Stephen Hartley Dorff (born April 21, 1949) is an American songwriter and composer whose work is mainly in the field of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

Career

Dorff has written several songs for other artists, including " Hypnotize the Moon" and " My Heart Will Never Know" for

Clay Walker Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single " What's It to You", which reached Number One on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Son ...

, " The Man in Love with You" and " I Cross My Heart" by

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

, " Don't Underestimate My Love for You" by

Lee Greenwood Melvin Lee Greenwood (born October 27, 1942) is an American country music singer. Active since 1962, he won a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award and he has charted 33 singles on the Hot Country Songs with seven singles reaching the number one. He has ...

, "

Every Which Way but Loose ''Every Which Way but Loose'' is a 1978 American action comedy film released by Warner Bros. starring Clint Eastwood in an uncharacteristic and offbeat comedy role. It was produced by Robert Daley and directed by James Fargo. Eastwood plays ...

" by

Eddie Rabbitt Edward Thomas Rabbitt (November 27, 1941 – May 7, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter. His career began as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after composing hits such as " Kentucky Rain ...

and " Through the Years" by

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

. He also composed the themes for '' Spenser: For Hire'', ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news presenter, news anch ...

'', '' The Singing Bee'', '' Just the Ten of Us'' and others. In addition, Dorff was a co-writer of the song " I Just Fall in Love Again" with composers Larry Herbstritt, Harry Lloyd, and Gloria Sklerov. " I Just Fall in Love Again", originally recorded by

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 ...

but not released as a single, became a major pop hit for

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1979. Steve Dorff also wrote the music score for the song "As Long As We Got Each Other" from the popular family TV sitcom ''

Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that ran on ABC for seven seasons from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The series follows the misadventures of the Seaver family, including psychiatrist and fathe ...

'', with John Bettis writing the lyrics. He collaborated with Bettis again on ''Josephine'', a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

about singer

Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

. Dorff was the music supervisor for '' Pure Country'' (1992) and '' Pure Country 2: The Gift'' (2010). Since 2009, he has been the bandleader on the CMT revival of '' The Singing Bee'', for which he also composed the theme music. Dorff has been nominated for three

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

and five

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

. He was inducted into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work represent and maintain the heri ...

in 2018.

Personal life and family

Dorff is the father of actor

Stephen Dorff Stephen Hartley Dorff Jr. (born July 29, 1973) is an American actor. Starting his film career as a child appearing in the Cult following, cult horror (genre), horror film ''The Gate (1987 film), The Gate'' (1987), Dorff first rose to prominence ...

and songwriter Andrew Dorff, who died at age 40 on December 19, 2016.

Filmography

*1982 '' Waltz Across Texas'' *1982 ''

Honkytonk Man ''Honkytonk Man'' is a 1982 American musical western comedy-drama film set in the Great Depression. Clint Eastwood, who produced and directed, stars with his son, Kyle Eastwood. Clancy Carlile's screenplay is based on his 1980 novel of the sa ...

'' *1985 ''

Rustlers' Rhapsody ''Rustlers' Rhapsody'' is a 1985 American comedy–Western film. It is a parody of many Western conventions, most visibly of the singing cowboy films that were prominent in the 1930s and the 1940s. The film was written and directed by Hugh Wil ...

'' *1987 '' Back to the Beach'' *1987 '' My Best Friend Is a Vampire'' *1989 '' Pink Cadillac'' *1992 '' Pure Country'' *1995 ''Breaking Free'' *1996 ''Coyote Summer'' *1996 ''The Undercover Kid'' *1997 '' Lunker Lake'' *1998 ''

Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 ''Dancer, Texas Pop. 81'' is a 1998 comedy-drama film starring Breckin Meyer, Peter Facinelli, Eddie Mills, and Ethan Embry. The film is set in the small, fictional Texas town of Dancer, with the titular reference to a population of 81 residents ...

'' *1999 '' Blast from the Past'' *1999 ''

Dudley Do-Right Dudley Do-Right is a fictional character created by Alex Anderson, Chris Hayward, Allan Burns, Jay Ward, and Bill Scott, who appears as the main protagonist of "Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties", a segment on ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullw ...

'' *2000 ''The Cactus Kid'' *2002 ''Mi Amigo'' *2008 '' Jake's Corner'' *2010 '' Pure Country 2: The Gift'' *2017 ''The Meanest Man in Texas'' *2023 ''

Dead Man's Hand The makeup of poker's dead man's hand has varied through the years. Currently, it is described as a two-pair poker hand consisting of the black aces and black eights. The pair of aces and eights, along with an unknown hole card, were reportedl ...

''https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23469212/fullcredits/ *2025 '' The Legend of Van Dorn''

References

External links

* 1949 births 20th-century American composers 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American composers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists American country pianists American country songwriters American film score composers American male film score composers American male pianists American male songwriters Composers from New York City Country musicians from New York (state) Jewish American film score composers Living people Songwriters from New York (state) {{US-songwriter-stub