Francis Edward Fitzpatrick (born April 13, 1961), more commonly known as Frank Fitzpatrick, is an American
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
,
music producer,
author,
filmmaker and
social entrepreneur.
Fitzpatrick is best known for his career in the film and music industry and is also the founder and director of the non-profit EarthTones.
Early life
Fitzpatrick was born in
Detroit,
Michigan and graduated from the
University of Michigan's music and business schools in 1983. While there, he worked for
Eclipse Jazz
Eclipse Jazz was a student-run committee within the University Activities Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. From 1975 to 1993 it operated under the auspices of the University’s Major Events Office, showcasing jazz perf ...
, a student-run body striving for better exposure of jazz artists through the production of live shows in the
Ann Arbor
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...
area.
Music and film career
Early career
Fitzpatrick relocated to
Los Angeles in 1983 to work for record producer
Richard Perry of
Planet Records. He started working as a
music editor for television in 1984, initially as a supervising music editor on the series
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three s ...
and
Crime Story, among others.
Fitzpatrick later expanded into film music by working as a music editor for the film composer
Georges Delerue, going on to co-produce an orchestral retrospective of Delerue's film scores in 1991, ''The London Sessions'', which included a track co-written by Fitzpatrick and performed by
Carl Anderson entitled "Between You and Me."
Soundtracks
In the '90s, Fitzpatrick began working as a film composer,
music supervisor
A music supervisor is a person who combines music and visual media. According to The Guild of Music Supervisors, a music supervisor is “a qualified professional who oversees all music related aspects of film, television, advertising, video games ...
and executive music producer in Hollywood.
The first film score he is credited for is that of ''
Nuns on the Run'', the 1990 comedy featuring
Eric Idle
Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broadwa ...
and
Robbie Coltrane.
Further contributions in the 90s included soundtracks for the films ''
Friday,'' ''
Pirates of Silicon Valley'' and
''In Too Deep'', as well as working as the composer and music director for ''
The Larry Sanders Show.
In 2021, Ingrooves/Universal, in association with HBO, released an album of his music from the show performed by ''The Larry Sanders Show Band''.
From 2000-2020, Fitzpatrick continued to create soundtracks for films, including ''
Queen of the Damned'' (2002),''
Scary Movie 3'' (2003),''
Jump In!'',
''
The Proud Family Movie'', and ''
Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack''.
In association with Hollywood Elite Composers, Ingrooves/Universal released a compilation tribute album commemorating Fitzpatrick’s 30 years as a film composer entitled ''Original Scores by Frank Fitzpatrick''.
Songwriter and music producer
In 2008, Fitzpatrick wrote the Grammy-nominated song “Soul Music,”
performed by Anthony Hamilton and selected in the category “Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards” The song was the title track for the film ''
Soul Men
''Soul Men'' is a 2008 American musical comedy film directed by Malcolm D. Lee, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, Sharon Leal and Sean Hayes, released on November 7, 2008. It was one of three Bernie Mac films that were released after ...
''.
In 2010, in partnership with
Terry McBride, Fitzpatrick produced Yoga Revolution, a compilation CD to promote
yoga and
meditation programs in schools. The album featured recordings from
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...
and
Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-eart ...
, among others.
His 2017 single “Call On Me” and music video from
Universal’s film ''
Bring It On: Worldwide'' were part of a non-profit initiative to promote music and arts for schools.
His 2018 single “Stronger Than Pride” was the theme song for ''Love Jacked'', a film distributed by Netflix.
In 2019, Fitzpatrick released a 20th Anniversary Edition of his 1999 solo piano album entitled ''New Standards'', which included a piano version of “Stronger Than Pride”
as well as a book of original sheet music under the same title.
Filmmaker
In 2001, Fitzpatrick directed and produced the short film ''Jungle Jazz: Public Enemy #1'', which premiered at the 2001
Berlin International Film Festival, winning The Silver Bear Award for best Short Film. The film won additional awards in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
São Paulo,
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...
