Lori Burton (born Dolores Diana Squeglia, September 30, 1940 - May 19, 2021) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. She was born in New Haven, Connecticut and studied music at the University of Hartford.
In the mid-1960s she adopted the stage name Lori Burton (the surname taken from that of popular actor Richard Burton), and recorded a single, "Yeh, Yeh, Yeh (That Boy Of Mine)" for Roulette Records, before teaming up with English-born lyricist Pam Sawyer. They found success writing songs recorded by Lulu ("Try to Understand", UK #25, 1965), Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles ("All or Nothing", US #68, 1965), The Young Rascals ("I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore", US #52, 1966), and The Royal Guardsmen ("Baby Let's Wait", US #35, 1968 on reissue).
Burton and Sawyer also wrote and recorded together as The Whyte Boots, with Burton as lead singer, releasing the teenage tragedy record "Nightmare", in which two girls fight to the death over a boy, in 1966. Their record company, Philips, promoted the act as a trio of female singers, none of whom actually appeared on the recordings. In 1967, Burton co-wrote and co-produced, with Sawyer, her only solo album, Breakout, described by Unterberger as "a mixture of soul and densely produced New York mid-'60s pop/rock". According to the album's original liner notes, Burton's demo recordings were heard by Mercury Records president Irving Green, who encouraged her to release the album under her own name.
Burton and Sawyer then auditioned for Holland, Dozier and Holland, who had them signed to Motown as a songwriting partnership, but after a few months Burton decided to end the arrangement while Sawyer continued to work at Motown. In 1974, she contributed backing vocals to John Lennon's "#9 Dream", on his Walls and Bridges album. Her 1967 album Breakout was reissued on CD by Rev-Ola in 2005.
She died, aged 80, in May 2021.
