John Schroeder (musician)
John Francis Schroeder (19 January 1935 – 31 January 2017) was a British composer, arranger, songwriter and record producer known for easy listening and pop music. He won an Ivor Novello Award in 1961 for co-writing Walkin’ Back to Happiness.
He started as an A&R assistant to Norrie Paramor at Columbia Records. He co-wrote Walkin’ Back to Happiness with Mike Hawker; Helen Shapiro’s version hit No. 1 in the UK in 1961. He also co-wrote Don’t Treat Me Like a Child (No. 3) and You Don’t Know (No. 1) for Shapiro.
Schroeder then moved to Oriole as A&R chief and helped arrange Motown’s early UK distribution, bringing hits like The Contours’ Do You Love Me and Little Stevie Wonder’s Fingertips to British listeners.
In the mid-1960s he joined Pye and formed the instrumental group Sounds Orchestral with Johnny Pearson. They had a UK Top 5 hit with Cast Your Fate to the Wind. He released many easy listening cover records under various names.
At Pye, he also oversaw the Piccadilly label, producing singles such as Keith & Billie’s Swingin’ Tight and helping launch Status Quo in 1968 with Pictures of Matchstick Men.
In the early 1970s he started Alaska Records, best known for its work with Cymande, and produced The Dooleys’ Hands Across the Sea (written by Ben Findon). He appeared with Rick Wakeman on the Piano Vibrations album in 1971. Alaska later joined with Janus Records.
In the early 1980s Schroeder moved to Canada, living there until the early 1990s. He co-founded Centamark International with Gary Bizzo in Vancouver in 1981, working as music industry consultants. He later lived in Surrey, England.
His autobiography, Sex and Violins, was published in 2009. In 2011 he published Cozy Cats Cottage plc, a fictional story not about music. John Schroeder died at home on 31 January 2017, aged 82. His funeral was held on 3 March 2017 at Randall’s Park Crematorium.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:03 (CET).