Mark Mueller

Mark Mueller
Origin	California, United States
Genres	Pop, rock, R&B/Soul
Occupation(s)	Songwriter, lyricist, writer, television producer
Instruments	Piano

Mark Mueller (born July 9, 1956) is an American songwriter whose career spans pop music, television, film and stage. A two-time winner of the ASCAP Pop Award for writing one of the Most Performed Songs of the year, he’s had three Billboard Top Ten singles and one #1 Adult Contemporary hit. Songs he has written have been featured on RIAA-certified gold and platinum records in four consecutive decades: the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. For his work in television, Mueller is the recipient of two Emmy nominations, both in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics. Born in the Bay Area, Mueller now lives and works in Los Angeles, California.^[1]^[2]

Chart History

“Crush,” recorded by Jennifer Paige, peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart (and was also covered by Lea Michele in the first season of Fox TV's Glee) while “Nothin' at All,” by Heart (band) climbed to #10. “That's What Love Is For” by Amy Grant reached #7 on the same chart and topped the magazine’s Adult Contemporary chart.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

In the U.S., "Crush” also reached the #2 position on the R&R CHR airplay chart while “That’s What Love Is For” peaked at #4.^[4]^[9]^[9]

Internationally, “Crush” was a #1 single in Canada, Spain, New Zealand and Australia. In the UK, “Crush” reached #1 on the airplay chart and #4 on the BPI singles chart. Mueller’s Eternal (band) single “I Am Blessed” also made the UK Top Ten on the BPI singles chart, peaking at #7.^[6]^[10]^[11]

Gold & Platinum Awards

Mueller’s work in the U.S. has been featured on RIAA-certified platinum and gold records by artists including: Lea Michele (on the Glee: The Music, Volume 2 Soundtrack), Jennifer Paige, Heart (band), Amy Grant, 'N Sync, Earth, Wind & Fire, SWV, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Aaron Carter, El DeBarge, The Pointer Sisters (on the Billboard #1 “We Are the World (album)).^[12] His theme song for DuckTales is featured on the platinum-selling record The Music of Disney: A Legacy in Song.

Internationally, Mueller’s songs have been on the UK's BPI-certified platinum and gold records by artists including: Girls Aloud, Eternal, Steps ^[13] and Australia's ARIA-certified gold records including: Lea Michele (Glee: The Music, Volume 2) and Jennifer Paige.

Television and film

Mueller received his two Emmy nominations for his work as a lyricist on the ABC-TV series Life Goes On and the NBC-TV series Quincy, M.E.. He wrote both words and music for the title song of Disney’s animated series DuckTales (performed by Jeff Pescetto) and Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (performed by The Jets). He also wrote the theme song for 1991 film The Little Engine That Could. Mueller co-wrote the title song and the script for a CBS-TV pilot he executive produced titled Shangri-La Plaza.^[14]

“Crush,” was featured on the "Ballad" episode of Fox-TV's Golden Globe-winning best comedy series Glee in 2009, when it was covered by show star Lea Michele. Her version of the song is also featured on the soundtrack album Glee: The Music, Volume 2, which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Soundtrack Chart, #3 on the Billboard Hot 200 Album Chart in December, 2009 and was certified as a gold record by the RIAA in January, 2010. "Crush" was also prominently used in a special TV-movie-length episode of ABC-TV's Sabrina, the Teenage Witch set in Rome.

For the NBC-TV musical comedy series Rags to Riches, Mueller wrote new comedic lyrics for existing hit songs from the '50s and '60s that were featured in most episodes of both seasons of the show. He also wrote the lyrics to the show's theme song.

Mueller co-wrote all songs featured in the original film musical "Berlin Blues," starring opera singer Julia Migenes, with four-time Grammy winner and six-time Oscar nominee Lalo Schifrin.

Mueller’s songs have been featured in films including: One Hour Photo, Pokémon: The First Movie, Money Talks, B*A*P*S, National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation, The Last Starfighter, Adventures in Babysitting, Simply Irresistible, The Legend of Billie Jean and Honey, I Blew Up The Kid. ^[14]

Stage

Mueller wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book of an original musical titled “Butterfly,” which was directed by Tony Award-winner Jack Hofsiss and performed at the Goodspeed Opera House. Bernadette Peters performed the song "The Next Dream" from the musical on the Carol Burnett TV variety show "Carol & Company," which aired on NBC.

References

External links

Mark Mueller at Internet Movie Database