Mike Piccirillo | |
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Born | 1951 (age 73–74) |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1976–present |
Michael Lynn Piccirillo (born 1951) is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician, who began working professionally in the Los Angeles music business in 1976. In conjunction with production partner George Tobin, and subsequently Gary Goetzman, Piccirillo co-produced 31 albums between 1976 and 1992.
Piccirillo has also been an underscore composer on many animated TV series. Between 1995 and 2004, Piccirillo's musical underscore appears on over 500 half-hour TV animated episodes, mainly for DIC Entertainment produced shows. Many of these TV series also feature main title songs composed by Piccirillo. Animated series highlights include Sabrina: The Animated Series , Sabrina's Secret Life , Inspector Gadget's Field Trip , Sonic Underground , The Wacky World of Tex Avery , Trollz , Gadget Boy , Archie's Weird Mysteries , and many others. Piccirillo is still active in professional music production, songwriting and being a performing musician.
Piccirillo production hits include Smokey Robinson's “Being With You", [1] Robert John's "Sad Eyes", and Kim Carnes' "More Love", along with many other charted songs and productions. Artists include La Toya Jackson, Natalie Cole, Smokey Robinson, Tiffany, Kim Carnes, Thelma Houston, The Staple Singers, Go West, Robert John, and many others.
Mike Piccirillo and music partner Gary Goetzman co-wrote the vast majority of the 100+ plus Piccirillo songs that were released on various artists albums between 1976 and 1995.
In 1995, Piccirillo wrote and produced 15 songs that were featured in the Tom Hanks written and directed film That Thing You Do . [2] [3] Six of those songs appeared on the film's soundtrack CD.
Additional Piccirillo songs appear in approximately 28 theatrical films released between 1982 and 1995, including A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master , Police Academy 2 , Child's Play , Fright Night , Kickboxer , Jetsons: The Movie , Big Momma's House, Little Monsters and many others.
That Thing You Do! is a 1996 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom Hanks, in his feature writing and directorial debut. Set in 1960s rock and roll culture, it chronicles the rise and fall of a fictional one-hit wonder pop band and stars Tom Everett Scott in his film debut along with Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, and Ethan Embry as the band's members, with Liv Tyler and Hanks appearing in supporting roles. Its production and music are key to its narrative, with original scores by a collaboration of artists including Hanks, Adam Schlesinger, and Howard Shore. The soundtrack peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, featuring a mix of diegetic and non-diegetic tracks. The cast practiced for weeks to perform convincingly on camera, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.
Inspector Gadget is an animated science fiction comedy series co-created by Andy Heyward, Jean Chalopin and Bruno Bianchi, and was originally syndicated by DIC Audiovisuel and Lexington Broadcast Services Company. The show revolves around the adventures of a clumsy, dim-witted police officer from Metro City named Inspector Gadget—a police inspector with various bionic gadgets built into his body—who is sent on missions to thwart plans by his nemesis Dr. Claw, the leader of an evil organization known as "M.A.D.", while unknowingly being assisted by his niece Penny and their dog, Brain.
Gadget & the Gadgetinis is an animated television series and the sequel of the 1983 series Inspector Gadget. The series was a co-production between Fox Kids Europe, DIC Entertainment Corporation, French animation studio SIP Animation, French broadcaster M6 Métropole Télévision, the British Channel 5 and the Italian Mediatrade S.p.A. The show was first screened at MIPTV 2002.
Kim Carnes is an American singer and songwriter born and raised in Los Angeles. A veteran writer of many of her own hits, as well as those for numerous other artists, she began her career in 1966 as a member of folk group The New Christy Minstrels, before embarking on a solo career as a songwriter and performer in the early 1970s, playing in local clubs. She also worked for several years as a session background singer with the famed Waters Sisters, Maxine Waters Willard and Julia Waters Tillman, who were later featured in the acclaimed 2013 documentary, 20 Feet from Stardom). In 1971, after she signed her first publishing deal with Jimmy Bowen, Carnes released her debut album Rest on Me. Released in 1975, Carnes' self-titled second album primarily contained self-penned songs, including her first charting single "You're a Part of Me," which reached No. 32 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. In the following year, Carnes released Sailin', produced by the legendary Jerry Wexler, which featured "Love Comes from Unexpected Places." The song won the American Song Festival and the award for Best Composition at the Tokyo Song Festival in 1976.
The Archie Show is an American musical animated sitcom television series produced by Filmation for CBS. Based on the Archie Comics, created by Bob Montana in 1941, The Archie Show aired Saturday mornings on CBS from September 1968 to 1969. The show featured the main characters in the Archie series, including Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Reggie Mantle, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge.
Inspector Gadget is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series Inspector Gadget. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated series, video games, and films.
