Stephen Friedland is an American singer, songwriter, and actor born on September 29, 1940, in Jersey City. Known professionally as Brute Force, he began performing at age eight and graduated from Monmouth University in 1963. During the early 1960s, he collaborated with Billy Gussak and wrote the recording “My Teenage Castle” for Peggy March. Friedland performed with the ensemble The Tokens and composed songs for artists including Del Shannon, The Chiffons, and The Cyrkle. In 1967, he released his debut studio recording, I, Brute Force – Confections of Love, through Columbia Records. He became known for the track “The King of Fuh” (1969), which was distributed by Apple Records after receiving support from John Lennon and George Harrison. His discography included the album Extemporaneous (1970). Following a period as a paralegal, he appeared in films including Ghostbusters (1984) and Birdman (2015). Bar None Records reissued his debut album in 2010.
