Shandi Sinnamon
Encyclopedia
Career
Shandi was born to a HuguenotHuguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
family as Shandra Sinnamon in Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. After dropping out of high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, she left home for Big Sur
Big Sur
Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Her ambition was to become a singer and songwriter.
After a bicycle accident in L.A., she went back to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
for recuperation. While recovering, she studied music and drama at a community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
. While she was singing in a local restaurant, a disc jockey noticed her talent and introduced her to Elektra/Asylum Records.
In 1976, she released her first album, Shandi Sinnamon, on Asylum Records
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...
.
Around the same time in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California, Mike Chapman
Mike Chapman (record producer)
Mike Chapman is an Australian born record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s...
discovered her and the two began a steamy affair. This affair helped to get her career off to a good start. In 1980, released her second album Shandi from his Dreamland Records. Chapman himself produced that album under the alias of Commander Chapman.
Her name inspired the song Shandi
Shandi (song)
"Shandi" is a hit single by American hard rock band Kiss. Released on their 1980 album, Unmasked, the song was popular in Australia, where it reached number five on the Australian charts...
by Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
(1980).
She wrote and performed the song "He's a Dream" that was used in the 1983 film Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
, and won a Raspberry Award for worst soundtrack song of the year.
She has since written and performed songs for films and TV dramas, including "Tough Love" for the film The Karate Kid, "Living on the Edge" & "Double Trouble" for the film Making the Grade
Making the Grade (film)
Making the Grade is an American film which was released in 1984. It was directed by Dorian Walker and written by Charles Gale and Gene Quintano. It was filmed at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.-Synopsis:...
, "Fight to Survive" for the film Bloodsport
Bloodsport (film)
Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts film directed by Newt Arnold and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb and Leah Ayres. The film is based on the claimed adventures of Frank Dux, and was followed by three sequels Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite , Bloodsport III and Bloodsport 4: The...
, "Gotcha", title song for the film Gotcha!
Gotcha! (1985 film)
Gotcha! is a 1985 action film, starring Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino. The movie is directed by Jeff Kanew, who also directed Anthony Edwards in Revenge of the Nerds in 1984....
, "Eyes of Fire" for The Little Drummer Girl
The Little Drummer Girl
The Little Drummer Girl is a spy novel by John le Carré, published in 1983. The story follows the manipulations of Martin Kurtz, an Israeli spymaster who is trying to kill a Palestinian terrorist code-named 'Khalil', who is bombing Jewish-related targets in Europe, particularly Germany, and the...
, "Wild Roses" for Echo Park
Echo Park (film)
Echo Park is a 1986 comedy-drama film, set in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The plot follows several aspiring actors, musicians and models.-Cast:...
and "Boy of My Dreams" for Tower of Terror
Tower of Terror (film)
Tower of Terror is a 1997 made-for-TV supernatural thriller directed by D. J. MacHale. It is based on the theme park attraction, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida and was originally a presentation of The...
, among many others.
TV compositions include: "Leave Yesterday Behind" for the TV drama Leave Yesterday Behind, "Slow Dance" for the movie Can You Feel Me Dancing and sang the theme song "Charles in Charge
Charles in Charge
Charles in Charge is an American sitcom series which starred Scott Baio as Charles, a 19-year-old student at the fictional Copeland College in New Jersey, who worked as a live-in babysitter in exchange for room and board...
" for the 1984-1990 TV series.
In 1985, her song "Making It" (composed by Richie Zito
Richie Zito
Richie Zito is a session guitarist and record producer from Los Angeles.He has worked with Poison, Neil Sedaka, Yvonne Elliman, Eric Carmen, Art Garfunkel, Leo Sayer, Diana Ross, Marc Tanner, Elton John, the Motels, as well as The Cult, White Lion, Eddie Money, Heart, and Bad English...
) became a local hit in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. She also sang the song "Only a Memory Away" as Sailor Mercury
Sailor Mercury
, in Japan, is one of the central characters in the Sailor Moon metaseries. Her real name is , a genius schoolgirl who can transform into one of the series' specialized heroines, the Sailor Senshi....
in the English adaptation of the Japanese series Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
(1995). (See also Sailor Moon soundtracks (USA)
Sailor Moon soundtracks (USA)
This page lists English-language soundtracks from the anime series Sailor Moon. Three albums were released from 1996 - 2002.-Sailor Moon - Songs From The Hit TV Series:...
)
She has worked as a background singer with Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
, Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
, Hoyt Axton
Hoyt Axton
Hoyt Wayne Axton was an American country music singer-songwriter, and a film and television actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. As he matured, some of his songwriting efforts became well...
and Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday is a French singer and actor. An icon in the French-speaking world since the beginning of his career, he was considered by some to have been the French Elvis Presley. He was married for 15 years to one of the most popular French female singers: Sylvie Vartan...
.
She now lives in Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
.
Albums
- 1976: Shandi Sinnamon
- 1980: Shandi
- 1980: Leather and Pearls
- 1982: Love Ordeal
- 1985: Back on the Streets
- 1986: Slow Dance
- 1986: Damsel in Distress
- 1987: Americana
- 1987: Little Bird
- 1990: Urban Berlin
- 1992: Straight One Take
- 2004: I'm Packin
Award
- 1984: He's A Dream - Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...