David Pomeranz

Last updated

David Pomeranz
Born (1951-02-09) February 9, 1951 (age 73)
Long Island, New York, United States
Genres Pop, adult contemporary
Occupation(s)
Instruments Vocals, piano, keyboards, acoustic guitar
Labels Rhino
Pacific
PolyEast Records (Philippines)
Website www.davidpomeranz.com

David Pomeranz (born February 9, 1951) is an American singer, composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theater. He is also an ambassador for Operation Smile, a foundation dedicated to cleft lip and palate and a member of the Church of Scientology. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Solo career

Born and raised on Long Island, Pomeranz expressed interest in music from an early age, singing in the synagog choir, learning to play the piano, guitar and drums, and writing and recording songs by the age of fourteen. From October 1968 to January 1969, he was lead singer for the Ohio-based rock band East Orange Express and when Pomeranz left the group, fellow member Dan Schear took over. [4] When he was nineteen, MCA/Decca signed him to a contract that yielded two albums, New Blues and Time to Fly (the latter featuring Chick Corea), and he began touring the country as the opening act for Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, Three Dog Night and The Doors, among others.

In the late 1980s, Pomeranz collaborated with Russian rock star Alexander Malinin on the pre-glasnost "Faraway Lands", which they performed live in Moscow's Gorky Park for an episode of the television sitcom Head of the Class , the first time an American series filmed there. He also sang the song "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now", which was the theme song for the television series Perfect Strangers . [5]

Pomeranz continued to tour as a solo act, appearing in such venues as the Hollywood Bowl, Kennedy Center, Olympic Stadium in Munich, and the Kremlin. He and David Shire collaborated on the theme song for the United Nations World Summit For Children entitled "In Our Hands", which the duo performed at the closing ceremonies for Ted Turner's Goodwill Games in Seattle. In 1999, Pomeranz recorded the CD Born for You – His Best and More in the Philippines, a compilation album that became the country's best-selling album of 1999 [6] and the 13th best-selling album of all time. Additional recordings include The Eyes of Christmas and On This Day.

Composer

Pomeranz's songs include "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" and "The Old Songs", both recorded by Barry Manilow; and "It's in Every One of Us", which was featured in the TV specials John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together , Rocky Mountain Holiday and A Muppet Family Christmas , the Dave Clark musical Time , the film Big , and at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. His work has been performed by artists as diverse as Bette Midler, Phoebe Snow, Freddie Mercury, Richie Sambora, Missy Elliott, The Carpenters, Harry Belafonte, Andrea Marcovicci, Donna Summer, Lillias White, The Hollies and Cliff Richard, and his various songwriting projects have amassed a total of twenty-two platinum and eighteen gold albums.

Pomeranz has composed for feature films, television (earning a 1981 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics for the CBS television movie Homeward Bound [7] ), and the stage, including the hit West End musical Time ; Little Tramp , based on the life and career of Charles Chaplin, staged for the 1995 Eugene O'Neill Theater Festival in Waterford, Connecticut and presented in a 1996 concert version in St. Petersburg, Russia; and a musical adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities , produced by Bill Kenwright for the Theatre Royal, Windsor (1998) and the Alexandria Theatre in Birmingham (1999). With Kathie Lee Gifford he has written two projects, Under The Bridge, which premiered off-Broadway in January 2005, and Saving Aimee , based on the life of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, which debuted at the White Plains Performing Arts Center in October 2005 and was staged at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia in April–May 2007. In 2012, Saving Aimee was renamed to Scandalous and opened on November 15, 2012 in the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway in New York City. [8]

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

  • New Blues (1971)
  • Time to Fly (1971)
  • It's in Every One of Us (1975)
  • The Truth of Us (1980)
  • Come Home (1993)
  • Born for You: His Best and More (1999)
  • The Eyes of Christmas (2000)
  • On This Day (2001)
  • Hold Tight (2007)
  • A Personal Touch (2009)
  • You're the Inspiration (2012)

Compilation albums

  • Best of David Pomeranz (1999)

Collaboration albums

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Curry</span> British actor (born 1946)

Timothy James Curry is a British actor and singer. He rose to prominence as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London and 1974 Los Angeles musical stage productions of The Rocky Horror Show.

