Randy Edelman (born June 10, 1947) is an American

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, producer, and

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 def ...

and conductor for film and television. He began his career as a member of Broadway's pit orchestras; he later produced solo albums for songs that were picked up by leading music performers including

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 ...

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

, and

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

. He is known for his work in

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

s. He has been awarded many prestigious awards along with two nominations for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

, a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

, and twelve BMI Awards. Edelman was given an honorary doctorate in fine arts by the University of Cincinnati in 2004. Some of Edelman's best known films scores include ''

Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

'', ''

Ghostbusters II ''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson ...

'', '' Kindergarten Cop'', '' Drop Dead Fred'', ''

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

'', '' The Distinguished Gentleman'', ''Gettysburg'', '' Angels in the Outfield'', '' The Mask'', '' Pontiac Moon'', ''

The Indian in the Cupboard ''The Indian in the Cupboard'' is a low fantasy children's novel by the British writer Lynne Reid Banks. It was published in 1980 with illustrations by Robin Jacques (UK) and Brock Cole (US). It was later adapted as a 1995 children's film ...

'', '' The Quest'', ''

Dragonheart ''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue, based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, ...

'', ''

Daylight Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunlig ...

'', and '' XXX''. He also wrote the theme of the popular television series ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the MacGyver (1985 TV series), 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in Mac ...

''. Many of his musical pieces have been reused in television advertising, trailers, Disney movies, and award shows.

Life and career

Edelman was born on 10 June 1947 in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. He was raised in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held ...

, the son of a first-grade teacher and an accountant, and graduated from Teaneck High School in 1965. He attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before heading to New York where he played piano in Broadway pit orchestras. He produced several solo

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

s of songs, some of which were later recorded by The Carpenters (" I Can't Make Music", "Piano Picker" and "You"), Barry Manilow (" Weekend in New England"), "If Love Is Real" from

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

's '' Making a Good Thing Better'', Dionne Warwick ("The Laughter and the Tears"),

Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. BS&T has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and ...

("Blue Street") and many others before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Edelman started to work there in television and film scoring, while producing his solo albums which found a cult following in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Japan.

Musical scores

One of his first film scores was for the 1973 film '' Executive Action'', which put forward a conspiracy theory concerning the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1963. In 1977 Edelman contributed the orchestral piece 'Grey' to the multi-composer suite ''Colours'', put together and conducted by Vic Lewis. In the mid-1980s, Edelman wrote the theme to and scored many episodes of ''

'', a popular television series starring

Richard Dean Anderson Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950) is an American actor. He began his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series ''General Hospital'', and then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the televis ...

. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he also collaborated with

Ivan Reitman Ivan Reitman (; October 27, 1946 – February 12, 2022) was a Canadian film director and producer. He was known for his comedy films, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. Reitman was the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 1998. ...

, producing scores for several of his comedies, including '' Drop Dead Fred'', ''

'', '' Pontiac Moon'', ''

'', and '' Kindergarten Cop''. He also contributed to ''

''; ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is an 1826 historical romance novel by James Fenimore Cooper. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinder'', ...

''; '' The Distinguished Gentleman''; '' The Mask''; '' The Quest''; ''

''; '' Anaconda''; '' XXX''; '' Gettysburg''; '' My Cousin Vinny''; '' While You Were Sleeping''; ''

''; '' Shanghai Noon''; '' Six Days, Seven Nights''; ''

''; '' Billy Madison''; '' Angels in the Outfield''; and ''

EDtv ''EDtv'' is a 1999 American satirical comedy film directed by Ron Howard. An adaptation of the Quebecois film '' Louis 19, King of the Airwaves (Louis 19, le roi des ondes)'' (1994), it stars Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrels ...

'' to name a few. Edelman was honored with the Richard Kirk Award at the 2003 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music. In 2004, he received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

. He and three other honorees distinguished in other fields, including Coretta Scott King were given the degree. He produced the scores for the 2008 film '' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor''. This score was recorded at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where in 2010 Edelman also recorded and composed the Irish flavored music score for Amy Adams's film ''Leap Year''. He was awarded the Goldspirit Award (named in honor of

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...

