Michael Sembello
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| Michael Sembello | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | April 17, 1954 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States |
| Genres | Heavy Metal, Pop punk, Rock and roll, Hi-NRG, R&B, New Wave, synthpop |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels | Warner Bros., EMI, Motown |
| Associated acts | Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, George Benson, Barbra Streisand, Stanley Clarke, David Sanborn, Donna Summer |
| Website | michaelsembello.com |
Michael Sembello (born April 17, 1954) is an American musician and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Sembello was born and raised in Philadelphia. He studied with jazz great Pat Martino and began his career as a professional musician by becoming a session musician, working increasingly with high-profile artists as a studio guitarist. The list of pop music personalities he worked with, or wrote for, includes Stevie Wonder (from 1974 to 1979), The Temptations, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, George Benson, Barbra Streisand, Stanley Clarke, David Sanborn, Donna Summer, Miguel Mateos and New Edition among many others.[citation needed]
He released his first solo album, Bossa Nova Hotel in 1983, and the song "Maniac" was selected for inclusion in the movie Flashdance. This song went on to become the third highest grossing song from a soundtrack.[when?] His contribution to that soundtrack was rewarded with a Grammy Award in 1983 for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.[1]
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A sample of "Maniac", Sembello's biggest hit. The song was released in 1983 and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Sembello produced guitarist Jennifer Batten's first solo album, Above Below and Beyond in 1992.[2] In 1994, he produced Argentine singer Valeria Lynch's album Caravana de Sueños (1994), and co-wrote the title song with Puerto Rican Wilkins Vélez.
Sembello has spent much of his career scoring music to soundtracks for movies and film, some of which have achieved blockbuster commercial success. They are featured on such movies as Cocoon, Gremlins, Summer Lovers, The Monster Squad and Independence Day, among many others.
In 2008, Michael Sembello worked with saxophonist Michael Lington on his album Heat,[5] which was nominated as Jazztrax Album of the Year for 2008. Michael and his brother Danny Sembello penned three songs with Lington for the project. Sembello travels to Brazil frequently and is good friends with Daniel Jobim, the grandson of legendary composer Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Sembello has recorded his vocals in six languages and is continually writing, producing and releasing albums.[citation needed] In May 2009 the allbum "Moon Island" was released on EMI Japan. The award-winning album consists of American pop songs given new arrangements with a strong Brazilian influence.
He is recording a new album set to be released in the Fall of 2011. He intends to include the song "Carousel," the missing track from Michael Jackson's Thriller album (Quincy Jones decided to replace "Carousel" at the last minute with "Human Nature"). On the 25th Anniversary Edition of Thriller a portion of the song "Carousel" was included (with the uncut version appearing on a few editions of the King of Pop compilations).
Michael Sembello continues to tour, write, produce and perform all over the world. Over the last year he performed in Ambon, Indonesia, Barcelona, Rome, Milan and Paris. In the spring of 2010, Coca-Cola UK kicked off their new Diet Coke campaign with Sembello's version of "Maniac."
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1983: Bossa Nova Hotel – #80 U.S.
- 1986: Without Walls
- 1992: Caravan of Dreams
- 1997: Backwards in Time
- 2002: Ancient Future
- 2003: The Lost Years
[edit] Singles
- 1983: "Maniac" – #1 US #43 UK[3]
- 1983: "Automatic Man" – #34 U.S.
- 1985: "Gravity" (from the film, Cocoon)
- 1985: "Talk"
- 1986: "Tear Down the Walls"
- 1986: "Wonder Where You Are"
- 1992: "Heavy Weather"
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Jackson Claims 8 Grammys". Times-News. February 29, 1984. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H7MjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nyQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6742,7885903&dq=michael-sembello&hl=en. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
- ^ Prato, Greg (December 30, 2003), "Jennifer Batten Biography", Allmusic.com (Rovi Corp), http://www.allmusic.com/artist/Jennifer-batten-p3637/biography, retrieved July 26, 2011
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 488. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
