Harold Hilton
Hilton at the 1911 U.S. Amateur.
Personal information
Full name	Harold Horsfall Hilton
Born	(1869-01-12)12 January 1869 West Kirby, Merseyside, England
Died	5 March 1942(1942-03-05) (aged 73)
Nationality	England
Career
Status	Amateur
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 7)
Masters Tournament	NYF
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	Won: 1892, 1897
PGA Championship	DNP
U.S. Amateur	Won: 1911
British Amateur	Won: 1900, 1901, 1911, 1913
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1978 (member page)

Silas H. Strawn, president of the United States Golf Association, presents the 1911 United States Amateur Championship to Hilton at Apawamis Golf Club.

Harold Horsfall Hilton (12 January 1869 – 5 March 1942) was an English amateur golfer.

Biography[link]

Hilton was born in West Kirby. In 1892, he won The Open Championship at Muirfield,^[1] becoming the second amateur to do so. He won again in 1897 at his home club, Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake. The only other amateurs who have won the Open Championship are John Ball and Bobby Jones.

Hilton also won The Amateur Championship on four occasions, including 1911, when he became the only British player to win the British and U.S. Amateurs in the same year. Hilton retired with a 99-29 record (77.3%) at the The Amateur Championship.

In 1912 he played a major part in designing Ferndown Golf Club in Dorset, now an Open Championship qualifying course and one of the Top 100 courses in the UK.

He died in 1942.^[2]

Legacy[link]

Hilton was also a golf writer. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978.

Tournament wins[link]

• 1892 The Open Championship
• 1893 St. George's Challenge Cup
• 1894 St. George's Challenge Cup
• 1897 The Open Championship
• 1897 Irish Amateur
• 1900 The Amateur Championship
• 1900 Irish Amateur
• 1901 The Amateur Championship
• 1901 Irish Amateur
• 1902 Irish Amateur
• 1911 The Amateur Championship, U.S. Amateur
• 1913 The Amateur Championship

Major championships[link]

Professional wins (2)[link]

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1892	The Open Championship	2 shot deficit	(78-81-72-74=305)	3 strokes	John Ball, Sandy Herd
1897	The Open Championship (2)	3 shot deficit	(80-75-84-75=314)	1 stroke	James Braid

Amateur wins (5)[link]

Year	Championship	Winning Score	Runner-up
1900	The Amateur Championship	8 & 7	James Robb
1901	The Amateur Championship	1 up	John L. Low
1911	The Amateur Championship	4 & 3	E. A. Lassen
1911	U.S. Amateur	37 holes	Fred Herreshoff
1913	The Amateur Championship	6 & 5	Robert Harris

Results timeline[link]

Note: Hilton played in only the British Open, U.S. Amateur, and the British Amateur.

NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Source for British Open: www.opengolf.com

Source for 1887 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, August 4, 1887, pg. 6.

Source for 1889 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 9, 1889, pg. 10.

Source for 1890 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 2, 1890, pg. 8.

Source for 1893 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 10, 1893, pg. 11.

Source for 1894 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, April 27, 1894, pg. 11.

Source for 1895 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 9, 1895, pg. 3.

Source for 1897 British Amateur: The Scotsman, April 29, 1897, pg. 4.

Source for 1898 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1898, pg. 11.

Source for 1899 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1899, pg. 11.

Source for 1902 British Amateur: Golf, June, 1902, pg. 397.

Source for 1903 British Amateur: Golf, July, 1903, pg. 8.

Source for 1904 British Amateur: Golf, July, 1904, pg. 9.

Source for 1905 British Amateur: Golf, June, 1905, pg. 341.

Source for 1906 British Amateur: Golf, July, 1906, pg. 29.

Source for 1907 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 30, 1907, pg. 14.

Source for 1908 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 27, 1908, pg. 14.

Source for 1909 British Amateur: The American Golfer, July, 1909, pg. 12.

Source for 1910 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, June 3, 1910, pg. 10.

Source for 1912 British Amateur: The American Golfer, July, 1912, pg. 199.

