Paul Zaza | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation | Songwriter |
Paul Zaza (born 1952) is a Canadian Genie Award-winning film score and songwriter who worked frequently with director Bob Clark and with fellow composer Carl Zittrer. He has composed scores for more than 100 films. [1]
Originally from Toronto, Zaza trained as a classical pianist, graduating from the Royal Conservatory of Music. [2]
In 1980 Zaza won the Genie Award for Best Music Score alongside Carl Zittrer for their work on Murder by Decree . [3] That year the pair teamed up again to write the score for the film Prom Night. [4]
In 1981 Zaza composed the score for the slasher film My Bloody Valentine; [5] in 1983 he once more collaborated with Zittrer to write the score for the well-known film A Christmas Story, which was released as an album much later in 2009. [6]
He was nominated for the same award in 1985 for Isaac Littlefeathers. In 1987 he received a Genie nomination for Best Original Song alongside Peter Simpson for the film Bullies . [7] In contrast, in 1986 he was nominated for the Razzie Award for Worst Musical Score for the film Turk 182 . He also composed the theme music for Mr. Wizard's World .
Zaza wrote the new television theme song and composed an all-new soundtrack for the 1993 Canadian English dub of Osamu Tezuka's anime, Kimba the White Lion in Toronto, originally released in 1965 in Japan.
In 1978, the Longo Brothers had a single " Sun Side Up" bw "Looking For Love" released on People City Music PCM 123. Zaza produced the single. He was also the arranger on their single, "Manhattan" bw "Nightwalk". [8] [9]
With Frank Longo and Larry Longo, he played on the Parry Music Library releases Orchestral Drama 2 PML 141, Country Moods PML 144 and High Style PML 147 albums. [10]
The Longo Brothers had a single "City Motions" (Featuring Moe Koffman) in the CanCon Top 10 Adult Contemporary chart for a number of weeks in 1984. [11] [12] [13]
Zaza produced her single, "Don't Send Me Roses (Dear Abby)" and album. [14] The single did quite well. For the week ending October 8, the single had entered the RPM Country 50 Singles chart at No. 50 and was at No. 24 on the RPM Contemporary Adult chart. [15] [16] The song peaked at No. 13 on the tenth week in the RPM Contemporary Adult chart on November 26. [17] [18] It also peaked on that date at No. 22 on its 8th week in the RPM Country Singles chart. [19] [20] He produced her next single, "Let's Not Waste Another Heartbeat" at his Toronto studio. [21] The song spent a total of eleven weeks in the chart, it peaked at No. 12 on June 2. [22] [23]
"All Night Long (All Night)" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie from his second solo album, Can't Slow Down (1983). The song combined Richie's soulful Commodores style with Caribbean influences. The single reached number one on three Billboard charts (pop, R&B and adult contemporary). In the UK, it peaked at number two on the singles chart.
Morris "Moe" Koffman, OC was a Canadian jazz saxophonist and flautist, as well as composer and arranger. During a career spanning from the 1950s to the 2000s, Koffman was one of Canada's most prolific musicians, working variously in clubs and sessions and releasing 30 albums. With his 1957 record Cool and Hot Sax on the New York–based Jubilee label, Koffman became one of the first Canadian jazz musicians to record a full-length album. Koffman was also a long-time member of Rob McConnell's Boss Brass.
Hugh Hagood Hardy, was a Canadian composer, pianist, and vibraphonist. He played mainly jazz and easy listening music. He is best known for the 1975 single, "The Homecoming" from his album of the same name, and for his soundtrack to the Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea films.
"Angel of the Morning" is a popular song written by Chip Taylor, originally recorded by Evie Sands but which first charted with a version by Merrilee Rush. The song has been covered by many artists including Chrissie Hynde, Dusty Springfield, P. P. Arnold, Connie Eaton, Mary Mason, Guys 'n' Dolls, Melba Montgomery, Olivia Newton-John and most recognizably by Juice Newton.
Barbra Streisand is an American actress and singer. Her discography consists of 117 singles, 36 studio albums, 12 compilations, 11 live albums, and 15 soundtracks. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Streisand is the second-best-selling female album artist in the United States with 68.5 million certified albums in the country, and a career total of 150 million making her one of the best-selling music artists
"We've Got Tonite" is a song written by American rock music artist Bob Seger, from his album Stranger in Town (1978). The single record charted twice for Seger, and was developed from a prior song that he had written. Further versions charted in 1983 for Kenny Rogers as a duet with Sheena Easton, and again in 2002 for Ronan Keating.
