little to recommend it to collectors for other than Newman's credit on the label.