Fred Mollin

Last updated
Fred Mollin
Mollin in 2010.jpg
Mollin in 2010
Born
Frederic Ira Mollin

(1953-02-10) February 10, 1953 (age 71)
Amityville, New York, U.S.
Occupations
  • Record producer
  • multi-instrumentalist
  • film & TV composer
  • arranger
  • musical director
  • music supervisor
  • songwriter
Years active1972–present
Children2
Musical career
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • keyboards
  • bass
  • drums
  • percussion
  • vocals
Labels
  • Walt Disney Records
  • Columbia Records
  • eOne Records
  • EMI Records
  • Atlantic Records
  • Melody Place
Website fredmollin.com

Fred Mollin is an American and Canadian record producer, musician, film and TV composer, music director, music supervisor, and songwriter. [1] He has produced records for Jimmy Webb, Johnny Mathis, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lamont Dozier and America, and has composed music for Beverly Hills, 90210 , Friday the 13th (films and television), Forever Knight , Hard Copy , and many more. [2] [3] Mollin rose to prominence early in his career by co-producing (with Matthew McCauley) Dan Hill's international hit record, "Sometimes When We Touch", in 1977. [4]

Contents

As an artist, he has written and produced music for a series of children's albums, including Disney: Lullaby Album: Instrumental Favorites For Baby, peaking at #6 on January 26, 2001, on Billboard 's Kid Album music chart; and Disney's Princess Lullaby Album, which peaked at No. 23 on October 25, 2002 (Billboard). [5] He created the musical group Fred Mollin and the Blue Sea Band, composing and producing albums such as Finding Nemo-Ocean Favorites, Lightning McQueen's Fast Tracks, and others, primarily released on Disney/Pixar albums.

Early life

Fred Mollin was born (February 10, 1953) in Amityville, New York to Edward and Pauline Mollin, and is the youngest of three siblings. He attended Calhoun High School in Merrick, New York.[ citation needed ]

In an interview with Spirit of Harmony, Mollin said, "When my parents would tell their friends that I was leaving high school at 16 to make a life as a musician, they would all say 'we're so sorry,' as if I was terminally ill. In that day and age, it would have sounded better if I had gone off to join the circus". [6]

Career

At age 18, Mollin moved to Toronto, Canada in 1971. His brother Larry had moved there a year before and urged Fred to come and see the creative possibilities. In 1972, they formed Canada's first improvisational comedy group, Homemade Theatre. The four-man troupe consisted of Fred (musician, composer, singer, and actor), Phil Savath, Barry Flatman, and his brother, Larry, who also performed for three years on their own CBC television series, Homemade Television . In 1975, Homemade Theatre was awarded a Canadian Gold Record for their novelty single, "Santa Jaws".

Record producer

Mollin co-produced (with Matthew McCauley) Sometimes When We Touch, by Dan Hill, which became an international hit record in 1977. From 1977 through 1985 Mollin produced such artists as Jimmy Webb, America, and Randy Edelman. He also co-wrote and co-produced Stan Meissner's hit single "One Chance", which was covered by Eddie Money on his platinum album Can’t Hold Back. Mollin started a new career in 1985 as a TV and film composer, which became a full-time occupation until 1996 when he started to make the transition back to record production with the album Ten Easy Pieces by Jimmy Webb.

Mollin relocated to Nashville in 2001, where he went back to being a full-time record producer for various artists and projects.

Duets producer

Mollin is known as a record producer with a long history of producing duets involving well-known and iconic artists. These include Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, Carly Simon, Vince Gill, Glen Campbell, Crosby and Nash, Art Garfunkel, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Michael McDonald, Amy Holland, David Pack, Sheryl Crow, Natalie Cole, Gregory Porter, Gloria Estefan, Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus, and Chris Cornell, among others. The albums by Jimmy Webb, Ten Easy Pieces, Just Across the River, and Still Within the Sound Of My Voice, have the most number of guest artist duet appearances. Other notable album examples with numerous duets are Johnny Mathis' Sending You A Little Christmas, Kris Kristofferson's The Austin Sessions, Barry Mann's Soul And Inspiration, Lamont Dozier's Reimagination, and Rita Wilson's AM/FM.