Source for 1914 British Amateur: Golf Illustrated, July, 1914, pg. 28.

Source for 1920 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, June 10, 1920, pg. 9.

Source for 1921 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 25, 1921, pg. 6.

Source for 1922 British Amateur: The American Golfer, July 1, 1922, pg. 31.

Source for 1924 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1924, pg. 8.

Source for 1925 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1925, pg. 15.

Source for 1927 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 24, 1927, pg. 10.

Source for U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database

References[link]

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2010)

Nile Rodgers
Nile Rodgers at his Le Crib Studios. (1999)
Background information
Birth name	Nile Gregory Rodgers
Born	(1952-09-19) September 19, 1952 (age 59) New York City, United States
Origin	New York City
Genres	Pop, rock, R&B, disco
Occupations	Producer, song-writer, musician, composer, arranger, guitarist
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1970–present
Labels	Sumthing Else Musicworks
Associated acts	Chic, Sister Sledge, Madonna, Diana Ross, Duran Duran, David Bowie, Adam Lambert
Website	nilerodgers.com (Official Website) Official Facebook Artist Page

Nile Gregory Rodgers (born September 19, 1952, New York City) is an American musician, producer, composer, arranger, and guitarist.

Biography[link]

Rodgers began his career as a session guitarist in New York, touring with the Sesame Street band in his teens, and then working in the house band at Harlem's world famous Apollo Theater, playing behind Screaming Jay Hawkins, Maxine Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ben E. King, Betty Wright, Earl Lewis and the Channels, Parliament Funkadelic, and many other legendary R&B artists.

1970s[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2012)

Nile met bassist Bernard Edwards in 1970. Together they formed The Big Apple Band that backed R&B act New York City ("I’m Doing Fine Now"). The band’s one hit allowed them to tour extensively, even opening for The Jackson 5 on the American leg of their first world tour in 1973. The band dissolved after their second album failed to yield a hit, but Nile and Bernard joined forces with drummer Tony Thompson, and worked and recorded as a Funk Rock band called The Boys, which played numerous gigs up and down the East Coast. Despite major label interest in their demos, they could not get a record deal when the record companies discovered they were black, as they thought that black rock artists would be too hard to promote. The band continued playing mostly local bars.

Formation of Chic[link]

As The Big Apple Band, Rodgers and Edwards worked with Ashford & Simpson, Luther Vandross and many others. Since another New York artist, Walter Murphy, had a band also called The Big Apple Band, Rodgers and Edwards were forced to change their band’s name to avoid confusion. Thus, in 1977 the band was renamed as Chic. Rodgers has stated that a major inspiration was a Roxy Music gig he saw in London: "It was a totally immersive artistic experience – the crowd were fly, the band were fly, the music was textual, they were saying 'come into my world'."^[1]

Between gigs they recorded their first album with then-boss Luther Vandross, who provided background vocals on the group’s early recordings. The band scored numerous top ten hits and helped propel disco to new levels of popularity. Chic’s chart-topping songs "Le Freak", "I Want Your Love", "Everybody Dance", "Dance, Dance, Dance", "My Forbidden Lover", and "Good Times" became club/pop/R&B standards. "Le Freak" is Atlantic Records’ only triple platinum selling single and "Good Times" shot to the No. 1 spot in spite of the "Disco Sucks" backlash in 1979.

The success of Chic's first singles led Atlantic to offer Rodgers and Edwards the opportunity to produce any act on its roster. They chose Sister Sledge, whose 1978 album, We Are Family, peaked at No. 3 and remained on the charts well into 1979. The first two singles, "He's the Greatest Dancer" and the title cut "We Are Family" both reached No. 1 on the R&B chart, and No. 6 and No. 2, respectively on the Pop chart. "He’s the Greatest Dancer" was sampled in 1998 on Will Smith’s "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It".

As the Chic Organization’s tight sound became increasingly sought-after, Rodgers and Edwards began record production with numerous artists, together or individually.