) for best comedy score of 2011 for the ''Leap Year'' soundtrack CD on

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...

Scores reused elsewhere

While some of the films scored by Edelman were not commercial successes, the music was often reused elsewhere. Themes he wrote for '' Kindergarten Cop'' (in particular ''Rain Ride''), ''

'', '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story'' (including the film's love theme ''Bruce and Linda''), '' Gettysburg'', and other films have been widely used in

television advertising 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. ...

, film trailers, Disney movies including ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...

'', and during the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

s. Themes from his score for '' Come See the Paradise'' have been used in film trailers more than cues from any other film soundtrack.

NBC Sports

His music from '' The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.'' is featured during

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

coverage when upcoming events are being announced. In addition it was used during NBC's coverage of the 1997 World Series. At the end of the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, NBC used the closing music of '' Gettysburg''. In the 1990s, Edelman composed the popular theme music for NBC's NFL telecasts which was used for the 1995–97 seasons through Super Bowl XXXII.

Personal life

Edelman has been married to singer

Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers; August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster who has had many hit song credits beginning in the 1960s, as both a singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-son ...

since June 3, 1976. DeShannon is known for 1960s hits including " When You Walk in the Room", " Put a Little Love in Your Heart," and " What the World Needs Now Is Love". DeShannon had a brief first marriage that was annulled after a few months. She and Edelman have a son, Noah D. Edelman.

Musical discography (as artist and songwriter)

Solo albums

*''Randy Edelman'' – MGM Records, 1972 (LP) *''The Laughter and the Tears'' – MGM Records, 1972 (LP) *''Outside In'' - MGM Records, 1972 (LP) *''Prime Cuts'' – 20th Century Records, 1974 (LP and CD) (No. 95 AUS) *''Farewell Fairbanks'' – 20th Century Records, 1975 (LP and CD) (No. 54 AUS) *''If Love Is Real'' – Arista Records, 1977 (LP and CD) *''You're the One'' – Arista Records, 1979 (LP and CD) *Up-Town Up-Tempo: The Best of Randy Edelman'' – 20th Century Records, 1979 (LP) *''On Time'' – Rocket Records, 1982 (LP) *''Randy Edelman and His Piano'' – PRT Records, 1984 (LP and CD) *''Switch of the Seasons'' – PRT Records (Polar), 1985 (LP) *''Up-Town Up-Tempo Woman'' (compilation album) – Warwick Reflection Records, 1987 (CD) *''And His Piano ... The Very Best of Randy Edelman'' – Revola/Cherry Red Records, 2003 (CD) *''The Pacific Flow to Abbey Road'' – Cherry Red (UK) / Varèse Sarabande (US), 2011 (CD)

Charted solo singles

*"Everybody Wants to Find a Bluebird" (March 1975) – US No. 92, US AC No. 18 *" Concrete and Clay" (March 1976) – US AC No. 11, AUS No. 79, UK No. 11 ( cover of the Unit 4 + 2 hit song) *"Uptown Uptempo Woman" (September 1976) – UK No. 25 *"You" (January 1977) – UK No. 49 *"Can't It All Be Love" (November 1977) – CAN (''RPM'') No. 99 *"Nobody Made Me" (July 1982) – UK No. 60

Artists who have covered Edelman's songs (both music and lyrics)

