Charles Fox (composer)
Encyclopedia
Charles Ira Fox is an American composer for film and television. His most heard compositions are probably the "love themes" (the sunshine pop
musical backgrounds which accompanied every episode of the 1970s ABC-TV
show Love, American Style
), and the dramatic theme music to ABC's Wide World of Sports and the original Monday Night Football
... as well as his (And Norman Gimbel's) Grammy winning hit song "Killing Me Softly With His Song".
, the son of Mollie and Walter Fox, a Jewish immigrant from Szydlowiec
(Poland
).
Having graduated from High School of Music and Art, Fox continued his musical education with Nadia Boulanger
in Paris. He studied the jazz-piano with Lennie Tristano
and he learned electronic music with Vladimir Ussachevsky
at Columbia University
. He married Joan Susan Redman on 9 September 1962.
. He also wrote theme music and arranged for Skitch Henderson
and the Tonight Show Orchestra. Fox worked under the banner of Bob Israel's Score Productions
where he composed the themes for several Goodson-Todman game shows including NBC's version of the Match Game
, the syndicated version of What's My Line?
, and To Tell The Truth
, whose lyrics were written by Goodson-Todman director Paul Alter. He co-composed the theme song and all the original scores for Love, American Style
, along with Arnold Margolin
. He also co-composed "Killing Me Softly with His Song
" with Norman Gimbel
in 1972 which become an international #1 hit for Roberta Flack in 1973 and again for The Fugees in 1997. The song won the Grammy for Best Song 1973). Fox & Gimbel later wrote the themes for many films such as Last American Hero ("I Got A Name
," sung by Jim Croce
), "Foul Play" ("Ready to Take a Chance Again", sung by Barry Manilow) and many Long running TV series like: Happy Days
, Laverne and Shirley, "Angie" ("Different Worlds" sung by Maureen McGovern), "The Paper Chase" ("The First Years" sung by Seals and Crofts; Emmy Nominated Best Song), and Wonder Woman
. He also composed "The Love Boat" theme with Paul Williams, sung by Jack Jones and later, by Dionne Warwick.
Fox's memoirs: "KILLING ME SOFTLY; MY LIFE IN MUSIC by Charles Fox" was published in 2010 by Scarecrow Press.
"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 actually The Ron Hicklin Singers
.
in 2004.
-BMI Richard Kirk Award For Outstanding Life Achievement
-GRAMMY AWARD – BEST SONG OF THE YEAR - “Killing Me Softly With His Song”
-NEW YORK FILM CRITICS AWARD – BEST FILM SONG - “I Got a Name”
-EMMY WINNER – BEST SCORE - “Love American Style”
-EMMY WINNER – BEST THEME SONG - “Love American Style”
-Emmy Nomination (Four Times) – Best Score, “Love American Style”
-Emmy Nomination – Best Song, “The Paper Chase”
-Oscar Nomination – Best Song, “Richard’s Window”/The Other Side of the Mountain
-Oscar Nomination – Best Song, “Ready to Take a Chance Again”/Foul Play
-Golden Globe Nomination – Best Score, "The Other Side of the Mountain”
-Golden Globe Nomination – Best Song, “Richard’s Window”/The Other Side of the Mountain
-Golden Globe Nomination – Best Song, “Ready to Take a Chance Again”/Foul Play
-Grammy Nomination – Best Soundtrack for a film, “Nine to Five”
-Society of Composers and Lyricists, “Ambassador’s Award” for Life Achievement
-Bronx Walk of Fame, Inducted 2008
-Smithsonian Museum permanent exhibit, Inducted 2011
Sunshine pop
Sunshine pop is a subgenre of pop music originating in the United States, mainly the state of California, in the mid-1960s. Sunshine pop, by nature, is cheerful and upbeat music which is characterised by warm sounds, prominent vocal harmonies, as well as sophisticated productions...
musical backgrounds which accompanied every episode of the 1970s ABC-TV
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
show Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
), and the dramatic theme music to ABC's Wide World of Sports and the original Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
... as well as his (And Norman Gimbel's) Grammy winning hit song "Killing Me Softly With His Song".
Early life
Fox was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the son of Mollie and Walter Fox, a Jewish immigrant from Szydlowiec
Szydlowiec
Szydłowiec is a town in Szydłowiec County, Mazovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 15,243 inhabitants . It is the seat of Szydłowiec Commune...
(Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
).
Having graduated from High School of Music and Art, Fox continued his musical education with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
in Paris. He studied the jazz-piano with Lennie Tristano
Lennie Tristano
Leonard Joseph Tristano was a jazz pianist, composer and teacher of jazz improvisation. He performed in the cool jazz, bebop, post bop and avant-garde jazz genres. He remains a somewhat overlooked figure in jazz history, but his enormous originality and dazzling work as an improviser have long...
and he learned electronic music with Vladimir Ussachevsky
Vladimir Ussachevsky
Vladimir Kirilovitch Ussachevsky was a composer, particularly known for his work in electronic music.-Biography:...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He married Joan Susan Redman on 9 September 1962.
Fox's career
His career started by playing the piano for, composing and arranging for artists such as Ray Barretto, Joe Quijano and Tito PuenteTito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
. He also wrote theme music and arranged for Skitch Henderson
Skitch Henderson
Lyle Russell Cedric “Skitch” Henderson was a pianist, conductor, and composer. His nickname reportedly derived from his ability to quickly "re-sketch" a song in a different key.- Biography :...
and the Tonight Show Orchestra. Fox worked under the banner of Bob Israel's Score Productions
Score Productions
Score Productions is an American musical production company specializing in background music and themes for television programs. Started in 1963 by music producer Robert A...
where he composed the themes for several Goodson-Todman game shows including NBC's version of the Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
, the syndicated version of What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
, and To Tell The Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
, whose lyrics were written by Goodson-Todman director Paul Alter. He co-composed the theme song and all the original scores for Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
, along with Arnold Margolin
Arnold Margolin
Arnold Margolin is an American television producer, screen writer, and director.He shared composition credits for the theme song for Love, American Style, along with Charles Fox ....
. He also co-composed "Killing Me Softly with His Song
Killing Me Softly with His Song
"Killing Me Softly with His Song" is a 1971 song composed by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel. It has been covered by numerous artists, most notably by Roberta Flack whose version topped the U.S...
" with Norman Gimbel
Norman Gimbel
Norman Gimbel is an American lyricist of popular songs, television and movie themes whose writing career includes such titles as "Sway", "Canadian Sunset", "Summer Samba", "The Girl from Ipanema", "Killing Me Softly With His Song", "Meditation" and "I Will Wait for You", along with an Oscar for...
in 1972 which become an international #1 hit for Roberta Flack in 1973 and again for The Fugees in 1997. The song won the Grammy for Best Song 1973). Fox & Gimbel later wrote the themes for many films such as Last American Hero ("I Got A Name
I Got a Name
-Songwriting:Croce's wife Ingrid Croce has an autobiographical cookbook, Thyme In A Bottle, in which she writes interesting anecdotes about Jim. What she wrote about "I'll Have To Say 'I Love You' in a Song" is this....
," sung by Jim Croce
Jim Croce
James Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...
), "Foul Play" ("Ready to Take a Chance Again", sung by Barry Manilow) and many Long running TV series like: Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, Laverne and Shirley, "Angie" ("Different Worlds" sung by Maureen McGovern), "The Paper Chase" ("The First Years" sung by Seals and Crofts; Emmy Nominated Best Song), and Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman (TV series)
Wonder Woman is an American television series based on the DC Comics comic book superhero of the same name. Starring Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor, the show originally aired from 1975 to 1979....
. He also composed "The Love Boat" theme with Paul Williams, sung by Jack Jones and later, by Dionne Warwick.
Fox's memoirs: "KILLING ME SOFTLY; MY LIFE IN MUSIC by Charles Fox" was published in 2010 by Scarecrow Press.
Notable artists who worked with Fox
Most of his work is for film and television. He has worked with many artists, of these the most notable are:- Roberta FlackRoberta FlackRoberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
, whose version of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" is better known than Lori Lieberman's became - Sarah VaughanSarah VaughanSarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
- Barry ManilowBarry ManilowBarry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
- Jim CroceJim CroceJames Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...
- Fred AstaireFred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
- Luther VandrossLuther VandrossLuther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
- Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
- Lena HorneLena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
- Peggy MarchPeggy MarchPeggy March is an American pop singer. She is primarily remembered for her 1963 million-selling song "I Will Follow Him".-Career:...