1980s[link]

In 1980 Rodgers and Edwards wrote and produced the album Diana for Diana Ross, yielding the smash hits "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out". Chic’s song "Good Times" played a pivotal role in the explosion of hip hop music, as an interpolation of the song's bass line and the record’s string-section sample was the bedrock of The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", the first multiple-platinum Hip Hop single. The Chic Organization produced the smash hit "Spacer" for French disco act Sheila and B. Devotion and Deborah Harry’s 1981 solo album Koo Koo.

Chic dissolved in 1983 after its final contractual Atlantic album, Believer and Soup For One (a film soundtrack). At that time Rodgers began a solo career producing his first album Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove.

Rodgers produced the 1983 album Talkback, by Canadian New Wave/New Romantic band Spoons, which included the hits "Old Emotions" and "The Rhythm".

Rodgers produced David Bowie's biggest selling album Let's Dance with several hit singles including "China Girl", "Modern Love" and the title track, "Let’s Dance". He produced the single "Original Sin" by INXS. Duran Duran worked extensively with Rodgers after he co-produced their largest selling hit single, "The Reflex" in 1983 and followed up with "The Wild Boys" on their 1984 live album Arena.

That same year he produced Madonna's blockbuster album Like a Virgin, spawning her two signature hits "Material Girl" and the album's title track, "Like a Virgin". He also joined Robert Plant’s platinum selling studio band The Honeydrippers, on the album The Honeydrippers: Volume One. This period sparked Rodgers’ interest in soundtracks, the first of which were Alphabet City, Gremlins ("Out Out" – Peter Gabriel) Against All Odds ("Walk Through the Fire" – Peter Gabriel), That's Dancing ("Invitation to Dance" – Kim Carnes), White Nights (numerous songs) and The Fly ("Help Me" – Bryan Ferry).

In 1985 Rodgers produced albums for Sheena Easton, Jeff Beck, The Thompson Twins, Mick Jagger, and many others, while still finding time to perform at Live Aid. He was awarded No. 1 Singles Producer In the World in Billboard magazine to close out the year.

In 1986, he produced Duran Duran's Notorious album, which yielded a No. 2 title track hit, "Notorious". During a live set, Simon Le Bon introduced Rodgers by saying, "Well, this band went through a difficult time and it might not have made it if it weren't for this gentleman." Rodgers contributed to numerous other projects and appearances with members of the band throughout the 1980s. He also produced albums for Grace Jones, Earth Wind and Fire’s vocalist Phillip Bailey, and Al Jarreau. Rodgers performed on "Higher Love" with Steve Winwood, and records for Cyndi Lauper, Howard Jones, and David Sanborn. He then worked with Peter Gabriel on yet another soundtrack project, Laurie Anderson’s Home of the Brave.

Rodgers formed the short-lived experimental band Outloud in 1987, with David Letterman’s guitarist, composer and vocalist, Felicia Collins, and acclaimed French session musician, producer, composer and keyboardist, Philippe Saisse; they released a single album, Outloud, on Warner Brothers.

In 1988 Rodgers composed his first orchestral soundtrack for the film Coming to America (the second highest grossing film of the year) starring Eddie Murphy. Rodgers followed this with soundtracks for White Hot (the world’s first Hi-Def feature motion picture), and Earth Girls Are Easy. The latter would pair him with The B-52’s. In 1989 he co-produced their comeback multi-platinum album Cosmic Thing, which had the hit singles "Love Shack", "Roam", "Cosmic Thing" and "Deadbeat Club". That year he also produced Workin' Overtime, Diana Ross’ return to Motown, a deal that scored her an executive position at the label, along with releases by the Dan Reed Network, Slam, and Duran Duran’s compilation, Decade, which was appropriately titled. It was the most successful decade for Rodgers and also for many of the artists he worked with.

