American composer for film and television
Charles Fox
Born Charles Ira Fox
(1940-10-30 ) October 30, 1940 (age 83) Occupation Composer Years active 1965-present Spouse Joan Susan Redman (1962-present) Children 3 Website
http://www.charlesfoxmusic.com/
Charles Ira Fox (born October 30, 1940) is an American composer for film and television. His compositions include the
sunshine pop musical backgrounds which accompanied every episode of the 1970s
ABC-TV show
Love, American Style ; the
theme song for the late 1970s ABC series
The Love Boat ; and the dramatic theme music to ABC's
Wide World of Sports
[1] and the original
Monday Night Football ; as well as the Grammy-winning hit song "
Killing Me Softly with His Song ", written in collaboration with Fox's longtime writing partner,
Norman Gimbel .
Early life
Fox was born in
New York City , the son of Mollie and Walter Fox.
[2] Walter was a
Jewish immigrant
[3] from
Szydlowiec ,
Poland .
While still a student at the
High School of Music & Art , Fox studied jazz piano with
Lennie Tristano . He then continued his musical education with
Nadia Boulanger , first at
Fontainebleau and then privately in Paris. Following his return to the United States, he studied electronic music with
Vladimir Ussachevsky at
Columbia University .
[4] He married Joan Susan Redman on September 9, 1962.
Career
His career started by playing the piano for, composing and arranging for artists such as
Ray Barretto ,
Joe Quijano and
Tito Puente . He also wrote theme music and arranged for
Skitch Henderson and The Tonight Show Orchestra. Fox worked under the banner of Bob Israel's
Score Productions where he composed the themes for several
Goodson-Todman game shows including NBC's version of the
Match Game , the syndicated versions of
What's My Line? , and
To Tell The Truth , whose lyrics were written by Goodson-Todman director
Paul Alter . He co-composed the theme song and all the original scores for
Love, American Style , along with
Arnold Margolin .
[5]
Fox also composed the music for "
Killing Me Softly with His Song ," featuring lyrics by
Norman Gimbel and
Lori Lieberman , in 1972. The song was inspired by Lieberman listening to
Don McLean sing at a nightclub in Los Angeles. Fox and Gimbel had been managing her early career, and the song was released first by Lieberman, with writing credit assigned to Fox and Gimbel, cutting Lieberman out. Lieberman's version was only a minor hit, but the song became an international number 1 hit for
Roberta Flack in 1973 and again for
the Fugees in 1997. The song won the Grammy for Best Song in 1973. Fox denies Lieberman's involvement, and failed to force McLean to change his website.
[6]
[7]
Fox and Gimbel later wrote the themes for many films such as
The Last American Hero ("
I Got a Name ", sung by
Jim Croce ),
Foul Play ("
Ready to Take a Chance Again ", sung by
Barry Manilow ) and many television series, including
The Bugaloos ,
Happy Days ,
Laverne & Shirley ("
Making Our Dreams Come True " sung by
Cyndi Grecco ),
Angie ("Different Worlds" sung by
Maureen McGovern ),
The Paper Chase ("The First Years" sung by
Seals and Crofts ; Emmy-nominated Best Song), and
Wonder Woman . He also wrote "Together Through The Years" along with fellow composer
Stephen Geyer for
The Hogan Family series, sung by
Roberta Flack .
In 1977, Fox composed "
Love Boat ", the theme to the popular TV series
The Love Boat . It had lyrics by
Paul Williams , and was sung by
Jack Jones until the ninth and final season when
Dionne Warwick was featured. The single released by Jack Jones in 1979 peaked at #37 on the Billboard US
Adult Contemporary chart.
[8]
In February 1981, Fox peaked at #75 on the
Billboard Hot 100 with the song, "Seasons".
[9] It was co-written and co-produced by
Ed Newmark .
[10]
In 2010, Fox published his memoirs, Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music .
[11]
"The Charles Fox Singers" was the credited name for the group vocalists who performed his compositions on television and movie themes and cues; they were actually
The Ron Hicklin Singers .
Film scores
In total Fox has created film scores for over 100 films including:
Awards and honors
Fox was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.
[12]
BMI Richard Kirk Award For Outstanding Life Achievement
Grammy Awards –
Grammy Award for Song of the Year - "Killing Me Softly with His Song"
New York Film Critics Circle – Best Film Song - “I Got a Name”
Emmy Awards – Best Score - “Love American Style”
Emmy Winner – Best Theme Song - “Love American Style”
Emmy Nomination (Four Times) – Best Score, “Love American Style”
Emmy Nomination – Best Song, “The Paper Chase”
Academy Award nomination –
Academy Award for Best Original Song , “Richard’s Window”/The Other Side of the Mountain
Academy Award nomination –
Academy Award for Best Original Song – “Ready to Take a Chance Again”/Foul Play
Golden Globe Awards –
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score , "The Other Side of the Mountain”
Golden Globe Nomination – Best Song, “Richard’s Window”/The Other Side of the Mountain
Golden Globe Nomination – Best Song, “Ready to Take a Chance Again”/Foul Play
Grammy Nomination – Best Soundtrack for a film, “Nine to Five”
Society of Composers and Lyricists , “Ambassador’s Award” for Life Achievement
Bronx Walk of Fame, inducted 2008
Smithsonian Museum permanent exhibit, inducted 2011
Middleburg Film Festival - Legacy Composer Award, 2021
[13]
References
^ Bartkowiak, Matthew; Kiuchi, Yuya (2015). The Music of Counterculture Cinema: A Critical Study of 1960s and 1970s Soundtracks . Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 59.
