Michael Zager (born January 3, 1943) is an American record producer, composer, and arranger of original music for

commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

, albums, network television, and

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which 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 ...

for films. He teaches music at

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

. Zager was a member of jazz rock band Ten Wheel Drive from 1968 to 1973.

Music career

Zager has produced for artists such as

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

, Cissy Houston,

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson ( ; born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the hit singles " Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", "You're Looking Like ...

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

Deniece Williams June Deniece Williams (née Chandler; born June 3, 1950) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great Soul music, soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs "Free (Deniece Williams song), Free", "Silly (song ...

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American singer and actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), '' Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a ...

, Joe Williams,

Arturo Sandoval Arturo Sandoval (born November 6, 1949) is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, timbalero, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 ...

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

, Olatunji, and the (Detroit) Spinners. Zager also produced for R&B artist Street Corner Symphony (1975),

Marilyn Chambers Marilyn Ann Taylor (née Briggs; April 22, 1952 – April 12, 2009), known professionally as Marilyn Chambers, was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer, model, actress, singer and vice-presidential candidate. She was known f ...

(1976), Andrea True (1977), Dee Edwards (1980), Take Five (1981), and Elusion (1981). He also co-wrote the Patti Day song " Right Before My Eyes" with Alexandra Forbes. In 1978, the Michael Zager Band had a popular disco anthem with " Let's All Chant". Between 1979 and 1981, Zager composed new

bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

for the Spinners'

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of three 1960s and 1970s hits, each of which was billed as a medley with the original hit: * "Forgive Me, Girl", paired with a cover of the Four Seasons' " Working My Way Back to You", from the 1979 album '' Dancin' and Lovin''' – (No. 2 US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in March–April 1980; No. 1 UK

Singles Chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

) * "I've Loved You for a Long Time", paired with a cover of

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

's "

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

," from the 1980 album '' Love Trippin''' – (No. 4 US Hot 100 in July–August 1980; No. 4 UK) * "Nothing Remains the Same", paired with a cover of

the Carpenters The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining ...

' " Yesterday Once More," from the 1981 album '' Labor of Love'' – (No. 52 US Hot 100 in March 1981; did not chart in the UK)

Appointments

Zager graduated from

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

and the

Mannes College of Music The Mannes School of Music (), originally called the David Mannes Music School and later the Mannes Music School, Mannes College of Music, the Chatham Square Music School, and Mannes College: The New School for Music, is a Music school, music con ...

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

. He later taught at the

. During the summers of 2006 and 2008 Zager taught at the College of Music at

Payap University Payap University (; ), established in 1974, is a private and non-profit institution founded by the Foundation of the Church of Christ in Thailand. Payap University is a liberal arts and pre-professional school offering a doctoral degree in peac ...

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. He holds the positions of the Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in Performing Arts and professor of music at

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

, Florida. He is the author of ''Writing Music for Television and Radio Commercials (A Manual for Composers and Students)'' published by Scarecrow Press, and ''Music Production: For Producers, Composers, Arrangers, and Students'', also published by Scarecrow Press.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

*
Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zager, Michael 1943 births Living people American dance musicians American disco musicians Columbia Records artists Record producers from New Jersey Songwriters from New Jersey Musicians from Passaic, New Jersey Private Stock Records artists The New School faculty Mannes School of Music alumni University of Miami alumni