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Mike Moran’s’ “I Can’t Make Everybody Happy” Named November
“Best Song Of The Month”
By Dale Kawashima
Mike Moran, a talented, rock singer/songwriter based in
Bellaire, MI, has won the SongwriterUniverse “Best Song Of The Month” Contest
for November, for his song “I Can’t Make Everybody Happy.” This song is a
standout cut from his debut, 12-song CD, Where Were You, which was
released in June 2003.
Mike Moran performing live.
“I Can’t Make Everybody Happy” is an excellent, mainstream
rock song, which has a distinctive, hooky chorus and a personal lyric theme.
It’s a midtempo cut which is reminiscent of the heartland rock style of the
Dave Matthews Band. The recording also spotlights Moran’s clear, powerful
vocals, and features an arrangement which builds gradually throughout the song.
This song was well produced by local producer/musician Ivan Greilick (who is
now the guitarist for Rare Earth).
Moran grew up in Clarkston, MI, which is a suburb of
Detroit. Located in Clarkston is the popular rock venue, the Pine Knob Theatre,
where Moran watched some of his favorite artists perform, including Tom Petty,
Paul Simon, Dave Matthews and Blues Traveler. Moran started writing some lyrics at a very young
age (around 10), but it wasn’t until he was 19 (while he was attending
community college) that he seriously began to play guitar, sing, and write
songs. Moran soon after developed his live, performing skills, regularly
playing coffeehouses in East Lansing.
It was in the fall of 2002 that he began recording his debut
album. “I worked with Ivan (Greilick), who produced the album, played lead
guitar and played some piano,” recalled Moran. “I sang and played
acoustic-rhythm guitar, and we brought in studio musicians to play the
remaining tracks. One of the key songs was 'I Can’t Make Everybody Happy.’ This
song was written at a point in my life, when I made the decision to focus on
music. I had serious discussions with family and friends at the time, about
whether it was the right thing to do. But I learned that you can’t please
everybody. As long as I like what I’m doing, [music] is all that I really want
to do.
Mike Moran (photo by Randy Van Dam)
Following the release of his album, Moran has toured
extensively, playing solo gigs in five, different states in the Midwest. He has
sold about 1,300 copies of Where Were You, and two of the songs (“I Can’t
Make Everybody Happy” and the title track) have received airplay on several college stations. In
addition, Moran has written many songs for his upcoming, second album, which is
scheduled for release in February 2005.
Interestingly, Moran has also devised an unique strategy to
market his music. He has manufactured and distributed 13,500 copies of a
two-song, free promo CD (containing “I Can’t Make Everybody Happy” and “Where
Were You”), which features advertising from local, music businesses (retailers
and clubs) on the CD artwork. Moran hopes to eventually distribute a massive number of promo CDs to potential
fans via this joint venture with his music business sponsors.
Here are the Top Five Songs which were submitted for this month's contest, with the songwriter credits, plus their e-mail and website links. To hear the songs, please click on "Listen To Song".
"Best Song Of The Month" Winner
"I Can't Make Everybody Happy". Written & performed by Mike Moran of Bellaire, MI.