ISBN
978-0786475421 . Charles Fox, collaborator for the film's soundtrack, had already established some level of success in scoring the film 'The Incident', as well as penning TV scores including the 'Wide World of Sports' theme...
^
"Charles Fox Biography (1940-)" . Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2012-02-16 .
^ Congregation, Shir Ami (March 6, 2013).
"Hollywood Luminary Charles Fox to Appear at the Avon Theatre for an Exclusive Showing of 100 Voices, A Journey Home" . Patch - Darien, CT .
^
"Charles Fox: Ready to Take a Chance" . NewMusicBox.org. July 2011. Retrieved 2016-07-21 .
^
"Love, American Style | A Television Heaven Review" . Televisionheaven.co.uk. Archived from
the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2012-02-16 .
^ Edgers, Geoff (January 24, 2020).
"She sang 'Killing Me Softly' before Roberta Flack. Now she just wants you to hear her side of the story" . The Washington Post .
^
"The Lori Lieberman Team" . Billboard . June 24, 1974. p. 53.
^
"Jack Jones Chart History | Billboard" . www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2018-04-20 .
^
"Charles Fox - Billboard Hot 100 History" .
Billboard . Archived from
the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2021 .
^ Whitburn, Joel (1991). The Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Eighties (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. Feb. 7, 1981.
ISBN
0-89820-079-2 .
^ Fox, Charles (2010). Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music . Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
ISBN
9780810869929 .
OCLC
678101101 .
^ Songwriters Hall of Fame,
"Charles Fox, Inductee"
^ Davis, Clayton (2021-09-30).
"Kenneth Branagh, Dakota Johnson and 'Red Rocket' Cast Among Middleburg Film Festival Honorees (EXCLUSIVE)" . Variety . Retrieved 2021-10-07 .
External links
Awards for Charles Fox
1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
"Up to You" – Music and Lyrics by John Kimbrough (2000)
"A Dream That Only I Can Know" – Music and Lyrics by
Patrick Williams (2001)
"You've Got a Lot to See" – Music by
Walter Murphy ; Lyrics by
Seth MacFarlane (2002)
"Aren't They All Our Children" – Music by
David Foster ; Lyrics by
Linda Thompson (2003)
"Because You Are Beautiful" – Music by
Toni Childs ; Lyrics by
Toni Childs , Eddy Free, and
David Ricketts (2004)
"Mary Jane/Mary Lane" – Music by Dan Studney; Lyrics by
Kevin Murphy (2005)
"A Wonderfully Normal Day" – Music by
Greg O'Connor ; Lyrics by
Jim Wise (2006)
"
Dick in a Box " – Music by
Katreese Barnes ,
Asa Taccone ,
Jorma Taccone , and
Justin Timberlake ; Lyrics by
Andy Samberg ,
Akiva Schaffer ,
Jorma Taccone , and
Justin Timberlake (2007)
"I'm F**king Matt Damon" – Music and Lyrics by
Tony Barbieri ,
Sal Iacono , Wayne McClammy,
Sarah Silverman , and Dan Warner (2008)
"Hugh Jackman Opening Number" – Music by John Kimbrough,
William Ross , and
Rob Schrab ; Lyrics by
Dan Harmon and
Ben Schwartz (2009)
2010s 2020s
1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
"
Beautiful Day " –
Adam Clayton ,
David Evans ,
Laurence Mullen &
Paul Hewson (songwriters) (2000)
"
Fallin' " –
Alicia Keys (songwriter) (2001)
"
Don't Know Why " –
Jesse Harris (songwriter) (2002)
"
Dance with My Father " –
Richard Marx &
Luther Vandross (songwriters) (2003)
"
Daughters " –
John Mayer (songwriter) (2004)
"
Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own " –
Adam Clayton ,
David Evans ,
Laurence Mullen &
Paul Hewson (songwriters) (2005)
"
Not Ready to Make Nice " –
Emily Burns Erwin ,
Martha Maguire ,
Natalie Maines Pasdar &
Dan Wilson (songwriters) (2006)
"
Rehab " –
Amy Winehouse (songwriter) (2007)
"
Viva la Vida " –
Guy Berryman ,
Jonathan Buckland ,
William Champion &
Christopher Martin (songwriters) (2008)
"
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) " –
Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell ,
Beyoncé Knowles ,
Terius Nash &
Christopher Stewart (songwriters) (2009)
2010s
"
Need You Now " –
Dave Haywood ,
Josh Kear ,
Charles Kelley &
Hillary Scott (songwriters) (2010)
"
Rolling in the Deep " –
Adele Adkins &
Paul Epworth (songwriters) (2011)
"
We Are Young " –
Jack Antonoff ,
Jeff Bhasker ,
Andrew Dost &
Nate Ruess (songwriters) (2012)
"
Royals " –
Joel Little &
Ella Yelich O'Connor (songwriters) (2013)
"
Stay with Me " (
Darkchild version) –
James Napier ,
William Phillips &
Sam Smith (songwriters) (2014)
"
Thinking Out Loud " –
Ed Sheeran &
Amy Wadge (songwriters) (2015)
"
Hello " –
Adele Adkins &
Greg Kurstin (songwriters) (2016)
"
That's What I Like " –
Christopher Brody Brown ,
James Fauntleroy ,
Philip Lawrence ,
Bruno Mars ,
Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip (songwriters) (2017)
"
This Is America " –
Donald Glover ,
Ludwig Göransson &
Jeffery Lamar Williams (songwriters) (2018)
"
Bad Guy " –
Billie Eilish O'Connell &
Finneas O'Connell (songwriters) (2019)
2020s
International National Artists Other