<i>The Muppet Show</i> Variety television show (1976–81)

The Muppet Show is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a series and other networks in the United States rejected Henson's proposals, British producer Lew Grade expressed enthusiasm for the project and agreed to co-produce The Muppet Show for the British channel ATV. Five seasons, totalling 120 episodes, were broadcast on ATV and other ITV franchises in the United Kingdom and in first-run syndication in the United States from 1976 to 1981. The programme was produced and recorded at the ATV Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brave Combo</span> American polka/rock/worldbeat band

Brave Combo is a polka fusion band based in Denton, Texas. Founded in 1979 by guitarist/keyboardist/accordionist Carl Finch, they have been a prominent fixture in the Texas music scene for more than thirty-five years. Their music, both originals and covers, incorporates a number of dance styles, mostly polka, but also some Latin American and Caribbean styles like norteño, salsa, rumba, cha-cha-cha, choro, samba, two-step, cumbia, charanga, merengue, ska, etc, all performed with a rock/worldbeat energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beck</span> American musician (born 1970)

Beck David Hansen, known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical collages of wide-ranging genres. He has musically encompassed folk, funk, soul, hip hop, electronic, alternative rock, country, and psychedelia. He has released 14 studio albums, as well as several non-album singles and a book of sheet music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Hayes</span> American musician and actor (1942–2008)

Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, serving as both an in-house songwriter and as a session musician and record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the mid-1960s. Hayes and Porter were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of writing scores of songs for themselves, the duo Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, and others. In 2002, Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aimee Mann</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1960)

Aimee Elizabeth Mann is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects. Mann's work with the producer Jon Brion in the 1990s was influential on American alternative rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Williams (songwriter)</span> American composer, singer, songwriter, recovery advocate and actor (born 1940)

Paul Hamilton Williams Jr. is an American composer, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for writing and co-writing popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s, including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song" and "Out in the Country", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World", Biff Rose's "Fill Your Heart", and the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays". He also wrote "Cried Like a Baby" for teen idol Bobby Sherman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Manilow</span> American singer and songwriter (born 1943)

Barry Manilow is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Mandy", "I Write the Songs", "Can't Smile Without You", "Weekend in New England", and "Copacabana ".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Schlesinger</span> American musician (1967–2020)

Adam Lyons Schlesinger was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows, and was a key songwriting contributor and producer for Brooklyn-based synth-pop duo Fever High. He also wrote songs for television and film, for which he won three Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and the ASCAP Pop Music Award, and was nominated for Academy, Tony, and Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Raposo</span> American composer (1937-1989)

Joseph Guilherme Raposo, OIH was an American composer, lyricist, songwriter, singer, and pianist, best known for his work on the children's television series Sesame Street, for which he wrote the theme song, as well as classic songs such as "Bein' Green", "C Is For Cookie" and "Sing". He also wrote music for television shows such as The Electric Company, Shining Time Station and the sitcoms Three's Company and The Ropers, including their theme songs. In addition to these works, Raposo also composed extensively for three Dr. Seuss TV specials in collaboration with the DePatie-Freleng Enterprises: Halloween Is Grinch Night (1977), Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? (1980), and The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (1982).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Black (lyricist)</span> English lyricist

Donald Blackstone, known professionally as Don Black, is an English lyricist. His works have included numerous musicals, movie, television themes and hit songs. He has provided lyrics for John Barry, Charles Strouse, Matt Monro, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Quincy Jones, Hoyt Curtin, Lulu, Jule Styne, Henry Mancini, Meat Loaf, Michael Jackson, Elmer Bernstein, Michel Legrand, Hayley Westenra, A. R. Rahman, Marvin Hamlisch and Debbie Wiseman.

Scientology has been referenced in popular culture in many different forms of media including fiction, film, music, television and theatre. In the 1960s, author William S. Burroughs wrote about Scientology in both fictional short stories and non-fictional essays. The topic was dealt with more directly in his book, Ali's Smile/Naked Scientology. The 2000 film Battlefield Earth was an adaptation of a novel by L. Ron Hubbard.

Lynsey Marie Bartilson is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is best known for playing Lily Finnerty on the Fox/WB sitcom Grounded for Life, and voicing Tuesday X for the Nickelodeon TV series, The X's.

David Allen Friedman is a film and theatre composer, songwriter, author, lyricist and conductor based in New York City. He received a 1997 Backstage Bistro Award for Composer of the Year and a 1997 Johnny Mercer Award for Songwriter of the Year, and a Special Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th Annual MAC Awards. His oratorio, King Island Christmas, won a Frederick Loewe Award and Dramatists Guild Award. David's musical Desperate Measures won the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Best Music and Best Lyrics as well as the Outer Critic's Circle Award for Best Off Broadway Musical and the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical.