Film and television music composer

In 1987, Mollin's work on Paramount's Friday the 13th: The Series gave way to 16 uninterrupted years of composing for film and television. His most well-known TV series include Tri-Star's Forever Knight , Spelling's Beverly Hills, 90210 , Paramount's Hard Copy , Columbia Pictures' The New Gidget and USA Network's TekWar . His feature film credits include Friday the 13th Part 7 - The New Blood and Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan . His TV movies include NBC's Amy Fisher: My Story , VH1's Daydream Believers-The Monkees' Story, and CBC TV's Little Criminals. He composed and performed the soundtrack for the television series Friday the 13th, mainly using synthesizers and samplers. [7] The music was released on a soundtrack album by GNP Crescendo as the album Friday the 13th: The Series.

Mollin won a Gemini award for Best Original Music Score for a Series, Beyond Reality , in 1991. [8] [9]

Children's music

Mollin co-created the children's musical group Rugrats with Ronney Abramson and Ron Garant. The group's 1983 debut album, Rugrat Rock, was co-produced by Mollin; [10] it won the Best Children's Album category at the Juno Awards of 1984. [11] In 1985 they recorded a second album, The Rugrats Rock On. [12] [13]

In the early 2000s, Mollin began arranging and producing a series of Disney Lullaby albums: Disney's Lullaby Album: Gentle Instrumental Favorites for Babies (2000), Disney's Lullaby Album (2002), Disney's Princess Lullaby Album (2002), Disney's Christmas Lullaby Album (2003), Disney's Lullaby & Goodnight (2004), and Disney's Lullaby Album, Vol.2 (all released on Walt Disney Records).

In 2004, Mollin created Fred Mollin and the Blue Sea Band, a loose aggregate of studio musicians and guest singers Chris Stapleton, Tom Hambridge, Tim Ruppert, Lari White, Kevin Montgomery, Gunnar Nelson, Johnny Neel, and Webb Wilder, among others, primarily heard on Disney/Pixar albums:

Songwriter

As a songwriter, Mollin has written or co-written songs for Cher, Eddie Money, Burning Rome, Toronto, Shania Twain, Stan Meissner, and others.[ citation needed ]

Awards and nominations

YearNominee / workAwardResult
2007 Jesus Take the Wheel (Passing Stranger Music Publishing)ASCAP - Publisher of the YearWon
2006 Jesus Take the Wheel (Passing Stranger Music Publishing) [14] ASCAP - Publisher of the YearWon
2000 Sending You a Little Christmas - Johnny Mathis SOCAN - Film TV AwardNominated
1994 The Passion - Beyond RealityGemini Award - Best Original Musical Score for TelevisionWon
1984 Rugrat Rock [11] Juno Award - Best Children's AlbumWon
1982 Only the Lucky - Lodi - Ronnie Hawkins [15] Juno Award - Producer of the YearNominated
1979 Frozen in the Night - Dan Hill [16] Juno Award - Producer of the YearNominated
1978 Sometimes When We Touch - Dan Hill [17] Juno Award - Producer of the Year (Single)Won
1978 Longer Fuse - Dan Hill [18] Juno Award - Producer of the Year (Single)Won
1978 Sometimes When We Touch - Dan HillJuno Award - Producer of the Year (Single)Won
1978 Longer Fuse - Dan HillJuno Award - Producer of the Year (Album)Won
1976 Santa Jaws - Fred Mollin/Homemade Television Juno Award - Producer of the YearNominated

Discography

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<i>Honest Lullaby</i> 1979 studio album by Joan Baez

Honest Lullaby is a studio album by the American musician Joan Baez, released in 1979. It was her final album on CBS Records' Portrait imprint; it also stood as her last studio album issued in the U.S. until the release of her 1987 album, Recently.

<i>The Monkees</i> (album) 1966 studio album by the Monkees

The Monkees is the debut studio album by the American band the Monkees. It was released on October 10, 1966 by Colgems Records in the United States and RCA Victor in the rest of the world. It was the first of four consecutive U.S. number one albums for the group, taking the top spot on the Billboard 200 for 13 weeks, after which it was displaced by the band's second album. It also topped the UK charts in 1967. The Monkees has been certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA, with sales of over five million copies.