- George ShearingGeorge ShearingSir George Shearing, OBE was an Anglo-American jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, he had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s...
- The Boston Pops
- Jack JonesJack Jones (singer)John Allan "Jack" Jones is an American jazz and pop singer. He was one of the most popular vocalists of the 1960s.-Overview:...
- Tito PuenteTito PuenteTito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
- Goldie HawnGoldie HawnGoldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969...
- Carly SimonCarly SimonCarly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
- Johnny MathisJohnny MathisJohn Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
- Shirley BasseyShirley BasseyDame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
- Crystal GayleCrystal GayleCrystal Gayle is an American country music singer best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". An award-winning singer, she accumulated 18 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s...
- Lori LiebermanLori LiebermanLori Lieberman is an American singer. She was born in California and grew up in Switzerland, and signed a deal with Capitol Records in the early 1970s. Her self-titled debut album featured the tune "Killing Me Softly with His Song", written by composers Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel after...
- Sérgio MendesSergio MendesSérgio Santos Mendes is a Brazilian musician. He has released over thirty-five albums, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk....
- Maureen McGovernMaureen McGovernMaureen Therese McGovern is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her premier renditions of the Oscar winning songs "The Morning After" from the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure, and "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno in 1974.-Early life:McGovern was...
- Olivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
- Lauryn HillLauryn HillLauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...
& The FugeesThe FugeesFugees were a Haitian American hip hop group who rose to fame in the mid-1990s. Their repertoire included elements of Hip hop, soul and Caribbean music, particularly reggae. The members of the group were rapper/singer/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer/producer Lauryn Hill, and rapper Pras Michel... - Ice TIce TTracy Marrow , better known by his stage name Ice-T, is an American musician and actor.He was born in Newark, New Jersey and moved to the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles when he was in the 7th grade. After graduating from high school he served in the United States Army for four years...
"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 actually The Ron Hicklin Singers
Ron Hicklin Singers
The Ron Hicklin Singers were a group of Los Angeles studio singers contracted and organized by Ron Hicklin. They are most famously known as the real singers behind the background vocals on The Partridge Family recordings....
.
Film scores
In total Fox has created film scores for over 100 films including: Barbarella, Goodbye Columbus, Pufnstuf, Laughing Policeman, Last American Hero (NY Film critics Best Song of the year "I Got A Name"), Other Side Of The Mountain (Oscar and Golden Globe Nominated, best song "Richard's Window" and Best Score), Duchess & The DIrtwater Fox, One On One, Foul Play (Oscar & Golden Globe Nominated Best song "Ready To Take A Chance Again"), Oh God Book II, Last Married Couple In America, Little Darlings, European Vacation, Strange Brew, Gods Must Be Crazy II, Gordy & 100 Voices (2010).Awards and honors
-Fox was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of FameSongwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
in 2004.
-BMI Richard Kirk Award For Outstanding Life Achievement
-GRAMMY AWARD – BEST SONG OF THE YEAR - “Killing Me Softly With His Song”
-NEW YORK FILM CRITICS AWARD – BEST FILM SONG - “I Got a Name”
-EMMY WINNER – BEST SCORE - “Love American Style”
-EMMY WINNER – BEST THEME SONG - “Love American Style”
-Emmy Nomination (Four Times) – Best Score, “Love American Style”
-Emmy Nomination – Best Song, “The Paper Chase”
-Oscar Nomination – Best Song, “Richard’s Window”/The Other Side of the Mountain
-Oscar Nomination – Best Song, “Ready to Take a Chance Again”/Foul Play
-Golden Globe Nomination – Best Score, "The Other Side of the Mountain”
-Golden Globe Nomination – Best Song, “Richard’s Window”/The Other Side of the Mountain
-Golden Globe Nomination – Best Song, “Ready to Take a Chance Again”/Foul Play
-Grammy Nomination – Best Soundtrack for a film, “Nine to Five”
-Society of Composers and Lyricists, “Ambassador’s Award” for Life Achievement
-Bronx Walk of Fame, Inducted 2008
-Smithsonian Museum permanent exhibit, Inducted 2011
External links
- Songwriters Hall of Fame
- www.CharlesFoxMusic.Com
- www.KillingMeSoftly.Com