Steve Dorff

Last updated

Steve Dorff
Birth nameStephen Hartley Dorff
Born (1949-04-21) April 21, 1949 (age 74) [1]
OriginNew York City, U.S.
Genres Country
Occupation(s)Songwriter
Years active1980s–present
Website stevedorff.com

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

Contents

Career

Dorff has written several songs for other artists, including "Hypnotize the Moon" and "My Heart Will Never Know" for Clay Walker, "The Man in Love with You" and "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait, "Don't Underestimate My Love for You" by Lee Greenwood, "Every Which Way but Loose" by Eddie Rabbitt and "Through the Years" by Kenny Rogers. He also composed the themes for Spenser: For Hire , Murphy Brown , The Singing Bee , Just the Ten of Us and others. [2] [3]

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 but not released as a single, became a major pop hit for Anne Murray, 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 , with John Bettis writing the lyrics. [4] He collaborated with Bettis again on Josephine, a musical about singer Josephine Baker. [5]

Dorff was the music supervisor for Pure Country (1992) and Pure Country 2: The Gift (2010). [6] Since 2009, he has been the bandleader on the CMT revival of The Singing Bee , for which he also composed the theme music. [7]

Dorff has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and five Emmy Awards. [6] He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018. [8]

Personal life and family

Dorff is the father of actor Stephen Dorff [9] and songwriter Andrew Dorff, [10] who died at age 40 on December 19, 2016. [11]

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolly Parton</span> American country singer (born 1946)

Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her decades-long career in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album debut in 1967 with Hello, I'm Dolly, which led to success during the remainder of the 1960s, before her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Parton's albums in the 1990s did not sell as well, but she achieved commercial success again in the new millennium and has released albums on various independent labels since 2000, including her own label, Dolly Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hank Williams Jr.</span> American musician

Randall Hank Williams, known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style has been described as a blend of rock, blues, and country. He is the son of country musician Hank Williams and the father of musicians Holly Williams and Hank Williams III, and the grandfather of Coleman Williams. He is also the half brother of Jett Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Gibb</span> British-American musician (born 1946)

Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful and influential groups in the history of popular music. With his younger brothers, fraternal twins Robin and Maurice Gibb, he formed a musical partnership beginning in 1955. He has lived in Britain, Australia, and the United States, holding dual UK–US citizenship since 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Strait</span> American country music singer (born 1952)

George Harvey Strait Sr. is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is credited for pioneering the neotraditional country style in the 1980s, famed for his authentic cowboy image and roots-oriented sound at a time when the Nashville music industry was dominated by country pop crossover acts. Given his influence on the genre, Strait has been named the "King of Country Music" by writers and music critics. Strait currently holds the record for most number one songs on all charts by an artist, in any genre of music."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanci Griffith</span> American singer-songwriter (1953–2021)

Nanci Caroline Griffith was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program Austin City Limits starting in 1985. In 1994 she won a Grammy Award for the album Other Voices, Other Rooms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Miller</span> American country musician (1936–1992)

Roger Dean Miller Sr. was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits "King of the Road", "Dang Me", and "England Swings".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Dorff</span> American actor

Stephen Hartley Dorff Jr. is an American actor. Starting his film career as a child appearing in the cult horror film The Gate (1987), Dorff first rose to prominence playing Stuart Sutcliffe in Backbeat (1994) and then gained further mainstream attention for portraying Deacon Frost in Blade (1998). Other notable lead roles include the titular character in John Waters' Cecil B. DeMented (2000) and Johnny Marco in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere (2010), as well as Britney Spears’ boyfriend in her 2004 music video for "Everytime".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Bush</span> American musician (1935–2020)

John Bush Shinn III was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Nicknamed the "Country Caruso", Bush was best known for his distinctive voice and for writing the song "Whiskey River", a top 10 hit for himself which also became the signature song of fellow country artist Willie Nelson. He was especially popular in his native Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cindy Walker</span> American songwriter, singer (1917–2006)

Cindy Walker was an American songwriter, as well as a country music singer and dancer. She wrote many popular and enduring songs recorded by many artists.

Joseph Marion Allison was an American songwriter, radio and television personality, record producer, and country music business executive. Allison won five BMI performance awards for hit singles he wrote and a 2 million performance award for writing "He'll Have to Go". He co-founded the Country Music Association. CMT called him "one of the most influential figures in the rise of modern country music."