<i>Pokémon: The First Movie</i> (soundtrack) Soundtrack album for the 1998 anime film of the same name

Pokémon: The First Movie: Music From and Inspired By the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the first Pokémon film in the North American markets. Two songs were featured in the animated short Pikachu's Vacation and eight songs were exclusive to the album, not being featured in either the short or the movie. The CD contains extra features, such as Pokémon videos and a screensaver. When it was released, it included a promotion to send in a proof of purchase for an exclusive Jigglypuff card from the Pokémon TCG.

<i>Beauty Has Grace</i> 2005 studio album by Jaci Velasquez

Beauty Has Grace is the ninth studio album by Contemporary Christian music singer Jaci Velasquez. It marks a departure in style from her previous albums, having been recorded in London, England, with Martin Terefe. She co-wrote six of the ten album tracks.

<i>Bluebird</i> (Emmylou Harris album) 1989 studio album by Emmylou Harris

Bluebird is the fifteenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris, released on January 10, 1989, by Warner Records. Featuring mostly interpretations of work by artists such as the McGarrigle Sisters, Tom Rush, and Rodney Crowell, it included her most recent top-ten country-charting single, "Heartbreak Hill". The album enjoyed renewed interest in 2004 when "Heaven Only Knows" was used in the first episode of the fifth season of The Sopranos.

<i>Downhere</i> (2001 album) 2001 studio album by downhere

downhere is the first official album release under a major record label by Christian rock band downhere. It is only preceded by their 1st independent album release. The album received the 2002 Covenant Award for Rock Album of the Year and the 2002 Juno Award for Best Gospel Album. The song "Larger Than Life" received the 2002 Covenant Award for Rock Song of the Year and "Protest to Praise" was featured on the WOW Hits 2002 compilation.

<i>Longer Fuse</i> 1977 studio album by Dan Hill

Longer Fuse is a 1977 album by Canadian pop singer Dan Hill. It reached number 2 in Canada, and was in the Top 100 for 42 weeks. It was number 7 in the top 100 albums chart for 1978.

<i>Straight Outta Hells Kitchen</i> 1991 studio album by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam

Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen is a 1991 album by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, as well as their final studio album. It is best known for the lead track "Let the Beat Hit 'Em" which reached #1 on the Billboard R&B and Dance charts. The only other single released from the album was the ballad "Where Were You When I Needed You". The album's title is named for the Manhattan neighborhood in which lead vocalist Lisa Velez grew up and lived until the mid-2000s. The first half of the album was produced by C+C Music Factory's David Cole and Robert Clivillés, and the second half was produced, as with the previous Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam albums, by Full Force.

<i>Alibi</i> (America album) 1980 studio album by America

Alibi is the ninth studio album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records in 1980.

<i>Everlife</i> (2007 album) 2007 studio album by Everlife

Everlife is the third studio album by Everlife, and the first and only album on Buena Vista Records released on February 20, 2007.

Shaw Blades is an American musical duo/group formed by Tommy Shaw of Styx and Jack Blades of Night Ranger, both of whom played in the supergroup Damn Yankees. It is an informal duo which has produced two albums between other projects, 1995's Hallucination and 2007's Influence. The first two songs on "Hallucination" -- "My Hallucination" and "I'll Always Be with You"—received modest airplay. "Influence" consisted solely of 1960s and 1970s cover songs that influenced them. Blades' son Colin, a songwriter himself, contributed backing vocals and arrangements to the album. Shaw Blades also recorded a cover of the classic Christmas song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" on the A Classic Rock Christmas album by various classic rock artists in 2002. Shaw Blades did a short tour of America in Spring 2007 and another in Autumn 2007. Both members still principally record and perform with the acts which made them famous. From 2007 to 2009, they were joined on tour by Will Evankovich on the request of Blades, who had seen Evankovich's band American Drag perform and wanted him to join them on acoustic,12-string, harmonica and background vocals.

<i>Twenty Years and Change</i> 2005 studio album by Collin Raye

Twenty Years and Change is the eighth studio album, released in 2005, by country music artist Collin Raye. His first studio album in 3 years, it produced the singles "I Know That's Right" and "Hurricane Jane", neither of which charted.

