George Aliceson Tipton (January 23, 1932 – February 12, 2016)George Tipton Obituary
/ref> was an American composer, musical arranger, and conductor, who is well known for his work in television and for his collaborations with singer-songwriter

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

. Among Tipton's works are the

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for the TV shows ''

Soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

'' and its spinoff ''

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'', ''

It's a Living ''It's a Living'' (renamed for season two as ''Making a Living'') is an American sitcom television series set in a restaurant at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. The show aired on ABC from October 30, 1980, until June 11, 1982. A ...

'', ''

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'', and ''

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to April 29, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Ric ...

'', plus incidental music for numerous shows, including ''

The Courtship of Eddie's Father ''The Courtship of Eddie's Father'' is an American sitcom based on the 1963 film of the same name, which was based on a novel by Mark Toby (edited by Dorothy Wilson). The series is about a widower, Tom Corbett (played by Bill Bixby), who is a ...

'', ''

Mulligan's Stew ''Mulligan's Stew'' is an American comedy-drama television series, that originally aired as a 90-minute NBC television film on June 20, 1977, and later, as a 60-minute series from October 25 to December 13, 1977. The series focused on the live ...

'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', and ''

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''. He also wrote the score for the film ''

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...

'' (1973), and for the television films '' Home for the Holidays'' (1972), '' The Affair'' (1973), ''

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'' (1974), ''

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'' (1974), ''

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'' (1974), '' Griffin and Phoenix'' (1976), '' Red Alert'' (1977), '' The Gift'' (1979), '' Christmas Lilies of the Field'' (1979) and ''

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'' (1985). His arranging and conducting credits include numerous hits by

Jan and Dean Jan and Dean was an American rock music, rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf mu ...

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, and

Jose Feliciano Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

's hit version of "

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" by

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. He was one of the main arrangers on the albums of

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...

during the late 1960s. Tipton is arguably best known in the pop-rock field for his work as an arranger on singles and albums recorded by singer-songwriter

during the most productive phase of his career in the 1960s and early 1970s. They met ca. 1964 through music publisher

Perry Botkin Jr. Perry Botkin Jr. (April 16, 1933 – January 18, 2021) was an American composer, producer, arranger, and musician. The tune " Nadia's Theme", composed by Botkin and Barry De Vorzon, peaked at No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1976 and bec ...

, where Tipton worked as a copyist. Their collaboration began when Tipton put up his life's savings ($2,500) to arrange and record four Nilsson tracks which they sold to Tower, a sub-label of

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. These tracks were subsequently included on the ''

Spotlight on Nilsson ''Spotlight on Nilsson'' is the debut album by Harry Nilsson. It is essentially a compilation of all four of the singles (and their respective B-Sides) that were released during his tenure on the Tower label (1964–1966), plus two previously unr ...

'' LP.Harry Nilsson biography
Tipton arranged Nilsson's acclaimed early albums for

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

(1967–71): the '' Skidoo'' soundtrack, music for the TV series ''

'', and for the animated feature ''

The Point! ''The Point!'' is the sixth studio album by American songwriter and musician Harry Nilsson, released in late 1970. It was accompanied by an animated film adaptation directed by Fred Wolf, which aired in early February 1971 on the ABC-TV networ ...

''. Tipton also arranged Nilsson's classic single "

Everybody's Talkin' "Everybody's Talkin (Echoes)" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Fred Neil in 1966 and released two years later. A version of the song performed by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson became a hit in 1969, reachin ...

," which won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 1969. In 1970, Tipton recorded an album of instrumental interpretations of Nilsson's music, ''Nilsson by Tipton'' (Warner Bros. Records), which featured cover illustrations by

Dean Torrence Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...

. Tipton and Nilsson subsequently had an unexplained falling-out, and Tipton reportedly refused to be involved in the 2010 documentary on Nilsson's life and career. Tipton died in 2016 at age 84.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tipton, George 1932 births 2016 deaths American television composers American music arrangers American conductors (music) American male conductors (music)