Michael Sembello

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Andrew Sembello (born April 17, 1954 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) is an American guitarist , singer and composer .

Life

Michael Sembello began learning guitar at the age of nine and favored jazz as his style. At fourteen he studied with the guitar legends Pat Martino and Chuck Anderson . Shortly before he graduated from high school at the age of seventeen, he was hired by Stevie Wonder for his band and worked as a studio guitarist. He has worked on productions for Sergio Mendes , The Jackson 5 , Stephen Bishop , Randy Crawford , Michael Jackson , The Temptations , Diana Ross , Chaka Khan , Barbra Streisand , Stanley Clarke and Donna Summer, among others .

Seven-language horror film buff Michael Sembello wrote a song about an insane woman who chops off other people's arms, called it Maniac, and hoped to fit it into a horror film. When he material for the Flashdance - Soundtrack should submit, he sent accidentally Maniac with. This song of all things was particularly popular with those responsible, so Sembello wrote a new text suitable for dance films, and its title became part of the soundtrack.

In the wake of the movie's success, Maniac topped the US charts in September 1983 and stayed there for two weeks. He was awarded a Grammy in 1983 for his contribution to the six-time platinum soundtrack . In the same year his debut album as a solo artist appeared under the title Bossa Nova Hotel , on which Maniac was also included.

Subsequently, Sembello worked on several soundtracks for feature films, including Gremlins - Kleine Monster , Corrina, Corrina and Flipper (1996) . He wrote and produced songs for Chaka Khan , George Benson , Gerardo , New Edition , The Temptations and Donna Summer .

In 1992 the album Caravan of Dreams was released , on the West Coast sound mixed with Malaysian and Indonesian mystical grooves . Sembello was particularly successful in Asia . From then on he concentrated on Far Eastern and spiritual music.

Discography

Studio albums

year Title
music label 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US R&B R&B
1983 Bossa Nova Hotel
Warner 29320 		US80 (11 weeks)
US 		R&B53 (6 weeks)
R&B
First published: September 25, 1983
Producer: Phil Ramone

More studio albums

  • 1986: Without Walls ( A&M 5044; release: August 21)
  • 1992: Caravan of Dreams ( Polydor 1252; release: November 11th)
  • 1997: Backwards in Time ( Columbia 80474; released February 21)
  • 2003: The Lost Years (Frontiers 1252; release: July 15th)

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE CH CH UK UK US US R&B R&B Dance Dance
1983 Maniac
Bossa Nova Hotel / Flashdance (Soundtrack) 		DE6 (20 weeks)
DE 		CH2 (13 weeks)
CH 		UK43
silver
silver

(8 weeks)UK 		US1 (22 weeks)
US 		- Dance6 (15 weeks)
Dance
First release: May 1983
from the soundtrack of the film Flashdance
Authors: Michael Sembello, Dennis Matkosky
Automatic Man
Bossa Nova Hotel 		DE66 (3 weeks)
DE 		- - US34 (10 weeks)
US 		- -
First published: September 1983
Authors: Michael Sembello, David Batteau, Danny Sembello
1986 Wonder Where You Are
Without Walls 		- - - - R&B79 (4 weeks)
R&B 		-
First published: August 1986
Authors: Michael Sembello, Danny Sembello

More singles

  • 1982: Summer Lovers (release: July)
  • 1984: Talk (release: February)
  • 1984: Gremlins… Mega Madness (release: May)
  • 1985: Gravity (release: July)
  • 1986: Tear Down the Walls (release: March)
  • 1992: Heavy Weather (release: October 25th)
  • 1995: Reach for the Dream (release: September 21)
  • 2002: Maniac 2002 (Re-Turn feat. Michael Sembello)
  • 2005: Maniac (Sharp Boys feat. Michael Sembello and Megan)

swell

  1. ↑ Imdb: Michael Sembello's contribution to film music
  2. ↑ a b Chart sources: DE CH UK US
  3. ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
  4. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .
  5. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7 .
  6. ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Sembello, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sembello, Michael Andrew (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American guitarist, singer and composer
DATE OF BIRTH April 17, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States