GiorgioMoroder

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    Hansjoerg Moroder was born in Ortisei, Val Gardena, Italy on April 26, 1940. Giorgio comes from a long line of talented and well known people. Sculptors, painters, writers, true artisans of Italy's rich culture. It was only natural with all those talented genes flowing through his blood that little Giorgio would too become an artist.
     His family was not poor and Giorgio grew up in relative comfort. Between 1953 and 1959 he attended the Artistical School in Ortisei and then the Geometry School in Bolzano. He started playing the guitar at age 16 and by the time of his graduation, at age 19, he was consumed with music. Between 1959 and 1966 he toured Europe in a variety of relatively unknown bands. The exception was his tenure with The Happy Trio, which boasted the fortune of playing for a gala at London's Savoy Hotel as the high point of their resume.
     By 1967 Giorgio had landed in Berlin and decided that touring with bands was not where it was at it. He instead focused on songwriting and demo recording. He had made recordings earlier with his cousin Alex and felt his talents were destined to be best realized in that area. Between 1967 and 1970 he made demos for other artists and began writing for himself and others. He had his first taste of success with Ricky Shayne's "Ich Sprenge Alle Ketten." In 1971 he moved to the more musically rich Munich and continued his writing and formed his first studio in the Arabella House (Musicland Studios). His production with Chicory Tip led to a local smash hit with "Son Of My Father." When released in 1972 in America it bears the banner of Giorgio, credit is given to vocals by Giorgio & Friends. The song became a huge American hit and gave Moroder his first taste of international fame.
     In 1972 Giorgio met fellow aspiring musician Pete Bellotte, with whom he formed a production partnership. The two wrote and produced Giorgio's "Son Of My Father" album, released here in America on ABC-Dunhill Records. For the next few years the two wrote constantly, often recording demos for artists in the hopes of selling their song. For one session they hired a local American girl to sing on a demo they were recording to send to Three Dog Night who recorded for ABC-Dunhill as well. The song didn't sell, but it formed a bond with the singer, Donna Summer, that would change music forever. They began using Donna for session work as well as recording her as an artist. Her first hit for the duo was "Hostage." The success prompted an album, 1974's "Lady Of The Night," but it failed to create a buzz and the trio continued writing, producing and singing. In 1975, Bellotte, Moroder and Donna Summer created the epic song "Love To Love You Baby." The rest is disco history as they say.
     Donna, Giorgio and Pete had major success throughout the 1970's, for more on that leg of Giorgio's career see the Donna Summer biography on my Artists Page D. This page is about Giorgio's work as an artist in his own right.
     Between 1972 and 1976 Giorgio produced, wrote and recorded for such diverse artists as Mireille Mathieu, La Chateau, Peter Maffay, Schloss, Donna Summer and of course...himself!
     Following "Son Of My Father," Giorgio's next release was 1974's "Giorgio's Music." Containing German language recordings of "Good Grief Christina," "Cigarettes, Women And Wine" and "Lonely Lovers Symphony" the album was not licensed to an American label. It did however receive favorable reviews and sales were decent in Germany. Besides writing with Pete Bellote the album features Giorgio collaborating with Michael Holm and Lesley Prost. The ten tracks are A Stop Internation Production by Giorgio. This rare album is a collector's item.
     His 1975 release "Einzelganger" was the first release on the newly formed Oasis/Casablanca label, OCLP-5001. It's also credited as "Einzelganger" by Einzelganger. With tracks like "Why," "Ruin," "Love Song," "Basslich," and "Good Old Germany" Giorgio shows off his handy work with early synthesizers and they are a prelude of his work to come. His next record was the first to establish Giorgio as an artist in his own right in the relatively new disco scene. 1976's "Knights In White Satin" was a brilliant cover of the the Moody Blues classic from 1967. Giorgio wedged "In The Middle Of The Knight" between the cover track on side one to form a brilliant medley. The album also featured his first 12" single "I Wanna Funk With You Tonight."