1990s[link]

In September 1990, Epic Records released the Rodgers produced Vaughan Brothers album, Family Style, shortly after the untimely death of guitar virtuoso Stevie Ray Vaughan. Early in this decade he also produced projects for David Bowie, Eric Clapton, The B-52s, David Lee Roth, Ric Ocasek, The Dan Reed Network, Cathy Dennis, Patty Griffin,^[2] Jimmy Vaughan, The Stray Cats and many other artists, along with continuing soundtrack work on Thelma and Louise, Cool World and The Beavis and Butt-head Experience (co-writer of “Come to Butt-head”). After a 1992 birthday party where Rodgers, Bernard Edwards, Paul Shaffer and Anton Fig played old Chic hits to rapturous response. Rodgers and Edwards reformed a new version of Chic. They recorded a fresh crop of material for the album Chic-Ism and performed live worldwide.

In 1996, Rodgers was honored as the JT Super Producer of the year. He performed with Edwards, Sister Sledge, Steve Winwood, Simon Le Bon and Slash in a series of commemorative concerts in Japan, which provided a career retrospective. Unfortunately, his longtime musical partner and close friend Bernard Edwards died of pneumonia during the trip, a blow that Rodgers took very hard. A year later Rodgers returned to Japan to pay homage to his fallen partner.

He started playing live concerts again while composing and producing music for film soundtracks: Beverly Hills Cop III, Blue Chips, The Flintstones and Feeling Minnesota (working with Bob Dylan) to name but a few.

In 1998, Rodgers founded Sumthing Else Music Works record label and Sumthing Distribution, an independent music label distributor. Sumthing focuses on distributing a fast-growing new genre: video game soundtracks. Its titles include the complete Halo and Resident Evil franchises and other well-known Triple-A game soundtracks like Gears of War and Borderlands.

2000s[link]

Rodgers focused on many soundtrack projects, film and video games alike. Among them were: Rush Hour 2, Snow Dogs and Semi-Pro starring Will Ferrell, who co-wrote the title song “Love Me Sexy” with Rodgers. In 2002–2003 he co-produced Astronaut, with the original five members of Duran Duran.

Also in 2002, Rodgers appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, Red Hot and Riot. The CD, a tribute to the music and positive social message of afropop pioneer, Fela Kuti, featured Rodgers on remakes of Kuti songs, "Water No Get Enemy" and "Zombie (Part Two)." He appeared on "Water No Get Enemy" alongside influential hip hop and R&B artists, D'Angelo, Macy Gray, and The Soultronics and on "Zombie (Part Two)" with famous jazz trumpeteer, Roy Hargrove. All proceeds of the CD were donated to charities working towards greater AIDS awareness.

The September 11 attacks prompted Rodgers to create the We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) to help promote the healing process. To begin, he organized a re-recording of the song he and Edwards wrote for Sister Sledge called "We Are Family" with more than 200 musicians, celebrities, and personalities. Director Spike Lee filmed the "We Are Family" music video and director Danny Schechter filmed a documentary depicting the recording sessions called The Making and Meaning of We Are Family. The film was chosen as a Sundance Film Festival Special Selection in 2002. Rodgers then produced another "We Are Family" music video involving more than 100 beloved children's television characters. The children's music video airs as a public service announcement on Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and PBS stations promoting a common humanity and celebrating the vision of a global family.

Rodgers received the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) NY Chapter's Governor's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Heroes Award. On September 19, 2005, he was honored at the Dance Music Hall of Fame in New York when he was inducted for his many outstanding achievements as a producer, along with former bandmate Bernard Edwards.

Chic has been nominated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame four times – 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Rodgers served as co-musical director for the tribute concert to Ahmet Ertegün at the Montreux Jazz Festival in the summer of 2006. The concert included performances by Chic, Robert Plant, Steve Winwood, Stevie Nicks, Kid Rock, Ben E. King, Chaka Khan, George Duke (co-music director), Paolo Nutini and many other artists who were signed to Ertegün's Atlantic Records. A PBS documentary, Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built, uses footage from this show, as it was one of the last times Ertegün would be captured on video.

2010s[link]

Rodgers autobiography Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny was published in late 2011.^[3]

He continues to tour and produce live events since the reunion of The Chic Organization.