,
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
and
Santa Cruz. In 2007, Fitzpatrick completed his first animated short film ''The Rebel Angel''.
The majority of his film work has come through music videos. Amongst his work are the 2011 videos “Hip Hop Nation” (featuring recording artists
KRS-One
Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...
and
K’naan
Keinan Abdi Warsame (born 1 February 1978) ( so, Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, ar, كَينَان عَبدِ وَرسَمَ ''Kaynān ʿAbdi Warsama''), better known by his stage name K'naan (), is a Somali-Canadian musician. He rose to prominence ...
) and “Express Yourself” (featuring
Nneka
Nneka is an Igbo It can also be a shortened version of the Igbo name Nnemkadi. The following people have the name:
* Nneka (singer) or Nneka Egbuna, Nigerian-German singer and songwriter
* Nneka Egbujiobi, Nigerian-American lawyer
* Nneka Abulokw ...
and
Ziggy Marley).
In 2018, Frank was an executive producer for the romantic comedy ''Love Jacked.''
Philanthropy and social entrepreneurship
EarthTones
Fitzpatrick is the founder of EarthTones, a
non-profit arts organization.
In 2012, EarthTones launched the WHY Music project, an initiative to provide people with a way to best utilize the benefits of music in all the areas of their lives. WHY Music began with a series of articles in the
Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
, and expanded to include a series of live talks, round tables, and workshops. That year, EarthTones partnered with City of Hope to launch Yoga For Hope in Los Angeles, in support of people dealing with life-threatening diseases. In 2013, Fitzpatrick was nominated as a Gifted Citizen from the
Ciudad de las Ideas for the WHY Music project's potential to positively impact over 10 million lives.
The project later expanded further with a program tailored for schools.
In 2016, Fitzpatrick collaborated with humanitarian photographer
Lisa Kristine to create the video "A Prayer for Freedom", part of the End Slavery Campaign initiated by
Pope Francis and a coalition of spiritual leaders from around the world. The video premiered at the
Vatican in
Rome, the
House of Lords in
Westminster, and at the opening of the Enslaved Exhibition at the
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in
Ohio.
Social entrepreneurship
In 2011, Fitzpatrick attended the Executive Program at
Singularity University. The following year, he helped facilitate Singularity University's inaugural Hollywood Executive Program. In 2014, he joined the faculty of Exponential Medicine at the university, an annual conference discussing the implications of breakthrough technologies on healthcare.
In 2017 and 2019 he was a speaker at the conference, presenting as an expert on music and health.
Along with Director of Pepperdine's Center for Media and Entertainment,
Craig Detweiler, Fitzpatrick created and hosted the 2014 International Forum ''Education: Disrupted'' at
Pepperdine University.
Fitzpatrick has been invited as a delegate to the 2012
Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneurs, the 2014 UK
Arts and Humanities Research Council’s forum on Video Games, Music Creativity and Education, and the 2017
Novus Summit
Novus ("new" in Latin) may refer to:
Companies
* Novus Biologicals, a biotech company based in Littleton, Colorado, US
* Novus Entertainment, a Canadian telecommunications company
* Novus International, an animal health and nutrition company
* Nov ...
at the
United Nations. He has also been a keynote speaker at the
TEDx and
Esalen.
In 2021, he joined Singularity University Australia as part of their expert faculty.
Author
Since 2012, Fitzpatrick has written for a number of publications and online forums, including ''LA Yoga'',''Forbes'' and ''ExO Insight''.
In 2021, he published the non-fiction book entitled ''Amplified: Unleash Your Potential Through the Power of Music''.
Bibliography
Fitzpatrick, F. (2020). ''New Standards: Ballads for Solo Piano''. Independently Published.
Fitzpatrick, F. (2021). ''Amplified: Unleash Your Potential Through the Power of Music''. Amplified Media.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, Frank
1961 births
Living people
Musicians from Detroit
21st-century American composers
American male composers
Record producers from Michigan
Songwriters from Michigan
American filmmakers
Ross School of Business alumni
21st-century American male musicians
American male songwriters