     During 1976-77 he found time to produce Donna, himself, Roberta Kelly and form/produce the Munich Machine. The Munich Machine was actually his coterie of singers and musicians that he used on his various creations. From this point on Moroder was dominating the club charts either as a producer or an artist. Many believe the rock group Kiss was responsible for Casablanca's success and it's been referred to as the house that Donna built, but truth be known, it was Giorgio that directly impacted Casablanca's early success with his albums and those he produced for the numerous artists that clamoured to work with him.
     His next release was 1977's "From Here To Eternity." A continuous mix of throbing Eurodisco complete with vocoder effects and this statement on the back cover: "Only electronic keyboards were used on this recording." The metallic beats, high-energy impact, and futuristic effects proved that Moroder was ahead of his time. The album was a number one club hit. Other work that year included a cut on the Trax album "Watch Out!." Producing an album for Munich Machine sax player Dino Solera entitled "Classically Elise" and the usual Donna Summer recordings.
     1978 was another banner year for Moroder and his band of merry Munich music makers. First there was a second album for Roberta Kelly, then Donna Summer tracks for her movie debut in "Thank God It's Friday." For which "Last Dance" won an Oscar. The second Munich Machine album, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." This classic consisted of originals, except for the title track, a clever electronic reworking of Procol Harem's 1967 hit. This LP introduced Chris Bennett, a new young talent that Moroder had discovered, who handled lead vocals on most of the cuts. All of the songs feature incessantly repeated hooks, hypnotic rhythms and tight, crafty instrumentation, with synthesizers dominant in the mix. Giorgio followed this with a duet album designed to launch Chris Bennett properly. Though "Love's In You, Love's In Me" scored a widely popular hit with "Love Now, Hurt Later" the album missed it's purpose of launching Chris as a star in her own right.
     Having moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970's it was only natural that Giorgio's creative juices would be drawn to the expression that music and movies could make. His first foray into soundtrack recording was with "Midnight Express" for which he won the Oscar and Golden Globe awards for "Best Original Score." In addition the track "Chase" has become somewhat of a club classic.
     For his next challenge Moroder resurrected the career of girl-group Three Degrees. After their success on Philadelphia International in the early 1970's they vanished from the charts. With "New Dimensions" they began a career high that put them at the top of the club playlists and breathed new life into their concert appearances.
     The prerequisite annual Donna Summer recording followed before Moroder took the expression of sight and sound to another level with his soundtrack album for the wildly popular television show "Battlestar Galactica." The 15:18 masterpiece "Evolution" was an instant club hit. The album eventually became more successful than the show.
     1979 started off with the third and final Munich Machine album "Body Shine." Sharing production duties with Gunter Moll and Stephan Wisnett shows Moroder's increasing restlessness with this area of his recording career. It also probably accounts for the lack of a hit and the poor sales and charting it received. The annual Donna release followed.
     Moroder's next challenge came with the Sylvers. The poor man's version of the Jackson Five, the Sylvers hadn't had a hit since their days with Capitol Records. Unfortunately this, their second Casablanca release, didn't remedy that. "Disco Fever" is one of my all-time favorite overlooked albums. The resulting lack of success can be attributed to the flood of disco releases in 1979.
     It may not have been the most natural match in music history, but the marriage of Sparks' focus on oddball pop songs to the driving disco-trance of Giorgio Moroder produced the duo's best album in years. From the chart hits "Number One Song In Heaven" and "Beat The Clock" to solid album tracks like "La Dolce Vita," "No. 1 In Heaven" surprises by succeeding on an artistic and commercial level despite the fact that neither the Mael brothers nor Moroder tempered their respective idiosyncrasies for the project.
     Next came his album, "Ooh La La" for ultra mysterious Suzi Lane. "Harmony" was a number one club classic but nothing is known about Suzi before or after this treat.
     His next project was his own groundbreaking historic LP "E=Mc2." Over 30 computers were used to create this live digital recording that spawned the hits "Baby Blue" and "I Wanna Rock You."
