Composer Michael Kamen dies at 55

[911SC Pilot]

Im surprised with this crowd on the boards, this hasent been posted yet.

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 18 — Michael Kamen, the Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated composer who fused hard-rock riffs with classical styling in albums for Pink Floyd and provided music for the “Lethal Weapon” and “Die Hard” movies,” has died at age 55.

KAMEN COLLAPSED in his London home Tuesday from an apparent heart attack, according to his Los Angeles-based publicist, Jeff Sanderson.

Kamen collaborated with a wide range of artists, from the London Philharmonic to Aerosmith, Metallica and jazz saxophonist David Sanborn.

Although Kamen was classically trained and studied oboe at New York’s Julliard School, the composer’s distinctive long, curly hair and beard made him look more like a heavy-metal guitarist than a classical conductor.

He was known for combining those two sensibilities. Among his most famous collaborations was on the orchestral arrangements in Pink Floyd’s 1979 album “The Wall.” He also worked with the band on the albums “The Final Cut” and “The Division Bell.”

Kamen’s most recent Grammy win came in 2001, when he shared the award for best rock instrumental performance with Metallica for conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in the metal-rock band’s song “The Call of Ktulu.”

He also won a Grammy in 1996 for best instrumental arrangement with “An American Symphony,” which he derived from his work on the Richard Dreyfuss musical drama “Mr. Holland’s Opus.”

His first Grammy was in 1992 for best pop instrumental performance for the theme music to “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.”

In “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” Dreyfuss portrayed a passionate teacher who sacrificed his own ambitions to engage the imagination of his students through music. Inspired by the movie, Kamen established the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation in 1997 to raise money to make musical instruments available to the nation’s children.

Kamen worked with singer Bryan Adams to help craft the movie theme songs “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” from “Robin Hood” and “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” from “Don Juan DeMarco.” He received Oscar nominations for co-writing those songs.

Kamen also collaborated with such pop, jazz and rock stars as Sting, Rod Stewart, David Bowie and Eric Clapton.

Kamen was born in New York City in 1948. He started learning to play the piano at age 2 and later added the guitar, clarinet and oboe. Among his parents’ friends were the musicians Huddie Ledbetter and Pete Seeger, and he grew up listening to recordings of music by Bach and Gilbert and Sullivan.

Kamen played folk-blues in a jug band while simultaneously studying oboe at Julliard, and later experimented with techno, disco and rock while writing pure classical music for ballet performances.

Kamen is survived by his wife, two daughters, his father and three brothers.

[singpilot]

I am in NYC with Carol Bayer Sager (former Mrs. Burt Bachrach, and former Mrs. Marvin Hamlisch). I fly a lot of people in the music biz, so I watch that stuff. I just didn't think anyone here (except nostatic, who is swamped with the donation thread) would notice!

Seems like a lot of them have been passing lately.

Even Johhny Cash, who I used to see in a little honky tonk in Meiners' Oaks, California when I was a tyke.

[nostatic]

yeah...sad news. Don Gibson died two days ago too.

[911SC Pilot]

Originally posted by singpilot
I am in NYC with Carol Bayer Sager (former Mrs. Burt Bachrach). I fly a lot of people in the music biz, so I watch that stuff. I just didn't think anyone here (except nostatic, who is swamped with the donation thread) would notice!

Seems like a lot of them have been passing lately.

I maybe 35, with long hair, but I do listen to a broad range of music. Kamen was amazing.

[tabs]

D Hattfield (Rightous Brot.), Art Carney, Jack Elam, G Peck, B Hope, K Hepburn, B Ebsen, B Hackett. Just to name the ones off the top of my head. It seems like the old guard in entertainemnt is passing away.

[singpilot]

Tabs!

Well said.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Im a 25 year old death rocker, (for lack of a better term) and I indeed know Kamen's work very well. Sad news indeed.

[tabs]

One of the most endearing movies I have ever seen was Stanley Kramers, It's a Mad Mad Mad World. Virtually every comic, and comic actor from the teens through the 1960's was in that movie. Starting with Buster Keaton, Ben Blue, Zasau Pitts, Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Johnatan Winters, Dick Shawn, Joey Brown and the list goes on and on. Never could a cast like that ever be assembled again. Yet when I see it today I am reminded of how few of those people are left.

As an aside about the movie the directors cut was 4 1/2 hours long ( I think there was about 8 hours of material total) When it was released to the theaters it was around 3 hours long. So somewhere there is an hour and half of material thats never been seen. What a treasure it would be to see the those scenes with those people. Now that is a restoration project that is worth doing.

Hate to get off the subject though.