<i>Pure Country</i> (soundtrack) 1992 soundtrack album by George Strait

Pure Country is the soundtrack album to the 1992 film of the same name, and the thirteenth studio album by American country music singer George Strait. The film stars Strait as fictional country singer Dusty Chandler, and the album consists mostly of songs sung by Dusty in the film. The Pure Country soundtrack is Strait's first soundtrack album. It was released in 1992 by MCA Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allison Moorer</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1972)

Allison Moorer is an American country singer-songwriter. She signed with MCA Nashville in 1997 and made her debut on the U.S. Billboard Country Chart with the release of her debut single, "A Soft Place to Fall", which she co-wrote with Gwil Owen. The song was featured in Robert Redford's The Horse Whisperer and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1999. Moorer performed at the Oscars ceremony the same year. She has made ten albums and has had songs recorded by Trisha Yearwood, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Steve Earle, and Hayes Carll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Dillon</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1955)

Dean Dillon is an American country musician and songwriter. Between 1982 and 1993, he recorded six studio albums on various labels, and charted several singles on the Billboard country charts. Since 1993, Dillon has continued to write hit songs for other artists, most notably George Strait.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Sheridan</span> American songwriter

Danny Sheridan was an American musician, songwriter, producer, actor, and entertainment manager. In 2006 he also became a radio personality on 97.1 KLSX Free FM. He is credited as an influential electric bass player, and as the founder of the Eli Radish Band, pioneers of the so-called outlaw country music genre. This is a style that Sheridan's former band-mate/vocalist David Allan Coe continues to perform today, with a string of hit songs like "Would You Lay with Me " and the anti-boss tune, "Take This Job And Shove It". Still in his teens, Sheridan's Eli Radish toured with such notable acts as The Who and The Doors. The lyrics of Coe's "Longhaired Redneck" forever memorialized the concerts he performed with Sheridan while fronting the Eli Radish Band. In 2014 Sheridan began managing Coe and co-produced his new CD "Just As I Am", with Boris Menart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Steele</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1961)

Jeffrey LeVasseur, known as Jeffrey Steele, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with recording his own material, Steele has become a prolific Nashville songwriter, having co-written more than 60 hit songs for such artists as Montgomery Gentry, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bettis</span> American lyricist

John Gregory Bettis is an American lyricist. He was originally part of the band Spectrum, which also featured Richard and Karen Carpenter. He wrote the lyrics for "Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and The Carpenters. He wrote several more hits for The Carpenters, including "Only Yesterday", "Goodbye to Love" and "Yesterday Once More". He later wrote hits for other artists including Madonna, Michael Jackson, The Pointer Sisters, Conway Twitty, Diana Ross, Jennifer Warnes, Peabo Bryson, George Strait ("Heartland"), Juice Newton, Ronnie Milsap, Barbara Mandrell, 38 Special, New Kids on the Block, Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey + Rory</span> American country and bluegrass duo

Joey + Rory was an American country and bluegrass duo composed of singer-songwriters Rory Lee Feek and Joey Feek, who were husband and wife. Both members of the duo were vocalists and songwriters, with Rory also playing acoustic guitar. Rory Lee Feek had written singles for other artists prior to the duo's foundation. The duo was the third-place finalist on CMT's competition Can You Duet in 2008. The duo recorded eight studio albums for Vanguard Records and Gaither Music Group and charted three singles on Hot Country Songs.

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2009.

"Blue" is a song released in 1958 by Bill Mack, an American songwriter-country artist and country radio disc jockey. It has since been covered by several artists, in particular by country singer LeAnn Rimes, whose 1996 version became a hit. The song won Mack the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Country Song, a 1996 Academy of Country Music Award for Song of the Year, a 1997 Country Music Association Awards nomination for Song of the Year, a 1997 Country Radio Music Awards nomination for Song of the Year, and is included on the CMT list of the top 100 country songs of all time. Rimes' rendition won the 1996 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

References

  1. Riggs, Thomas (1994). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. pp. 91–94. ISBN   978-0-7876-9047-2 via Google Books.
  2. "Steve Dorff biography". SteveDorff.com. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  3. "Hit Songwriter Bios: Steve Dorff". durango-songwriters-expo.com. Durango Songwriters Expo. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  4. Cronin, Brian (February 23, 2020). "Who Actually Wrote the Growing Pains Theme Song?". CBR.com. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  5. Clement, Olivia (May 11, 2016). "The Verdict: What Do Critics Think of Josephine?". Playbill.com. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Craig Harris. "Steve Dorff biography". Allmusic . Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  7. "Meet the Musicians". CMT.com. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  8. "Songwriters Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees". songhall.org. Songwriters Hall of Fame.
  9. "Stephen Dorff". FilmReference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  10. "Andrew Dorff". blacklabelbooking.com.
  11. "Songwriter Andrew Dorff Dead at 40". CMT.com.