P.F. Sloan, who wrote the hit songs "Secret Agent Man" and "Eve of Destruction," died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 70.
Sloan, who penned hits for groups like the Turtles, Herman's Hermits, the 5th Dimension and the Mamas & the Papas, suffered from pancreatic cancer, according to the
Los Angeles Times.
"Secret Agent Man," recorded by Johnny Rivers, spent 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1966, reaching No. 3, according to the
Song Database. "Eve of Destruction," recorded by Barry McGuire, hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1965.
Sloan was 19 and still living with his parents at home when he wrote "Eve of Destruction," a tune about "injustice, hypocrisy, the bomb, racism, denial and doom," said the Times.
"Phil was a key element on the music that became the sound of the Sunset Strip," Sloan's representative told
Rolling Stone magazine. "Phil was a true prodigy, signing his first record deal with Aladdin Records when he was 13. P.F. Sloan's 'Eve of Destruction' was an anthem for a generation. It is as relevant now as it ever has been."
The songwriter was born Phillip Gary Schlein in New York City in 1945 and raised on Long Island, according to the Times. His family moved to Los Angeles and his father changed his name to Sloan to avoid anti-Semitism.
Along with his successful songwriting, Sloan made two solo albums, "Songs of Our Time" in 1965 and "Twelve More Times" in 1966, said Rolling Stone.
"I wasn't taken seriously as a talent," Sloan told
American Songwriter in 2014. "Except by (Bob) Dylan. Dylan told me that the word was out and they were out to destroy me."
Celebrities and fans wrote condolences on Twitter.
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