Rob Fusari
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Rob Fusari is an American music producer and songwriter. He has co-written and produced two songs which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[citation needed]
Early life
Born and raised in Livingston, New Jersey, Fusari began studying classical piano at age eight, and became so skilled as a pianist, that he started performing in national competitions by age 10. “It was exciting to play in these piano competitions,” recalled Fusari. “The top three finalists would get to play a recital at Carnegie Hall, and I had the opportunity to play at Carnegie for three years in a row.”[citation needed]
It was during his college years (at William Paterson College[1] in New Jersey), that Fusari began writing songs. He started recording demos, and he subsequently met hit songwriter Irwin Levine,[2] who was known for writing "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" and several other hits for Tony Orlando & Dawn. Fusari played some of his demos for Levine, who was impressed with the songs, and he decided to collaborate with Fusari.
“Irwin invited me over to his studio to write with him,” explained Fusari. “Working with Irwin was great; I learned a lot about the craft of songwriting. We wrote together for two years, creating all kinds of music – pop, rock and country. Because Irwin was more of a lyricist, I was kind of forced into learning production and programming. We bought some gear, and I jumped into it.”
In the mid-‘90s, Fusari began collaborating with another songwriter, Josh Thompson, whose background was more R&B-influenced. “Josh and I worked together for two or three years, and I got into writing R&B with him,” said Fusari. “I learned how to produce R&B vocals through working with Josh. We ended up writing about 300 songs together, and we would meet with labels to pitch our songs. One of the highlights, was when we got to record a song with George Benson.”[3]
Artist development
Fusari is co-executive producer to Lady Gaga's Grammy winning debut album, The Fame.[4] He co-wrote and produced and is credited for four songs, "Paparazzi", "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich", "Brown Eyes" and "Disco Heaven". Fusari also produced and co-wrote, "Vanity", "Glitter &Grease", and "Retro Dance Freak."[5]
Fusari is presently working on new talent as well as directing a new film.
References
- ^ http://www.wpunj.edu/news/detail.dot?id=143152
- ^ "Irwin Levine, 58; Wrote 'Yellow Ribbon'". The New York Times. 27 January 1997.
- ^ "Rob Fusari Co-Writes & Produces Top Hits For Destiny's Child, Will Smith & Other Artists". SongwriterUniverse. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/news/taylor-swift-lady-gaga-win-early-grammys-1004063859.story#/news/taylor-swift-lady-gaga-win-early-grammys-1004063859.story
- ^ "Names and Faces: Kathy Griffin speaks out against Âdon't ask, don't tell'". The Washington Post. 20 March 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
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External links