     Another soundtrack was next. The "Foxes" album was more memorable than the Jodie Foster turkey of a movie. It included "Fly Too High" by Janis Ian, for which he added an additional song to her "Night Rains" album.
     1980 started with another album with the eccentric Mael brothers (Sparks) "Terminal Jive" followed by yet another soundtrack. "American Gigolo" gave punksters Blondie their biggest hit with the thrashing "Call Me."
     The annual Donna Summer release would be their last together for a dozen years, even though they recorded one more album in 1981, it wouldn't be released until 1996. Next up was his turn at producing Vogue model and French disco chanteuse Madleen Kane. "Don't Wanna Lose You" gave her sagging career a boost with 3-12" single hits. Another Three Degrees album "3-D" gave us the memorable hits "Jump The Gun," "Red Light" and "Set Me Free." Another soundtrack followed, "Cat People" gave David Bowie the smash with "Putting Out The Fire With Gasoline." Next was a collaboration with famed pianist Helen St. John resulting in the album "Power To The Piano." The former Brooklyn Dreams singer Joe Esposito teamed with Giorgio for "Solitary Men." Oddly enough Giorgio never produced Brooklyn Dreams outside of their performance on Donna's "MacArthur Park Suite."
     In the early 1980's Giorgio was split between L.A. and a place he kept in New York's Greewich Village. He recorded on both coasts but in N.Y. he had started to dabble in art and sculpting and kept a studio just for that purpose. In 1983 he moved his atelier to L.A. and had his first exhibition of his neon works in the Neil Bogart La Cienega Gallery.
     On the recording scene he scored the film "Flashdance" which gave him his second Oscar for "Best Original Song" and two more Golden Globes. His next two projects paled in comparison, France Joli's "Attitude" and the "Superman-3" soundtrack failed to produce any winners for the charts or the clubs. The Irene Cara album "What A Feelin'" however spawned three more charters. A one-off with cult-priestess Nina Hagen gave her the smash "Zarah" and Debbie Harry scored "Rush Rush" from yet another Giorgio produced soundtrack, "Scarface." He closed out the year with another soundtrack. "Deadline U.S.A." (Shalamar) was the highlight of an otherwise dreadful movie. The "D.C. Cab" album undoubtedly sold more than the movie.
     1984 started with Moroders work with Terri Nunn and Berlin. The "Love Life" album spawned a top ten club hit with "No More Words" and foreshadowed their biggest success as a team. Next was a couple of tracks for Janet Jackson' sophmore release "Dream Street." However it was brother Marlon that produced the hit, "Don't Stand Another Chance." Giorgio did produce the Limahl-sung "Never Ending Story" for the same named film, which was a monster club hit as well. Another album with Helen St. John, "Take Your Passion," failed to ignite an American interest and would be Giorgio's last attempt for her. Two more soundtracks followed, both producing massive club charters. "Electric Dreams" sung by Phillip Oakley (Human League) and "Thief Of Hearts" sung Melissa Manchester, her last hit of any mention.
     In 1984, Moroder courted controversy from film purists for his contemporary electro-pop score to the restored release of Fritz Lang's silent-era masterpiece "Metropolis." The soundtrack spawned several club hits most notably Freddie Mercury's "Love Kills." Giorgio then produced Paul Engemann's "Reach Out" for inclusion in the "Official Olympic Album L.A.-1984."
     1985 began with a double-album greatest hits package enititled "From Here To Eternity....And Back." It featured a stunning remix of "Chase" from his first soundtrack work "Midnight Express." Having scored soundtrack hits with Phillip Oakey (Electric Dreams) and Limahl (Never Ending Story) he produced full fledged albums for both. "Phillip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder" and "Colour All My Days" featured their respective soundtrack hits. Two one-shots for the soundtracks of "Quicksilver" and "American Anthem" followed before his next major project.