George Tobin is an American musical artist and record producer who has produced albums for a long list of musical artists including Robert John, Smokey Robinson, Kim Carnes, Kicking Harold, and PC Quest. He is best known, however, for discovering, managing, and producing the teenage singer Tiffany and showcasing her in malls across the country. From the 1980s, Tobin owned a large recording studio complex in North Hollywood, California, which was frequently rented by people making demo tapes and radio commercials. Tiffany was recording a demo at the studio at age 12 when Tobin heard her and decided that she could be a star; soon, he was managing and producing her. Under Tobin's management, Tiffany released two very successful albums, and toured for two years with New Kids on the Block. Although Tiffany separated from Tobin's management in 1989, the two briefly reunited to record the 1993 album Dreams Never Die which Tobin produced. Ultimately, the album only saw release in Asia before Tiffany and Tobin went their separate ways again.
Romance Dance is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Kim Carnes. It was released on June 2, 1980, by EMI America. It became Carnes' first charting album, peaking at no. 57 on the Billboard 200. Nine tracks were produced by George Tobin in association with Mike Piccirillo, and one track was produced by Daniel Moore, who worked with Carnes on her previous album, St. Vincent's Court.
The Playtone Company is an American film and television production company established in 1998 by actor Tom Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman.
"Being with You" is a 1981 song recorded by American singer Smokey Robinson. The song spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart from March to early May 1981 and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, behind "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, his highest charting solo hit on the Billboard pop charts. It also reached number one in the UK Singles Chart.
Cory Charles Lerios is an American pianist and vocalist. He is a founding member of the platinum-record-selling soft rock band Pablo Cruise, and since the mid-1980s he has scored music for film and television.
Shades of Love is a collection of romantic and dramatic made-for-television and direct-to-video films. The films paired well-known leading men with lesser known Canadian actresses. Aired in Canada and sold individually on VHS in North America, the Shades of Love film series was geared towards females who bought romance novels. Each title featured a popular love song that appeared as part of the soundtrack. Some of the later titles were paired with older ones and sold as "A Double Feature Romance".
Being With You is a 1981 album by American singer Smokey Robinson. It is one of the few Smokey Robinson solo albums that have been released in the CD format. It features the million-selling, Gold-certified single title track "Being With You", which hit #1 on the Cash Box Top 100. It just missed the #1 Pop position in Billboard, peaking at #2, making it Robinson's highest-charting solo hit after leaving the Miracles. It was also #1 for five consecutive weeks on the R&B Chart and for two weeks on the UK Singles Chart.
Gary Michael Goetzman is an American film and television producer and actor, and co-founder of the production company Playtone with actor Tom Hanks.
Happy Love is an album by American singer Natalie Cole. Released on July 18, 1981, it was her final album on Capitol Records. The album reached peak positions of number 132 on the Billboard 200 and number 37 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.
Groove Patrol was the eighth and final album by High Inergy. It was unique among their albums because instead of using a plethora of producers, the entire album was produced by the same production team. It featured the song, "He's a Pretender," that was a Top 30 Dance single on Billboard and one of their few recordings to hit the Hot 100 pop charts. Smokey Robinson also appeared on two songs. The song, "So Right" was also the title track of the group's previous album. "Groove Patrol" peaked at #62 on the R&B charts. Although original member Michelle Martin Rumph is pictured with the group on both sides of the album, she left just before the album's release. She was replaced by dancer Pat Douglas who performed with Linda Howard and lead singer Barbara Mitchell on Motown 25 and on Soul Train promoting this album. Shortly after those performances Barbara Mitchell left for a solo career with producer George Tobin and Motown retired the group.
"Pure Smokey" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in 1976 on his debut album for Dark Horse Records, Thirty Three & 1/3. The song was the second of Harrison's musical tributes to American soul singer Smokey Robinson, following "Ooh Baby " in 1975. Harrison frequently cited Robinson as one of his favourite vocalists and songwriters, and Robinson's group the Miracles had similarly influenced the Beatles during the 1960s. In the lyrics to "Pure Smokey", Harrison gives thanks for the gift of Robinson's music, while making a statement regarding the importance of expressing appreciation and gratitude, rather than forgetting to do so and later regretting it. The song title came from the name of Robinson's 1974 album Pure Smokey.
One Taste of Honey is the debut solo album by Janice-Marie Johnson of the American rhythm and blues group A Taste of Honey. It was produced by Mike Piccirillo and Gary Goetzman for Goetzman/Piccirillo Productions in association with Janice–Marie Enterprises Inc. and included the minor R&B hit Love Me Tonight. The album was recorded following the departure of Hazel Payne from A Taste of Honey in 1983 and after the commercial disappointment of their 1982 album, Ladies of the Eighties.
Yes It's You Lady is a 1982 album by American singer Smokey Robinson. As with 1981's Being with You, it was produced by George Tobin in association with Mike Piccirillo and recorded and mixed at Studio Sound Recorders, North Hollywood, California. It was released on the Motown sub-label Tamla.
Old Fashioned Love may refer to: