Gunnar Madsen is an American composer and vocalist. He was the founder and leader of The Bobs

The Bobs

The Bobs were dubbed the first new wave a cappella group in history when they were founded in San Francisco, California in the early 1980s. Now based in Seattle, Washington, this genre-bending, eccentric vocal group has maintained a healthy cult following in the U.S...

 before leaving the group in 1991, and has released several albums as a solo artist since then.

Biography

Madsen learned to play guitar as a teenager and studied classical piano at UC Berkeley. He worked for a singing telegram

Singing telegram

A singing telegram is a message that is delivered by an artist in a musical form. Singing telegrams are historically linked to normal telegrams, but tend to be humorous. Sometimes the artist is in costume or formal clothing. Singing telegrams are often given as a gift.Western Union, the American...

 corporation before founding the a cappella

A cappella

A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

ensemble The Bobs

The Bobs

The Bobs were dubbed the first new wave a cappella group in history when they were founded in San Francisco, California in the early 1980s. Now based in Seattle, Washington, this genre-bending, eccentric vocal group has maintained a healthy cult following in the U.S...

 in 1981. Among other successes, Madsen was nominated for a Grammy award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 for their arrangement of "Helter Skelter" by The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

.

Madsen left The Bobs in 1991 and began writing video game music for the Atari

Atari

Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...

 system. He began releasing albums as a solo artist in 1997 and has released seven as of 2009. His efforts include three children's records (all recipients of Parents' Choice Gold Awards), and three recordings of instrumental compositions.

The title song from his CD Old Mr. Mackle Hackle was adapted by Madsen into a children's book for Little, Brown & Co. He provided the singing voice for Don Cheadle

Don Cheadle

Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...

's portrayal of Sammy Davis, Jr.

Sammy Davis, Jr.

Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....

 in the HBO film The Rat Pack, and arranged music for and appeared in the 2006 Vince Vaughn

Vince Vaughn

Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...

/Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...

 film The Break-Up

The Break-Up

The Break-Up is a 2006 American comedy-drama romance film directed by Peyton Reed, starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. It was written by Jay Lavender and Jeremy Garelick and produced by Universal Pictures.-Plot:...

. His music has also been featured in HBO's Sex and the City

Sex and the City

Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...

and the films Breaking the Rules and Just a Kiss

Just a Kiss

"Just a Kiss" is a song by American country music group Lady Antebellum. It was released on May 2, 2011, by Capitol Records, as the lead single from the band's third studio album, Own the Night . Dallas Davidson collaborated with band members Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood to write...

. A musical based on the life story of The Shaggs

The Shaggs

The Shaggs were an American all-female rock group formed in Fremont, New Hampshire in 1968. The band was composed of sisters Dorothy "Dot" Wiggin , Betty Wiggin , Helen Wiggin , and later Rachel Wiggin ....

 (co-written with Joy Gregory) is scheduled for production at Playwrights Horizons

Playwrights Horizons

Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....

in their 2010-2011 season.

Solo discography

• 6 Songs for Children (1991)
• Spinning World: 13 Ways of Looking at a Waltz (1997)
• The Power of a Hat (1998)
• Old Mr. Mackle Hackle (1999)
• Ants in My Pants (2001)
• The Fall of Troy (2006)
• I'm Growing (2008)
• Two Hands (2009)

External Links

• Gunnar Madsen Website; includes a biography