Wikipedia

Charles Fox (composer)

Not to be confused withCharlie Foxx.

Charles Ira Fox(born October 30, 1940) is an American composer for film and television. His compositions include thesunshine popmusical backgrounds which accompanied every episode of the 1970sABC-TVshowLove, American Style;thetheme songfor the late 1970s ABC seriesThe Love Boat;and the dramatic theme music to ABC'sWide World of Sports[1]and the originalMonday Night Football;as well as the Grammy-winning hit song "Killing Me Softly with His Song",written in collaboration with Fox's longtime writing partner,Norman Gimbel.

Charles Fox
Born
Charles Ira Fox

(1940-10-30)October 30, 1940(age 84)
New York City,U.S.
OccupationComposer
Years active1965-present
SpouseJoan Susan Redman (1962-present)
Children3
Websitehttp:// charlesfoxmusic /

Early life

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Fox was born inThe Bronx, New York City,the son of Mollie and Walter Fox.[2]Walter was aJewishimmigrant[3]fromSzydlowiec,Poland.

While still a student at theHigh School of Music & Art,Fox studied jazz piano withLennie Tristano.He then continued his musical education withNadia Boulanger,first atFontainebleauand then privately in Paris. Following his return to the United States, he studied electronic music withVladimir UssachevskyatColumbia University.[4]He married Joan Susan Redman on September 9, 1962.

Career

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Fox's career started by playing the piano for, composing, and arranging for artists in NYC's vibrant Latin music scene such asRay Barretto,Joe QuijanoandTito Puente.He also wrote theme music and arranged forSkitch Hendersonand The Tonight Show Orchestra. Fox worked under the banner of Bob Israel'sScore Productionswhere he composed the themes for severalGoodson-Todmangame shows including NBC's version of theMatch Game,the syndicated versions ofWhat's My Line?,andTo Tell The Truth,whose lyrics were written by Goodson-Todman directorPaul Alter.He co-composed the theme song and all the original scores forLove, American Style,along with Arnold Margolin.[5]

Fox also composed the music for "Killing Me Softly with His Song,"featuring lyrics byNorman GimbelandLori Lieberman,in 1972. The song was inspired by Lieberman listening toDon McLeansing at a nightclub in Los Angeles. Fox and Gimbel had been managing her early career, and the song was released first by Lieberman, with writing credit assigned to Fox and Gimbel, cutting Lieberman out. Lieberman's version was only a minor hit, but the song became an international number 1 hit forRoberta Flackin 1973 and again forthe Fugeesin 1997. The song won the Grammy for Best Song in 1973. Fox denies Lieberman's involvement, and failed to force McLean to change his website.[6][7]

Fox and Gimbel later wrote the themes for many films such asThe Last American Hero( "I Got a Name",sung byJim Croce),Foul Play( "Ready to Take a Chance Again",sung byBarry Manilow) and many television series, includingThe Bugaloos,Happy Days,Laverne & Shirley( "Making Our Dreams Come True"sung byCyndi Grecco),Angie( "Different Worlds" sung byMaureen McGovern),The Paper Chase( "The First Years" sung bySeals and Crofts;Emmy-nominated Best Song), andWonder Woman.He also wrote "Together Through The Years" along with fellow composerStephen GeyerforThe Hogan Familyseries, sung byRoberta Flack.

In 1977, Fox composed "Love Boat",the theme to the popular TV seriesThe Love Boat.It had lyrics byPaul Williams,and was sung byJack Jonesuntil the ninth and final season whenDionne Warwickwas featured. The single released by Jack Jones in 1979 peaked at #37 on the Billboard USAdult Contemporarychart.[8]

In February 1981, Fox peaked at #75 on theBillboardHot 100with the song,"Seasons".[9]It was co-written and co-produced byEd Newmark.[10]

In 2010, Fox published his memoirs,Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music.[11]

"The Charles Fox Singers" was the credited name for the group vocalists who performed his compositions on television and movie themes and cues; they were actuallyThe Ron Hicklin Singers.

Film scores

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In total Fox has created film scores for over 100 films including:

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^Bartkowiak, Matthew; Kiuchi, Yuya (2015).The Music of Counterculture Cinema: A Critical Study of 1960s and 1970s Soundtracks.Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 59.ISBN978-0786475421.Charles Fox, collaborator for the film's soundtrack, had already established some level of success in scoring the film 'The Incident', as well as penning TV scores including the 'Wide World of Sports' theme...
  2. ^"Charles Fox Biography (1940-)".Filmreference.Retrieved2012-02-16.
  3. ^Congregation, Shir Ami (March 6, 2013)."Hollywood Luminary Charles Fox to Appear at the Avon Theatre for an Exclusive Showing of 100 Voices, A Journey Home".Patch - Darien, CT.
  4. ^"Charles Fox: Ready to Take a Chance".NewMusicBox.org. July 2011.Retrieved2016-07-21.
  5. ^"Love, American Style | A Television Heaven Review".Televisionheaven.co.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-02-05.Retrieved2012-02-16.
  6. ^Edgers, Geoff (January 24, 2020)."She sang 'Killing Me Softly' before Roberta Flack. Now she just wants you to hear her side of the story".The Washington Post.
  7. ^"The Lori Lieberman Team".Billboard.June 24, 1974. p. 53.
  8. ^"Jack Jones Chart History | Billboard".billboard.Retrieved2018-04-20.
  9. ^"Charles Fox - Billboard Hot 100 History".Billboard.Archived fromthe originalon April 1, 2018.RetrievedMarch 14,2021.
  10. ^Whitburn, Joel (1991).The Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Eighties(1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. Feb. 7, 1981.ISBN0-89820-079-2.
  11. ^Fox, Charles (2010).Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music.Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.ISBN9780810869929.OCLC678101101.
  12. ^Songwriters Hall of Fame,"Charles Fox, Inductee"
  13. ^Davis, Clayton (2021-09-30)."Kenneth Branagh, Dakota Johnson and 'Red Rocket' Cast Among Middleburg Film Festival Honorees (EXCLUSIVE)".Variety.Retrieved2021-10-07.
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