Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder | |
|---|---|
 Giorgio Moroder and his many awards. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Hansjörg Moroder |
| Also known as | Giorgio |
| Born | 26 April 1940 Urtijëi, Italy |
| Origin | Urtijëi, Italy |
| Genres | Dance, disco, electronic, electronic dance, Hi-NRG, Eurodisco, Italo disco, pop, rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Instrument | Synthesizers |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Labels | Oasis |
| Website | www |
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder (on record sleeves often only Giorgio) (born 26 April 1940, Urtijëi, Italy)[1] is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records. His work with synthesizers during the 1970s and 1980s had a significant influence on New Wave, house, techno and electronic music in general.[2] Particularly well known for his work with Donna Summer during the era of disco (including "Love to Love You Baby" and "I Feel Love"), Moroder is the founder of the former Musicland Studios in Munich, which was used as a recording studio for artists including Electric Light Orchestra, Led Zeppelin, Queen and Elton John.
In addition to producing several hits with Donna Summer, Moroder also produced a number of electronic disco hits for The Three Degrees, two albums for Sparks, a handful of songs on Bonnie Tyler's album Bitterblue as well as her 1985 single Here She Comes and a score of songs for a variety of others including David Bowie, Irene Cara, Madleen Kane, Melissa Manchester, Blondie, Japan, and France Joli.
The recipient of multiple music awards, Moroder is additionally noted for his prolific soundtrack work. He is also credited with pioneering and helping to popularize the Eurodisco sound.
Music career
Moroder made his first steps in music in Berlin, Germany by releasing a few singles under the name "Giorgio" beginning in 1966, singing in Italian (as George, to explain his German accent),[3] Spanish, English, and German. He came to prominence in 1969, when his recording "Looky Looky", released on Ariola Records, was awarded a gold disc in October 1970.[4] He then began making a name for himself in studios around Germany in the early 1970s. Often collaborating with lyricist Pete Bellotte, Moroder had a number of hits in his own name including "Son of My Father" in 1972 before releasing the synthesizer-driven From Here to Eternity, a notable chartbuster in 1977, and in the following year releasing "Chase", the theme from the film Midnight Express. These songs achieved some chart success in the United Kingdom, the United States, and across Europe, and everywhere disco-mania was spreading. The full film score for Midnight Express won him his first Academy Award for best film score in 1978. In 1979, Moroder released his album E=MC². Text on the album's cover stated that it was the "first electronic live-to-digital album." He also released three albums between 1977–1979 under the name Munich Machine.
In 1984, Moroder worked with Philip Oakey of The Human League to make the album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder; which was a UK singles chart hit with "Together in Electric Dreams", title track to the 1984 film Electric Dreams. In 1986, Moroder collaborated with his protégé Harold Faltermeyer (of "Axel F." fame) and lyricist Tom Whitlock to create the score for the film Top Gun (1986), with the most noteworthy hit being Berlin's "Take My Breath Away". "Chase" was also used as an entrance theme for wrestling's group The Midnight Express. In 1987, Moroder produced Falco's song "Body Next to Body".
In 1997, Moroder and Donna Summer won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for the song "Carry On".
On 20 September 2004 Moroder was honored at the Dance Music Hall of Fame ceremony, held in New York, when he was inducted for his many outstanding achievements and contributions as producer. In 2005, he was given the title of Commendatore by the then President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. On September 5, 2010 Moroder received the Great Order of Merit of the South Tyrol.
Film work
Throughout much of his musical career, Moroder has been involved in soundtrack work for various motion pictures.
In 1980, he composed and produced two film soundtrack albums: the first for Foxes and the second for American Gigolo.
A double album, the Foxes soundtrack was released on the legendary disco label Casablanca Records. It included Donna Summer's hit single "On the Radio", which Moroder both produced and co-wrote.
The American Gigolo soundtrack featured the Moroder-produced Blondie classic "Call Me", a US and UK number one hit. All singles from the album also went to number two for five weeks on the disco/dance charts.[5]
In 1982 he wrote the soundtrack of the movie "Cat people", including the hit single "Putting out the fire" featuring David Bowie.