     One of the best-selling soundtrack albums of all time, "Top Gun" remains a quintessential artifact of the mid-1980s � the collection's smash hits (including Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" and Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone") still define the bombastic, melodramatic sound that dominated the pop charts of the era. Giorgio picked his third Oscar for "Best Original Song" and forth Golden Globe award.
    "Flaunt It" Giorgio's album for Sigue Sigue Sputnik was unlike anything heard in the 30-plus years of rock & roll. Gunfire and explosions, bits of Mozart, then mad Thunder-like guitar breaks, backwards vocals, and tons of reverb all add up to one of Moroder's most eclectic productions ever. The album sold nicely and introduced the group to the world at large. Giorgio finished out 1986 by having a widely acclaimed showing of his artwork at the Third Street Gallery in L.A.
     Next up was producing tracks for Amii Stewart and co-writing a song for Italian star Adriano Celentano before taking on three soundtracks in a row. "Over The Top" had Moroder producing Eddie Money, Sammy Hagar and Frank Stallone. "Beverly Hills Cop-2" allowed Giorgio to produce Cory Hart and Jermaine Jackson while "Summer School" brought Moroder back together with Paul Engemann for one track.
    "Big Trouble" is a female band formed by Moroder. In the tradition of the Monkees, Big Trouble was a female pop group put together by TV executive Fred Silverman. Bobbi Eakes (Miss Georgia 1983) was the lead singer. Big Trouble had one pop chart entry, "Crazy World," in 1987.
     1988 started with Giorgio designing the 16-cylinder "Cizeta Moroder Super Sport Auto," together with Claudio Zampolli and Marcello Gandini. It won First Prize at the Philadelphia Design Contest. Back to the studios for more soundtrack recordings. Two tracks for "Rambo-3," then producing Jennifer Rush and Cheap Trick for "Another Way" and then Joe Pizullo and Koreana for "Mamba." The work for Koreana on the soundtrack led to two full albums with them "Hand In Hand" (written for the 1988 Seoul Korea Olympics) and "Living For Love."
     1989 was a year of rest for Giorgio. He wrote two tracks for Italian singer Sabrina Salerno and did the soundtrack to one film, "Let It Ride." The rest of the time was spent vacationing, painting, sculpting and fulfilling his other creative urges.
     1990 started with Giorgio composing "To Be Number One" for the World Cup Soccer games in Italy. An album released under the banner of Novemberkinder, "Grenzenlos," found Moroder working with another disco legend Michael Kunze of Silver Convention fame. Then Moroder produced two songs for Mr. Big to be used in the soundtrack of "Navy Seals." He then produced a single, recorded by Japanese singer Seiko Matsuda, "Halfway To Heaven" that went to number one in Japan. Two additional tracks for Sabrina and the soundtrack to "Never Ending Story-2" came next. The most important thing Giorgio did in 1990 was on July 14th he married the love of his life Francisca Gutierrez. They later had a son, Alex together.
     Perhaps enjoying his new found married life Giorgio's only project in 1991 was writing, producing, performing and remixing several tracks on Bonnie Tyler's "Bitterblue" album. As the 1990's unfolded Giorgio spent less time in the recording studio and devoted more time to his family and his art. Notable recordings in the 1990's include: Olivia-Newton John "I Need Love" (1992) and "Carry On" with Donna Summer (1992) for which he received his third Grammy Award. On the art side: in 1993 he made a computer art film that won two First Prizes at the Palm Springs Film Festival. Exhibits the "Lips" series (paintings and videos) at the Dual Woche, Hamburg (1995). Exhibition at the Chris August Work Shop in San Obisbo, California. Exhibition with Buchowsky/Michael Monfort paintings at the Elm's Lester Painting Rooms in London (1996). Exhibition at the Galerie Leidel in Munich (1997). Prepares the Giorgio Moroder Multi Art Park in Blankenburg Harz (1999).
     Although Giorgio seems to have moved into the art field and his musical contributions have been less and less towards the end of the millenium I have no doubts that we'll hear (and see) more of Moroder in the new millenium. After all when you have that much talent you can't keep it to yourself........