<i>A Very Merry Unauthorized Childrens Scientology Pageant</i> Satirical musical about Scientology

A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant is a satirical musical about Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard, written by Kyle Jarrow from a concept by Alex Timbers, the show's original director. Jarrow based the story of the one-act, one-hour musical on Hubbard's writings and Church of Scientology literature. The musical follows the life of Hubbard as he develops Dianetics and then Scientology. Though the musical pokes fun at Hubbard's science fiction writing and personal beliefs, it has been called a "deadpan presentation" of his life story. Topics explored in the piece include Dianetics, the E-meter, Thetans, and the story of Xenu. The show was originally presented in 2003 in New York City by Les Freres Corbusier, an experimental theater troupe, enjoying sold-out Off-Off-Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Later productions have included Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Beghe</span> American film and television actor (born 1960)

Jason Deneen Beghe is an American actor. Since 2014, he has starred in the NBC TV series Chicago P.D. as Sergeant Hank Voight. He is also known for starring in the 1988 George A. Romero film Monkey Shines, playing Demi Moore's love interest in G.I. Jane, appearing as a police officer in the film Thelma & Louise, starring opposite Moira Kelly in the television series To Have & to Hold, and having recurring roles on Picket Fences, Melrose Place, Chicago Hope, American Dreams, Cane, and Californication.

Daniel Boys is an English musical theatre actor, who was a contestant on the BBC talent series Any Dream Will Do in 2007 before becoming known as a stage actor in various musicals including Avenue Q, Spamalot and Falsettos.

Larry Grossman is an American composer for theatre, television, film, concerts, and cabaret.

Jules Leonard "Buddy" Kaye was an American songwriter, lyricist, arranger, producer, and author. His songs were recorded by top performers, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, The McGuire Sisters, Glenn Miller, Sammy Kaye, Perry Como, Elvis Presley, Charles Aznavour, Tony Bennett, Cliff Richard, Pat Boone, Harry Belafonte, Bobby Darin, Little Richard, Barry Manilow, Karen Carpenter, Diana Krall, and Dusty Springfield. He scored number-one hits on the Billboard charts in 1945 with "Till The End Of Time", recorded by Perry Como, and in 1949 with "'A' You're Adorable ", recorded by Como and The Fontane Sisters. Among his most recognizable tunes in pop culture are the theme songs to the Famous Studios theatrical cartoons Little Lulu and Little Audrey; the international hit song "Speedy Gonzales", recorded by Pat Boone; and the co-written theme song to the television series I Dream of Jeannie. In 1976, he won a Grammy Award for best children's album for his production of The Little Prince, narrated by Richard Burton.

References

  1. Albano, Lou E. (February 20, 2013). "David Pomeranz: As Long As You Love Me". spot.ph. Retrieved September 20, 2023. I've been a Scientologist for 30 years now," he admits, "and it's been the singular most important thing I've ever done-reading Dianetics and being a Scientologist. It's extraordinary. Have you read it? It's incredible, it's fascinating. It's called The Modern Science of Mental Health. And it handles problems that don't go away, anything that's inappropriate, doesn't make you happy.
  2. "David Pomeranz Discusses the Modern Science of Mental Health at Los Angeles Concert". Scientology Newsroom. August 2, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  3. "SUCCESSES OF SCIENTOLOGY". What is Scientology?. Retrieved September 20, 2023. [M]y life is infinitely better since my first introduction to Scientology. Before Scientology, I was on an emotional "roller coaster." Anytime I'd win at something or gain a moment of happiness, if it was on a Tuesday, you could predict that by Wednesday I'd be down in the dumps again. This "up and down and up and down" was such a point of upset and hopelessness for me that I finally resigned myself to the fact that this was something I was going to have to live with for the rest of my life.
  4. Hage, Erik. "David Pomeranz Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  5. Perfect Strangers Opening on YouTube
  6. Red, Isah V. (January 14, 2000). "Whatever happened to the Ramon Mitra biopic". Manila Standard . Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 22. Retrieved July 6, 2023. At the top of the list is David Pomeranz with his locally recorded album Born for You, His Best and More turning platinum six times and still rising.
  7. "David Pomeranz Awards and Nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences . Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  8. Isherwood, Charles (November 15, 2012). "Faith Healer Has Her Own Wounds to Tend". The New York Times .