Michael Andrew Sembello (born April 17, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sembello was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

for his 1983 song "

Maniac Maniac (from Greek μανιακός, ''maniakos'') is a pejorative for an individual who experiences the mood known as mania. In common usage, it is also an insult for someone involved in reckless behavior. Maniac may also refer to: Film * '' ...

", which he sang and co-wrote. The song reached number one in the United States and featured in the ''Flashdance'' film soundtrack. He is the brother of the late songwriter and composer

Danny Sembello Daniel Sembello (January 15, 1963 – August 15, 2015) was an American songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He produced recordings by artists including George Benson and Pebbles, and he had his compositions recorded by Chaka K ...

and the late singer songwriter John Sembello of Dino & Sembello fame.

Early life

Sembello was born and raised in

Ardmore, Pennsylvania Ardmore is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) spanning the border between Delaware and Montgomery counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 12,455 at the 2010 census and had risen to 13,566 in ...

, a western suburb of Philadelphia.

Career

Sembello began his career in music as a session musician, working as a guitarist. By age 17, he was working professionally with

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

on electric and acoustic guitar as a studio player on Wonder's ''

Fulfillingness' First Finale ''Fulfillingness' First Finale'' is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974 by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. It is the fourth of five albums from what is considered Wonder's " ...

''. He continued the same year, chosen as one of the core artists who worked on '' Songs in the Key of Life'', an ambitious double album that took two years to create. He was credited as lead and rhythm guitarist on most of the tracks—including the intricate jazz rock lead guitar part of the instrumental "Contusion"—and shares songwriting credit with Wonder on the song "Saturn", according to the album's liner notes. Sembello wrote the song "Carousel", which

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

recorded for his 1982 album ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'', but it was replaced on the track list by "

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

". The song was included as a bonus track on '' Thriller 25'', the 25th-anniversary edition reissue of the album; the full version was released on iTunes in 2013 as part of The Ultimate Fan Extras Collection. Sembello released his first solo album '' Bossa Nova Hotel'' in 1983. The song "

" from that album, which he co-wrote with his keyboardist Dennis Matkosky, was selected for inclusion in the film '' Flashdance''. "Maniac" was the second-best-charting song from the soundtrack (after the title track) and the ninth-biggest single of 1983. That soundtrack won a Grammy Award in 1984 for

Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special The Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media is an honor presented to a composer (or composers) for an original score created for a film, TV show or series, or other visual media at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was establish ...

. Sembello and Matkosky have claimed that the song was supposed to be about a vicious pet murderer after having seen a slasher flick, possibly ''

'' or '' The Texas Chain Saw Massacre''. In 2020, Sembello, along with Matkosky, appeared in ''Maniac Men'', an interview included on the 4K UHD Blu-ray reissue of ''Maniac''. Sembello produced guitarist

Jennifer Batten Jennifer Batten (born November 29, 1957) is an American guitarist who has worked as a session musician and solo artist. From 1987 to 1997 she played on all three of Michael Jackson's world tours, and from 1999 to 2001 she toured and recorded wit ...

's first solo album '' Above Below and Beyond'' in 1992. In 1994, he produced Argentine singer

Valeria Lynch María Cristina Lancelotti (January 7, 1952 in Buenos Aires), better known by her stage name Valeria Lynch, is an Argentine singer and actress. Named by the New York Times as one of the 5 best voices on the planet. Biography Valeria Lynch was b ...

's album ''Caravana de Sueños'' (1994), and co-wrote the title song with lyricist César Isella and composer Armando Tejada Gómez. Sembello's songs are featured in the films '' Cocoon'', ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Many ...

'', '' Gremlins'', ''

The Monster Squad ''The Monster Squad'' is a 1987 American black comedy horror film directed by Fred Dekker, and written by Dekker and Shane Black, who met as classmates at UCLA. Peter Hyams and Rob Cohen served as executive producers. It was released by TriSt ...

'' and '' Summer Lovers''. His song "Gravity" from ''Cocoon'' was accompanied by a music video directed by the film's director

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of '' The Twilight Zone''. ...

and included an appearance by Howard in a scripted fictional foreword to the video. In 2008, Sembello worked with saxophonist Michael Lington on his album ''Heat'', nominated as Jazztrax Album of the Year for 2008. Michael and his brother Danny Sembello penned three songs with Lington for the project. May 2009, Sembello assembled Bruce Gaichi (bass, guitar) and Janie Kluwer (keyboards, vocals) to form the trio The Bossa Nova Hotel, named after his 1983 Warner Bros. Records debut. They recorded the album ''Moon Island'', released on

EMI Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

. The album consists of American pop songs given arrangements with a strong Brazilian influence. Shortly after The Bossa Nova Hotel's rendition of the jazz standard '' Manhã de Carnaval'' enjoyed success as the theme to the Japanese television series, ''LIFE!'', the trio regrouped in 2016 to record a cover of Sting's '' Fragile''. Sembello has recorded his vocals in six languages.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Bossa Nova Hotel'' (1983) – US #80 * ''Without Walls'' (1986) * ''Caravan of Dreams'' (1992) * ''Backwards in Time'' (1997) * ''Ancient Future'' (2002)

Compilation albums

* ''The Lost Years'' (2003)

with The Bossa Nova Hotel

* ''Moon Island'' (2009)

Singles

References

External links

Michael & Danny Sembello Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sembello, Michael 1954 births Living people American people of Italian descent 20th-century American singers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American composers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American composers American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists American film score composers American Hi-NRG musicians American male singer-songwriters American pop guitarists American pop rock singers Record producers from Pennsylvania American multi-instrumentalists American session musicians American synth-pop musicians EMI Records artists Grammy Award winners American male film score composers A&M Records artists Warner Records artists Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from Philadelphia 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers Frontiers Records artists