Bill Conti
b. 13 April 1942, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. A composer, conductor and musical director for television and films, Conti was taught to play the piano by his father from the age of seven, and later, after the family had moved to Miami, Florida, took up the bassoon. After leaving high school he studied composition at Louisiana State University, and played in its symphony orchestra, while also playing jazz in local nightspots to defray educational expenses. Subsequently, he gained honours at the Juilliard School Of Music, New York, including a master's degree. Influenced by his major professor at Juilliard, composer Hugo Weisgall, Conti and his wife moved to Italy in 1967. During his seven year stay, he broke into films, arranging, composing and conducting for productions such as JULIETTE DE SADE, CANDIDATE PER UN ASSASSINO (CANDIDATE FOR KILLING), LIQUID SUBWAY, and BLUME IN LOVE (1973). On his return to the USA in 1974, he settled in California, and, aided by established film composer Lionel Newman, began to make his name all over again. Success was just around the corner, for, after scoring HARRY AND TONTO; NEXT STOP, GREENWICH VILLAGE, and the documentary, PACIFIC CHALLENGE, Conti hit the big time with his music for ROCKY (1976). The soundtrack album went platinum, and one of the numbers, Gonna Fly Now (lyric by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins), was nominated for an Oscar and, in an instrumental version by Conti, topped the US singles chart. He also scored the ROCKY sequels, II, III (gold album), and V (1990). The composer's projects in the late '70s included two more Stallone vehicles, F.I.S.T; and PARADISE ALLEY; plus others, such as CITIZENS’ BAND (HANDLE WITH CARE), AN UNMARRIED WOMAN, THE BIG FIX, A MAN, A WOMAN, AND A BANK, GOLDENGIRL, and THE SEDUCTION OF JOE TYNAN. In 1981 Conti provided the score for ‘one of the best’ James Bond movies, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, starring Roger Moore. UK expatriate, Sheena Easton sang Conti's title song (written with Mick Leeson), and her record made the US Top 5. It gained Conti his second Oscar nomination, and, two years later, he finally won an Academy Award for his music to THE RIGHT STUFF, ‘an off-beat story about America's space programme’. Throughout the rest of the '80s, and early '90s, Conti's music continued to pour out, for films such as UNFAITHFULLY YOURS, MASS APPEAL, THE KARATE KID and its two sequels; THE BEAR, NOMADS (his first all-electronic score), GOTCHA, FIX, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, BABY BOOM, BROADCAST NEWS, LEAN ON ME, THE FOURTH WAR, YEAR OF THE GUN, NECESSARY ROUGHNESS, BLOOD IN BLOOD OUT, THE ADVENTURES OF HUCK FINN, and ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (1993). Conti by no means concentrated on composing for the big screen—his television credits are formidable. He gained two Emmys as ‘creative concept and composer’ for the New York City Marathon (1990), and nominations for his music for the popular mini-series NORTH AND SOUTH II (1985). His themes for the small screen include DALLAS, FALCON CREST, LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS, CAGNEY AND LACEY, THE COLBYS, O'HARA, OUR WORLD, and MARIAH; he also composed the complete scores for several television movies. On several occasions, between 1977 and 1993, Conti served as arranger and musical director for the Academy Awards ceremony. In 1983 he had to relinquish the baton, and go on stage to receive the Oscar for his work on THE RIGHT STUFF.