In October 2011, Rodgers worked with singer Adam Lambert in New York on a song entitled "Shady" for Lambert's sophomore album, Trespassing. Both Rodgers and Lambert tweeted enthusiastically about the collaboration, and Rodgers also mentioned it on his blog Planet C.^[4]

In February 2012, Rodgers announced that he is collaborating with electronic band Daft Punk for their latest album, "teasing out their R&B influences".^[5]

Health Issues[link]

In January 2011, Rodgers revealed on his website he is fighting cancer, which was diagnosed in October 2010.^[6]

Selected discography[link]

Chic[link]

• Chic (1977)
• C'est Chic (1978)
• Risqué (1979)
• Real People (1980)
• Take It Off (1981)
• Soup For One (soundtrack, Chic/various artists) (1982)
• Tongue in Chic (1982)
• Believer (1983)
• Chic-Ism (1992)
• Live at the Budokan (1999)

Solo[link]

• Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove (1983)
• B-Movie Matinee (1985)
• Outloud (1987)
• Chic Freak and More Treats (1996)

Official production (partial)[link]

Soundtracks[link]

• Soup For One (1982)
• Alphabet City (1984)
• Coming to America (1988)
• Earth Girls Are Easy (1989)
• White Hot (1989)
• Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
• Blue Chips (1994)
• Public Enemy (1999)
• Rise of Nations (2003) Game
• Halo 2 (2004) Game
• Perfect Dark Zero (2005) Game
• Halo 3 Soundtrack (2007) Game

References[link]

Biographical reference work[link]

• Everybody Dance: Chic and the Politics of Disco, by Daryl Easlea, Helter Skelter Publishing (Oct 24, 2004), ISBN 1-900924-56-0

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nile Rodgers

• Official Site
• Sumthing Distribution
• We Are Family Foundation
• chictribute.com
• Collected Facts

Richard Hilton
Hilton at daughter Nicky's Fashion Show, March 2008
Born	Richard Howard Hilton (1955-08-17) August 17, 1955 (age 56) Los Angeles, California
Alma mater	University of Denver - (B.S., 1978)
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	Kathy Richards (m. 1979)
Children	Paris - (b. 1981) Nicky - (b. 1983) Barron - (b. 1989) Conrad - (b. 1994)
Parents	Barron Hilton Marilyn June Hawley

Richard Howard "Rick" Hilton^[1] (born August 17, 1955) is an American entrepreneur and hotelier. He is the Chairman and co-founder of Hilton & Hyland,^[2] a real estate brokerages firm based in Beverly Hills that specializes in homes and estates in Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills, Bel-Air, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Hollywood Hills, as well as estates from Santa Barbara to San Diego. He is a son of Barron Hilton and grandson of Conrad Hilton, founder of Hilton Hotels. He is also the father of Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton.

Personal life[link]

Hilton was born in Los Angeles, California, the sixth of eight children of Marilyn June (née Hawley) and Barron Hilton, whose father was Hilton Hotel founder Conrad Hilton. In 1978, Rick graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in hotel and restaurant management. His brothers and sisters are: William Barron Hilton, Jr. (born 1948); Hawley Anne Hilton (born 1949); Stephen Michael Hilton (born 1950); David Alan Hilton (born 1952); Sharon Constance Hilton (born 1953); Daniel Kevin Hilton (born 1962); and Ronald Jeffrey Hilton (born 1963).

Hilton married Kathy Avanzino on November 24, 1979. They have four children:

• Paris Hilton (born February 17, 1981)
• Nicholai "Nicky" Hilton (born October 5, 1983)
• Barron Hilton II (born November 7, 1989)
• Conrad Hughes Hilton III (born March 3, 1994)

Career[link]

Hilton joined the New York office of Eastdil Secured, a real estate investment banking firm. He specialized in securing participation of institutional investors and pension funds in various transactions.

In 1984, he formed Hilton Realty Investment to handle commercial real estate. He obtained his broker license on 29 November 1985.^[3]

Hilton and Jeffrey Hyland were issued a corporation license for their real estate firm Hilton & Hyland on 26 July 1993.^[4] Among their developements are Brentwood Country Estates.^[5]

Former Million Dollar Listing cast members Chad Rogers and Josh Altman, Frank Robinson's daughter, Nichelle, Ron Kass's son, Robert, Anne Heche's former husband, Coleman Laffoon, and Richard D. Zanuck's daughter-in-law, Marisa, are among Hilton & Hyland's 106 salespeople.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Hilton International
• Hilton & Hyland

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since September 2008. It includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Tagged since March 2009.

