Born in Paterson, New Jersey in 1947, Randy Edelman grew up in nearby Teaneck, where he studied
piano at an early age. He gave recitals locally and after high school graduation he attended the University
of Cincinnati as a pre-med major, soon changing his aim and enrolling at the Cincinnati Music Conservatory,
where he majored in piano and composition. While in Cincinnati, he began freelancing as a music arranger at
James Brown's King Records, and also wrote original music for regional theater programs. Upon graduation,
Edelman headed to New York and signed on as a staff writer at CBS April Blackwood Music. He also began
playing piano in Broadway pit orchestras and continued his interest as a music arranger. He went on the
road as music director for many entertainers, and it was while traveling that Edelman began writing both
his own music and lyrics with an eye toward doing his own albums. It was the beginning of a decade (in the
1970's) of producing and writing his own solo albums.
These solo albums led to Edelman's appearances as the opening solo act to such diverse groups as The
Carpenters, Frank Zappa, and the Mothers of Invention. His songs began being recorded by such popular
recording artists as Barry Manilow ("Weekend in New England"), Olivia Newton-John, Patti LaBelle, The
Carpenters, The 5th Dimension, Jackie DeShannon, and Blood Sweat and Tears. Subsequent success of his
records in the United Kingdom (with several of his songs and albums appearing consistently on the U.K.
charts) led to appearances on the Top of the Pops, concerts at the London Palladium and Drury Lane
Theaters, and tours throughout Europe, Japan and Australia. It was shortly after arriving in Los Angeles
that Edelman became interested in using his background as a classical musician and arranger to pursue his
interest in film scoring. In between his album recording he began scoring several television and feature
films.
He was first known in television series of the 1980's, with
MacGyver being the most notable. Several
children's projects included PBS Wonderworks, The Care Bears album and several award-winning After School
Specials. After dealing in the "short form" of pop songs Edelman found the film work liberating and
decided to devote his full time to pursuing composing music for motion pictures. Over the next dozen years,
Edelman would score over 60 films. He scored the 1988 comedy
Feds for producer Ivan Reitman; marking
the beginning of a lengthy collaboration with Reitman that would include the comedies
Ghostbusters
II,
Kindergarten Cop,
Twins, and the
Beethoven pictures. Aside from his other
successful comedy ventures, including
My Cousin Vinny,
While You Were Sleeping,
The Whole
Nine Yards, and the
Shanghai Noon series, he has also produced popular dramatic music for
Gettysburg,
The Last of the Mohicans, and
Gods and Generals. A long-lasting collaboration with
director Rob Cohen would yield such works as
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story,
Dragonheart,
Daylight,
and
XXX.
Many people hear his themes on NBC television sporting events (from the Olympics to the Super Bowl) for
which he has won an Emmy Award. He wrote themes for the Sports Century documentary series theme on ESPN,
and his original theme for NFL Football on NBC is perhaps his most recognizable stylistic work on the small
screen. On the larger scale, his scores have been performed by such symphonies as Boston Pops, Cincinnati
Pops, Charleston Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, and the London Symphony Orchestra. His score from
The
Last of the Mohicans (along with Trevor Jones) was nominated for both the British Academy Award and the
Golden Globe. He also branched into the amusement park realm and wrote the music for Disney's California
Adventure ride Soarin'. He is married to composer/singer/actress Jackie DeShannon and resides (in his
pajamas, as his official website states) in his Beverly Hills studio.
Randy Edelman in 1977 and 2003
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