''(this is a partial list)'' *Barry Manilow – " Weekend in New England" (No. 10, US) *The Carpenters – "I Can't Make Music", "You", "Piano Picker" *Labelle – "Isn't it a Shame" *Olivia Newton-John – " If Love Is Real" *Nelly – "My Place" *Dionne Warwick – "You Are the Sunlight, I Am the Moon", "The Laughter and the Tears", "Give a Little Laughter" *Blood Sweat and Tears – "Blue Street" *Jackie DeShannon – "Sunny Days", "Let the Sailors Dance" *Agnetha Fältskog – "Turn the World Around" *The Fifth Dimension – "Everybody Wants to Call You Sweetheart" *Kool and the Gang – "Amore Amore" *Bing Crosby – "The Woman on Your Arm" *Shirley Bassey – "Isn't It a Shame" *Nancy Wilson – "The Laughter and the Tears" * Rosemary Clooney – "You" *

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

– "Make a Time for Lovin'"

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards, milestones and announcements

Platinum and gold Records Barry Manilow Greatest Hits, Live, This One's for You *

: " A Song for You", '' Now And Then'', and '' A Kind of Hush'' *

: '' Making A Good Thing Better'' *

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...

: ''

Suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...

'' *Now 17: "My Place" *'' Last of the Mohicans'' (soundtrack) Saturn Awards * "

" nominated by Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films ( Saturn Award for Best Music) International Film Music Critics Association Nomination * "

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

": Nominated by the IFMCA (International Film Music Critics Association) for Best Original Score for Television for ABC's mini-series Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts * University of Cincinnati: Recipient of Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) * Recipient of BMI's highest honor, the Richard Kirk Lifetime Achievement Award * Top Grossing Film Award: ''

27 Dresses ''27 Dresses'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher, written by Aline Brosh McKenna, and starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden. The film was released in the United States on January 18, 2008. It received mixed re ...

'' * Top Grossing Film Award: '' The Mask'' * Top Grossing Film Award: '' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'' * Top Grossing Film Award: ''

'' * Top Grossing Film Award: '' XXX'' * Top Grossing Film Award: '' Kindergarten Cop'' * Top Grossing Film Award: '' Six Days Seven Nights'' * Top Grossing Film Award: ''

'' * Top Grossing Film Award: '' Anaconda'' * Top Grossing Film Award: ''

'' * Top Grossing Film Award: '' While You Were Sleeping'' * Top TV Series Award: ''

'' *Spotlight Award: Awarded for two decades of NBC's Randy Edelman Olympic Theme Emmy Awards * Winner: "Atlanta Olympics NBC Broadcast" Emmy Award Golden Globes Award * Nominated: ''Last of the Mohicans'' ( Best Original Score - Motion Picture) British Academy of Film and Television Awards Nomination * ''Last of the Mohicans'': Nominated (Best Original Film Score) BAFTA Award for Best Film Music Kautz Alumni Masters Awards * University of Cincinnati: Kautz Alumni Masters Award for Outstanding Alumnus Goldspirit Awards * '' Leap Year (film)'': Named in honor of Jerry Goldsmith as Best Comedy Score Long Island International Film Expo * Lifetime Achievement Award: In Film Scoring and Composition "L.I. International Film Expo to Run July 8-16"
, ''The Island Now'', July 2, 2015 *2018 Composer and Lyricist Guild *Lifetime Achievement Award L.A.

LA Film Awards

* ''Love in Kilnery:'' Best Score, 2019

New England Music Hall of Fame

* Lifetime Achievement Award, 2023

New York Get Out Magazine

* Lifetime Achievement Award, 2023

NYR Metropolitan Club

* Career Bridge Lifetime Achievement Award, 2024

Grand Ole Opry, Nashville

* Josie Songwriter Legend Award, 2024

Broadway World Magazine

* Best Producer for album ''Waltzing on a High Wire'', 2025

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edelman, Randy 1947 births 20th-century American composers 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American composers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male musicians American film score composers American male film score composers American male singers American male songwriters American male television composers American television composers Animated film score composers Epic Records artists Jewish American film score composers Jewish American television composers Living people MCA Records artists Musicians from Paterson, New Jersey Singers from New Jersey Songwriters from New Jersey Sony Classical Records artists Teaneck High School alumni Varèse Sarabande Records artists Warner Bros. Animation people