In 1983, Moroder produced the soundtrack to the cult film Scarface. During its initial release, the album was only available in a few countries and strictly through import in the United States. Notable Moroder-produced tracks included "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)" by Paul Engemann, "Rush Rush" by Debbie Harry, and "She's on Fire" by Amy Holland. In 2006, the soundtrack was featured in the game Scarface: The World Is Yours, which is based on the film and also includes some previously-unreleased instrumentals by Moroder.
In 1984, Moroder compiled a new restoration and edit of the famous silent film Metropolis and provided a contemporary soundtrack to the film. This soundtrack includes seven pop music tracks from Pat Benatar, Jon Anderson, Adam Ant, Billy Squier, Loverboy, Bonnie Tyler and Freddie Mercury. He also integrated the old-fashioned intertitles into the film as subtitles as a means of improving continuity, and he also played the film at a rate of 24 frames per second. Since the original speed was unknown this choice was controversial. Known as the "Moroder version", it sparked debate among film buffs, with outspoken critics and supporters of the film falling into equal camps.[6]
Moroder also scored other popular films in the 1970s and 1980s, including Midnight Express, Flashdance, The Never Ending Story, Thief of Hearts, Electric Dreams, Cat People and Over the Top.
In 2002, he wrote the score for Leni Riefenstahl's final film, Impressionen unter Wasser, a marine documentary.[7]
Video games
His score for "Scarface" has recently regained popularity due to its use in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto III . Moroder's "From Here to Eternity" and "Chase" were also used in the Sony PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. "Together In Electric Dreams", a collaborative effort of Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey (of The Human League) features in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Sporting events and other media
Moroder wrote the official theme songs, "Reach Out", for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and "Hand in Hand", for the 1988 Seoul Olympics and "Un'estate italiana" for the 1990 Football World Cup. "The Chase" is now also used as the theme bumper-music for the US AM talk radio program Coast to Coast AM. Ivory Tower was used for the starting grid line up on Grand Prix in the late 1980s to the early 1990s (a BBC television Formula one program ). He also composed the song "Forever Friends" for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Other
In the late 1980s, Moroder collaborated with Claudio Zampolli to create the Cizeta supercar.
Moroder currently resides in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, with his wife Francesca and his son Alessandro, who was born in 1989.
Awards
Moroder has garnered significant praise for his extensive musical work, particularly on film soundtracks.
He has won three Academy Awards: Best Original Score for Midnight Express (1978); Best Song for "Flashdance...What a Feeling", from the film Flashdance (1983); and Best Song for "Take My Breath Away", from Top Gun (1986).
Moroder also won two of his three Grammy Awards for "Flashdance": Best Album Of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special and Best Instrumental Composition, for the track "Love Theme from Flashdance".
Notable collaborations
Discography
| Giorgio Moroder discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 13 |
| Soundtrack albums | 10 |
The discography of Giorgio Moroder includes thirteen studio albums and ten soundtracks. This list is only partially representative of the entirety of Moroder's work.
Studio albums
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1969 | That's Bubblegum - That's Giorgio
|
| 1972 | Son of My Father
|
| 1974 | Giorgio's Music
|
| 1975 | Einzelgänger
|
| 1976 | Knights in White Satin
|
| 1977 | From Here to Eternity
|
| 1978 | Love's in You, Love's in Me (Giorgio and Chris)
|
| 1980 | E=MC²
|
| 1983 | Solitary Men (with Joe "Bean" Esposito)
|
| 1985 | Innovisions
|
| 1990 | To Be Number One
|
| 1992 | Forever Dancing
|
| 1998 | Moroder and Moroder Art Show (limited to 100 copies) |
Singles
- 1965 Baby Courreges / Warum hoer' ich nichts von dir (as Rock Romance)
- 1966 Stop / Believe in Me
- 1966 Bla Bla Diddley / How Much Longer Must I Wait (as Giorgio and The Morodians)
- 1967 Lilly Belle / Love's Morning Land
- 1968 Moody Trudy / Stop
- 1968 Yummy, Yummy, Yummy / Make Me Your Baby (as Giorgio)(as George)
- 1968 Cinnamon / Reesy-Beesy
- 1968 Monja / Raggi Di Sole (as George)
- 1969 Luky, Luky [Looky, Looky] / Senza Te, Senza Me [Happy Birthday] (as George)
- 1969 Looky, Looky / Happy Birthday
- 1969 Máh-Ná-Máh-Ná / Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo
- 1970 Lina Con La Luna (Moody Trudy) / Risi E Bisi (Reesy Beesy) (as George)
- 1970 Mony Mony (Muny Muny Muny) / Tempo D'amore (Make Me Your Baby)(as George)
- 1970 Arizona Man / Sally Don't You Cry
- 1970 Arizona Man / So Young
- 1970 America / America (Rhythm of Love) (as Spinach)
- 1971 Action Man (part 1) / Action Man (part 2) (as Spinach)
- 1971 Underdog / Watch Your Step
- 1971 I'm Free Now / Son of My Father
- 1971 London Traffic / Everybody Join Hands
- 1972 (Sweet Sixteen) You Know What I Mean / Knockin' On Your Door
- 1972 Tu Sei Mio Padre [Son Of My Father] / Non Ci Sto [Underdog]
- 1972 Son of My Father (part 1) / Son of My Father (part 2)
- 1972 Lord Release Me / Tears (as Children Of The Mission)
- 1972 Today's A Tomorrow (You Worried 'Bout Yesterday) / Pauline
- 1972 Take It, Shake It, Break My Heart / Spanish Disaster
- 1972 The Future Is Past / Blue Jean Girl
- 1973 Lonely Lovers' Symphony / Crippled Words
- 1973 Heaven Helps The Man (Who Helps Himself) / Sandy
- 1973 Hilf Dir Selbst/Geh Zu Ihm
- 1974 Marrakesh / Nostalgie
- 1974 Lie, Lie, Lie / Collico
- 1974 Born To Die / Strongest Of The Strong (as Giorgio's Common Cause)
- 1975 Bricks and Mortar / It's A Shame
- 1975 Rock Me To My Soul / Dark and Deep and In between (as Giorgio's Common Cause)
- 1975 Einzelgänger / Liebes Arie (as Einzelgänger)
- 1976 Einzelgänger / Good Old Germany (as Einzelgänger)
- 1976 Take Five / Entreprise (as MLS (Musicland Set))
- 1976 Knights In White Satin
- 1976 I Wanna Funk With You Tonite / Oh, L'Amour
- 1977 Let The Music Play / Oh, L'Amour
- 1977 From Here To Eternity / Too Hot To Handle
- 1977 From Here To Eternity / Utopia - Me Giorgio
- 1977 Get On The Funk Train (part I) / Get On The Funk Train (part II) (as Munich Machine)
- 1978 A Whiter Shade of Pale / It's All Wrong (But It's Alright) (as Munich Machine)
- 1978 Love's In You (Love's In Me) / I Can't Wait (as Giorgio & Chris)
- 1979 Party Light / Bolectro (as Munich Machine)
- 1979 Baby Blue / If You Weren't Afraid
- 1979 If You Weren't Afraid / E=MC2
- 1980 Night Drive / The Apartment
- 1983 Scarface (Push It To The Limit) / Tony's Theme (as Giorgio Moroder & Paul Engemann)
- 1984 Together In Electric Dreams / Together In Electric Dreams Instrumental (as Giorgio Moroder & Philip Oakey)
- 1984 The Duel / Madeline's Theme
- 1984 Reach Out / Reach Out (Instrumental)(as Giorgio Moroder & Paul Engemann)
- 1984 American Dream / Too Hot To Touch (Instrumental) (as Giorgio Moroder & Paul Engemann)
- 1985 Shannon's Eyes / Shannon's Eyes (Instrumental) (as Giorgio Moroder & Paul Engemann)
- 1985 Night Time Is The Right Time / Baby Blue [1985 Remix]
Soundtracks
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1978 | Midnight Express- Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| Music From "Battlestar Galactica" And Other Original Compositions | |
| 1980 | American Gigolo - Original Soundtrack |
| 1982 | Cat People - Original Soundtrack |
| 1983 | Scarface (Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
| Superman III (Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | |
| 1984 | Electric Dreams |
| The NeverEnding Story (Giorgio Moroder and Klaus Doldinger) | |
| Metropolis: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| 1990 | The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (Joe Milner and Giorgio Moroder) |
Sampling and other uses
- Madonna I Feel Love ( a production by Moroder, sung by Donna Summer ) in the early 90's.
