Giorgio Moroder

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
Any unsourced material that has been or is likely to be challenged may be removed at any time.
This article has been tagged since August 2006.
Giorgio Moroder
Moroder on the cover of his greatest hits album.
Moroder on the cover of his greatest hits album.
Background information
Birth name Giovanni Giorgio Moroder
Also known as Giorgio
Born April 26, 1940
Genre(s) Dance
Occupation(s) songwriter, producer.
Instrument(s) Synthesizers
Years active 1972-present
Website http://www.giorgiomoroder.com

Giorgio Moroder (born Giovanni Giorgio Moroder on April 26, 1940 in Ortisei, Italy) is an Academy Award winning Italian record producer, songwriter and performer, whose groundbreaking work with synthesizers during the 1970s was a significant influence on new wave, techno and electronic music in general. Particularly well known are Donna Summer's disco hits produced by Moroder, including "I Feel Love".

Although Moroder is often credited as its producer, "Love To Love You Baby", Donna Summer's 17 minute opus, was actually produced by Pete Bellotte. Moroder also produced a number of electronic disco hits for The Three Degrees, two albums for Sparks, and a variety of others including Swedish-born Madleen Kane, Melissa Manchester, Debbie Harry and France Joli.

Contents

[edit] History

Often collaborating with lyricist Bellotte, Moroder scored a number of hits in his own name including "Son Of My Father" in 1972 and "From Here to Eternity" in 1977, and in the following year releasing "Chase", the theme from the film Midnight Express. All were hits in the UK. The full movie 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 1985, Moroder worked with Phil Oakey, frontman of the popular synthpop group, The Human League, to make the album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder. The following year, Moroder collaborated with his protege Harold Faltermeyer (of "Axel F." fame) and lyricist Tom Whitlock to create the score for the popular film Top Gun (1986), with the most noteworthy hit being the Berlin classic, "Take My Breath Away", which went on to become a huge hit for the group."The Chase" was also used as an entrance theme for wrestling's (then) popular heel group The Midnight Express. In 1987, Moroder produced Falco's song "Body Next to Body".

On September 20, 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 Azeglio Ciampi.

[edit] Film Work

In 1984, Moroder compiled a new restoration and edit of the famous silent film Metropolis and provided a new modern rock-and-roll soundtrack to the film. This soundtrack includes pop tracks from the likes of Pat Benatar, 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 one does not know the correct film speed this choice created a lot of debate. The slightly faster speed makes this version only 80 minutes in length. Known as the "Moroder version", it sparked heated debate among film buffs and fans, with outspoken critics and supporters of the film falling into equal camps. If nothing else, it introduced the silent classic to a new generation of fans.

He also scored other popular films in the 1980s including American Gigolo, Flashdance, The Never Ending Story, Thief of Hearts, Electric Dreams and Scarface. The latter score has recently regained popularity due to its use in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto III (and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories). Moroder's "From Here to Eternity" and "The Chase" were also used in the Sony PSP and PS2 game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. 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 well-known as the theme bumper-music for the popular late-night AM talk radio program Coast to Coast AM.

[edit] Notable Collaborations

Moroder has worked with:

[edit] Partial Discography

  • 1976: "Knights in White Satin"
  • 1977: "From Here to Eternity"
  • 1978: "Midnight Express"
  • 1980: "E=MC2"
  • 1982: "Cat People"
  • 1983: "Solitary Men"
  • 1990: "To Be Number One"
  • 1992: "Forever Dancing"

[edit] Trivia

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../g/i/o/Giorgio_Moroder_0e9b.html"