Biography
This page uses content from the Giorgio Moroder biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Giorgio Moroder (born Giovanni Giorgio Moroder on April 26 1940 in Ortisei, Italy) is an Academy Award winning Italian record producer, songwriter and performer, whose groundbreaking work with synthesizers during the 1970s was a significant influence on new wave, techno and electronic music in general. Particularly well known are Donna Summer's disco hits produced by Moroder, including "I Feel Love". Moroder also produced a number of electronic disco hits for The Three Degrees and a variety of others including Swedish-born Madleen Kane and France Joli. Although often credited as its producer, "Love To Love You Baby", Donna Summer's 17 minute opus, was actually produced by Pete Belotte.
Often collaborating with lyricist Bellotte, Moroder scored a number of hits in his own name including "Son Of My Father" in 1972 and "From Here to Eternity" in 1977 under the name Giorgio, and in the following year releasing "Chase", the theme from the film Midnight Express and sold well elsewhere. All were hits in the UK. The full movie score for Midnight Express won him his first Academy Award for best film score in 1978.
In 1985, Moroder worked with Phil Oakey, frontman of the popular synthpop group, The Human League, to make the album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder. The following year, Moroder collaborated with his protege Harold Faltermeyer (of "Axel F." fame) and lyricist Tom Whitlock to create the score for the popular film Top Gun (1986), with the most noteworthy hit being the Berlin classic, "Take My Breath Away", which went on to become a huge hit for the group.
He also scored other popular films in the 1980s including American Gigolo, Flashdance, The NeverEnding Story, Thief of Hearts, Electric Dreams and Scarface. The latter score has recently regained popularity due to its use in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto III. Moroder's "From Here To Eternity" and "The Chase" were also used in the Sony PSP game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. Moroder wrote the official theme songs, "Reach Out", for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and "Hand in Hand", for the 1988 Seoul Olympics and "Un'estate Italiana" for the 1990 Football World Cup. "The Chase" is now also well-known as the theme bumper-music for the popular late-night AM talk radio program Coast to Coast AM.
In 1984, Moroder compiled a new restoration and edit of the famous silent film Metropolis and provided a new modern rock-and-roll soundtrack to the film. This soundtrack includes pop tracks from the likes of Pat Benatar, Adam Ant, Billy Squier, Loverboy, Bonnie Tyler and Freddie Mercury. He also integrated the old-fashioned intertitles into the film as subtitles as a means of improving continuity, and he also played the film at a rate of 24 frames per second, the rate at which it was filmed. This version is only 80 minutes in length. Known as the "Moroder version", it sparked heated debate among film buffs and fans, with outspoken critics and supporters of the film falling into equal camps. If nothing else, it introduced the silent classic to a new generation of fans.
In 1987, Moroder produced Falco´s song "Body Next to Body".
His song "Tears" was sampled and used as the basis of the DJ Shadow song "Organ Donor" on his 1996 album Endtroducing......
On September 20, 2004 Moroder was honored at the Dance Music Hall of Fame ceremony, held in New York, when he was inducted for his many outstanding achievements and contributions as producer. In 2005, he was given the title of Commendatore by Azeglio Ciampi.
Moroder has worked with:
- Barbra Streisand
- Blondie
- Bonnie Tyler
- Chaka Khan
- Cheap Trick
- Cher
- David Bowie
- Donna Summer
- Edoardo Bennato
- Elton John
- France Gall
- Freddie Mercury
- Gianna Nannini
- Graham Nash
- Irene Cara
- Janet Jackson
- Japan
- Kenny Loggins
- KMFDM
- Limahl
- Miami Sound Machine
- Nina Hagen
- Olivia Newton-John
- Psychotica
- Roger Daltrey
- Sammy Hagar
- Sigue Sigue Sputnik
- Sparks
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- Cizeta Moroder V16 supercar project
External links
- Official Giorgio Moroder Website
- Giorgio Moroder Discography
- Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer tribute Website
- Moroder Week on Music Thing
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the biographical information on this page under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
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