Lionel Richie is an American R&B and pop singer, who has released 10 studio albums, three live albums, and seven compilation albums. Formerly the lead vocalist of The Commodores, Richie began a solo career in the early 1980s and has released over 40 singles, five of which became number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Canadian singer Celine Dion has released 137 singles in both English and French discography as a lead artist. According to Billboard magazine, Dion is the world's best-selling contemporary female artist of all time. As of 2021, she has reportedly sold around 200 to 250 million records worldwide. Referred to as the "Queen of Power Ballads", Dion has released a string of worldwide hits, with "My Heart Will Go On" being her career's biggest hit, with estimated physical sales of over 18 million worldwide, making it the 2nd best-selling physical single by a woman in history. It reached over 117 million radio impressions during its peak, becoming the most-played radio hit in history and became the best-selling single of 1998 worldwide. "Because You Loved Me" is her biggest hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, spending six weeks atop the chart and selling six million copies in its first six months of availability worldwide. "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" was the 4th biggest hit of the 1990s in France and has sold over four million copies worldwide.
The following is a comprehensive discography of John Mellencamp, an American singer-songwriter. During Mellencamp's career in the recording industry, he has released 24 studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, and 71 singles.
This is a complete discography of recording artist Sheena Easton, a Scottish singer with a discography that consists of 15 studio albums and 16 compilation albums. Easton released her debut album, Take My Time, in 1980, and the single "Morning Train " reached number 12 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 in 1981. Her success continued primarily through the 1980s, where Easton garnered 5 Gold and 1 Platinum album certifications in the United States, with 7 Gold singles and 20 US Top 40 singles as well as 7 US Top Ten singles. Whilst her success was somewhat limited in her native Scotland and the United Kingdom, she scored one number one album in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1981 and 1991.
"The Way He Makes Me Feel" is a popular song from 1983 performed by Barbra Streisand. The song is featured in the film adaptation of the play Yentl, in which Streisand starred and sang most of the music. The lyrics were written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, with music by Michel Legrand.
"Running with the Night" is the second single released from American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie's multi-platinum and Grammy Award-winning 1983 album, Can't Slow Down. Richie co-wrote the song with songwriter Cynthia Weil and co-produced it with James Anthony Carmichael.
"Breaking Us in Two" is a song by British musician Joe Jackson. It was the third of three charting singles from his 1982 LP, Night and Day.
Prom Night: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album of the 1980 Canadian-American psychological horror-thriller slasher film Prom Night.
Tapestry was an early 1970s Canadian musical group fronted by singers Jack Winters, Heather Woodburn and Judy Harmon aka Judi Jensen. They released several singles and had a hit with "The Music Doesn't Seem to Be Going Anywhere". Some of their other singles also charted.
Yvonne Murray is a Canadian singer who has had a hit in 1983 with "Don't Send Me Roses " which did well on two Canadian charts. She had another hit the following year with "Let's Not Waste Another Heartbeat". She has sung on multiple film soundtracks. She sang the title song "Never Far Apart" for the film, Melanie and has worked as an actress. She has worked with Paul Zaza on multiple projects. With Zaza she sang the theme to Kimba the White Lion . She also did the voice for Kimba.
"Don't Send Me Roses (Dear Abby)" was a hit single for Irish born Toronto-based singer Yvonne Murray. Produced by Paul Zaza the single brought Murray national recognition, registering in two charts.
"Let's Not Waste Another Heartbeat" was the second hit single for Yvonne Murray. It was the follow-up to her previous hit single in 1983, "Don't Send Me Roses ".
The Longo Brothers were a Canadian act who had some national hits during the 1970s. Other artists have also recorded their compositions. They have collaborated with Moe Koffman, Paul Zaza and Yvonne Murray.
Jim Mancel was a Canadian singer, producer, composer and arranger who had several hits from the early 1970s and another in the early 1980s. He has recorded for the Polydor, Apex, and Quality labels, and Quality's subsidiary, Celebration. His hits include, "I Could Give You the World" which was a hit on the MAPL chart in 1970, and his 1975 single "Let the Phone Ring" which was also commercially successful in Canada. He hit the adult contemporary chart in 1977 with "Just Be Yourself". He was also a member of the Canadian band, Chester who had a hit in 1973 with "Make My Life a Little Bit Brighter".