Seeking a lucrative career with his talents, Howard expanded his name for publicity purposes to include the full James Newton Howard, partly because it sounded more distinguished and partly because there was already a James Howard in the industry (which causes problems when registering with a professional guild). In the mid-1970's, Howard was contacted by Elton John, and he soon became John's regular keyboardist. The collaboration included album performances through 1981, and eventually included a tour with John in 1986. While on tour, Howard began experimenting with other career avenues. He produced recordings for Cher and Valerie Carter, which led to similar deals with everyone from Barbara Streisand to Randy Newman. Howard had the opportunity to orchestrate and conduct Elton John's live performance in Australia. He became acquinted with the popular rock band Toto, fresh off of their cult score for Dune, and Howard's music is performed by Toto members to this day. His knack for superior string arrangements led to recordings for which he orchestrated and conducted the London Symphony Orchestra.

It was then, in the mid-1980's, that Howard stumbled upon film scoring. His first score was for Head Office in 1986, and while the films he composed for over the next five years were extremely forgettable, Howard's name was beginning to filter to very well known Hollywood directors. His career skyrocketed in 1991, when he was nominated for an Academy Award for The Prince of Tides and also successfully scored Man in the Moon and Grand Canyon. He expanded his work to television, scoring many popular themes. His Emmy nominated theme for E.R. in 1994 has since given him a comfortable financial situation, earning him royalties for each episode. He has won and been nominated for other Emmys and Grammys, and has received Academy Award nominations for The Fugitive, My Best Friend's Wedding, and The Village as well as several songs. Howard's ongoing collaborations feature well-chronicled admiration from directors Ivan Reitman, Kevin Costner, and Lawrence Kasdan. He remains one of the versatile composers in Hollywood today, collaborating with Hans Zimmer in the 2000's to popular results. Residing in the Los Angeles area with his wife and two sons, Howard is a proud dog owner.

James Newton Howard in the late 1990's

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