- "On Fire", the second single from rapper Lil Wayne's seventh studio album Rebirth; contains allusions from Amy Holland's song "She's on Fire" and was inspired in its entirety by Scarface.[9]
- "Push It", the second single from rapper Rick Ross' debut album Port of Miami; samples "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)" and the story of the video has a very similar theme to the film Scarface. It was produced by J. R. Rotem.
- His song "Tears" was sampled and used as the basis of the DJ Shadow song "Organ Donor" on his 1996 album Endtroducing...... Canadian Hip Hop group Swollen Members sampled the song in "Fuel Injected" and "Meltdown". It also appears on the song "Tragedy" by RZA. The main melody and chord progression form the basis of "Marz" by folk musician John Grant and "Only Light" by Australian ska band The Cat Empire.
- The Hip Hop-duo Mobb Deep used a sample from the song "Tony's Theme" in their song G.O.D. Pt. III.
- His Song "E=MC2" was sampled and used for J. Dilla's song of the same title.
- One of his early compositions, "Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo" from 1969, would be featured for many years in silent sketches on The Benny Hill Show, as part of a medley that also included "Mah Nà Mah Nà", a 4/4 adaptation of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Für Elise", and "Gimme Dat Ding".
- The theme from Midnight Express was sampled by hip-hop duo OutKast for their song "Return of the Gangsta", and by hip-hop producer J Dilla for "Phantom of the Synths", a beat later used by MF DOOM for "Gazzillion Ear" and by Jay Electronica for "Dimethyltryptamine".
- Moroder's opening theme from the film Scarface is sampled by Nas and Mobb Deep for the track "It's Mine".
- "Leopard Tree Dream" from "Cat People" is sampled by Cannibal Ox in the song "Iron Galaxy."
- "The Legend Of Babel" theme From the "metropolis" soundtrack was covered By DJ Dado.
- British electronica musician Little Boots covered "Love Kills", which was written in collaboration with Freddie Mercury.
- "Future Lovers", a song from American recording artist Madonna's 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor, has a bass line inspired by Donna Summer's Moroder-produced hit "I Feel Love". Furthermore, Madonna opened her 2006 Confessions Tour with a medley of "Future Lovers" and "I Feel Love".
- For the "Chase" instrumental, see that article
- Suns of Arqa's album "Technomor" includes the track "Moroder Vibe" which contains elements of "I Feel Love".
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- Cizeta Moroder V16 supercar project
References
 |
- ^ Disco Museum Giorgio Moroder
- ^ Giorgio Moroder at Allmusic
- ^ "Giorgio Moroder credited as George on Italian language releases". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 259. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 288.
- ^ "New Metropolis Sparks Controversy at Cannes." Variety. May 16, 1984. For an analysis of both sides, with critics mostly supporting Moroder's version, see: Michael Minden and Holger Bachmann. (2002) Fritz Lang's Metropolis: Cinematic Visions of Technology and Fear. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 1-57113-146-9. "Moroder's reissue...was bound to offend the purists if only because it smacked of such crass commercialism and seemed so evidently calculated to jump the culture barrier." Thomas Elsaesser, p. 124. Most critics agree that the opinion of the film purists aside, Moroder's version was a welcome addition: "Although harshly criticized for its synthesized rock score, Moroder's reconstruction does have the virtue of clarifying a muddled plotline...Moroder's new version provides some illuminating changes in narrative continuity and character motivation, while still preserving the integrity of Lang's extravagant satiric vision." Jurkiewicz, Kenneth. (March 1990). "Using Film in the Humanities Classroom: The Case of Metropolis." The English Journal. (79):3 p. 47. For a brief but in-depth analysis of Moroder's restoration, see: Bertellini, Giorgio (Autumn, 1995) "Restoration, Genealogy and Palimpsests". Film History (7):3 pp. 277-290.
- ^ a b "Hitler's filmmaker to release new film". BBC. 7 January 2002.
- ^ Einzelgänger discography at Discogs
- ^ Lil Wayne's 'On Fire' Inspired By 'Scarface,' Producer Dre Says - MTV.com
External links
- discog.info: Giorgio Moroder discography
- Giorgio Moroder discography at Discogs
- Giorgio Moroder at IMDb
- 1940 births
- Living people
- People from Urtijëi
- Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters
- Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners
- Disco musicians
- Hi-NRG musicians
- Italian film score composers
- Italian record producers
- Italian songwriters
- Italian dance musicians
- Grammy Award winners
- Italian electronic musicians