<i>Beaches</i> (soundtrack) 1988 soundtrack album by Bette Midler

Beaches: Original Soundtrack Recording is the soundtrack to the Academy Award-nominated 1988 film starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey. Midler performs most of the tracks on the album, released on the Atlantic Records label. The album also reunited her with producer Arif Mardin. It features one of Midler's best-known songs, the ballad "Wind Beneath My Wings", which was a number-one hit.

<i>Bonjour</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Rachid Taha

Bonjour is the eighth studio album by French–Algerian singer Rachid Taha. It was released by Wrasse Records on 26 October 2009.

<i>The Sweetest Days</i> 1994 studio album by Vanessa Williams

The Sweetest Days is the third studio album by American singer and actress Vanessa Williams. It was released on December 6, 1994, by Wing Records and Mercury Records. The album peaked at number 57 on the US Billboard 200 and at number 25 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Dapo Torimiro is a Nigerian songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and singer. Born in Lagos, he has worked in the music industry in the US for several years writing and producing music for artists' album projects, touring with numerous artists, as well as scoring various television and film projects. He is based in Los Angeles.

<i>Back Pages</i> 2011 studio album by America

Back Pages is the 17th studio album by America, released on July 26, 2011 by eOne. The album is the band's first studio album of cover versions of songs by some of their favorite songwriters. The album features guest appearances by Mark Knopfler and Van Dyke Parks.

<i>Monody</i> (album) 2010 studio album by Mantler

Monody is the fourth album by Canadian artist Mantler, released in 2010.

<i>Light Up the Dark</i> (album) 2015 studio album by Gabrielle Aplin

Light Up the Dark is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter Gabrielle Aplin, which was released by Parlophone Records on 18 September 2015. The album peaked at number fourteen in the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Spark</i> (Drake White album) 2016 studio album by Drake White

Spark is the debut studio album of American country music singer Drake White. It was released on August 19, 2016 via Dot Records, an imprint of Big Machine Records. The album has produced three singles, "It Feels Good", Livin' the Dream" and "Makin' Me Look Good Again", all of which have reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. White co-wrote eleven of the album's twelve tracks.

References

  1. ↑ "Fred Mollin". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-09-18.
  2. ↑ Clarke, Frederick S. (1993). Cinefantastique. Vol. 24. F. S. Clarke. p. 85.
  3. ↑ "Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood – A 30th Anniversary Retrospective". Dread Central, By Dave J. Wilson on April 13, 2018
  4. ↑ "Juno Awards - Sometimes When We Touch - Fred Mollin". Junos. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Billboard: Fred Mollin Chart History". Billboard. October 24, 2002. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Standing On the Shoulder - Fred Molin". Spirit of Harmony. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  7. ↑ " Fred Mollin Friday the 13th: The Series [Original TV Score]". AllMusic Review by Steven McDonald
  8. ↑ Garcia, Frank; Phillips, Mark (27 September 2013). Science Fiction Television Series, 1990-2004: Histories, Casts and Credits for 58 Shows. McFarland. pp. 35–. ISBN   978-0-7864-9183-4.
  9. ↑ "St. Vincent Story Sweeps Geminis". The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Monday, March 7, 1994. page 23
  10. ↑ Stapleton, Lynn (1996). "An Interview with Fred Mollin". Fortune City. Archived from the original on 2003-09-27.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) at the Wayback mMachine.
  11. 1 2 "Best Children's Album 1984". Juno Awards website
  12. ↑ "Pop Encyclopedia article about Ronney Abramson!". Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ↑ Canadian Children's Literature. Vol. Issues 49-52. Canadian Children's Press. 1988. p. 81.{{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  14. ↑ "Jimmy Webb, John Rich, Brett James, Rivers Rutherford and Sony/ATV Music Publishing Among Top Honorees at 2006 ASCAP Country Music Awards; "Jesus, Take The Wheel" Named Country Song of the Year" (Press release). Global News Wire/ASCAP. October 24, 2006. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  15. ↑ "1982 AWARD NOMINEE - Producer of the Year - Fred Mollin, Only the Lucky, Lodi- Ronnie Hawkins". Junos. 1982. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Juno Awards Past and Present Winners". Junos. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Producer of the Year - 1978 - Single Sometimes When We Touch - Dan Hill - Matthew McCauley/Fred Mollin". Junos. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Juno Awards - All Nominations and Awards - Fred Mollin". Junos. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.