Harold Faltermeyer (born Harald Faltermeier; October 5, 1952) is a German musician, keyboardist, composer and record producer.

He is recognized as one of the composers/producers who best captured the zeitgeist of 1980s synthpop in film scores.^{[citation needed]} He is best known for writing and composing "Axel F" electronic theme for Beverly Hills Cop and the Top Gun Anthem from the soundtrack for Top Gun—both often imitated, highly influential instrumental hits that to some extent practically redefined action film scoring in the '80s.

As a session musician, arranger and producer, Faltermeyer has worked with several international pop stars including Donna Summer, Amanda Lear, Patti LaBelle, Barbra Streisand, Glenn Frey, Blondie, Laura Branigan, La Toya Jackson, Billy Idol, Jennifer Rush, Alexis, Cheap Trick, Sparks, Bob Seger, Chris Thompson, Bonnie Tyler, Valerie Claire and Pet Shop Boys.

He has won two Grammy Awards: the first in 1986 for Best Album of original score written for a motion picture or television special, as a co-writer of the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack; and the second in 1987 for Best Pop Instrumental Performance with guitarist Steve Stevens for Top Gun Anthem from the soundtrack.

Background[link]

Faltermeyer was born in Munich, Germany, the son of Anneliese (née Schmidt), a homemaker, and Hugo Faltermeier, a construction businessman.^[1] Encouraged by his parents (the owners of a civil engineering firm), he started playing piano at the age of 6. At 11, a Nuremberg music professor discovered that Harold was gifted with absolute pitch. His boyhood years combined training in classical music with a developing interest in rock 'n roll. He played organ in a rock combo and studied trumpet and piano at the Munich music academy. While waiting to begin university studies he found work at a recording studio. Within three years he was engineering major classical sessions for the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label. Then in 1978, Giorgio Moroder recognized his promise and brought him to Los Angeles to play keyboards and arrange the soundtrack for the film Midnight Express. Moroder and Faltermeyer continued their collaboration the next decade, producing Donna Summer albums and several hits for various artists. Soon Faltermeyer was earning an international reputation for both precise workmanship and trendsetting creativity in his use of synthesizer technology.^[2]

Soundtrack work[link]

Alongside a busy schedule as a record producer, he became increasingly involved in soundtrack work on Moroder's scores (Midnight Express, American Gigolo and Foxes) and was soon hired as composer in his own right—usually composing, performing and producing the complete score as well as a number of pop songs penned for various artists. Early on he created arguably one of his finest works for 1984's Thief of Hearts—a highly sought after CD with noteworthy electronic scoring and songs for Melissa Manchester, Annabella Lwin, Elizabeth Daily and others. Then came his big break with the landmark Hip hop / Breakdance influenced score for Beverly Hills Cop featuring the worldwide hit, the "Axel F" theme (referred to by Faltermeyer himself as the banana theme^[3] as it was originally written for a specific scene where Detroit policeman Axel Foley gives a pair of Beverly Hills police officers the slip by shoving bananas up their exhaust pipe, causing their car to stall when they try and tail him).

The year after, the Fletch theme expanded on his trademark electronic soundscapes with experimental phase modulated percussion effects woven into the largely analog synth melodies. He also composed the theme song, "Bit by Bit", sung by Stephanie Mills.

The full scores of these films were not released on album. Only a handful of additional score tracks complemented these hits on vinyl: "The Discovery" and "Shoot-out" from Beverly Hills Cop and "Memories" from Top Gun, and only ever as B-sides on singles. However, The Running Man and Kuffs were graced with full score albums and the Thief of Hearts and Fletch scores also received reasonably good coverage on their respective soundtrack albums. In January 2007, La La Land Records finally released a limited edition soundtrack (3000 CD copies) for Tango & Cash.

In 1987 Faltermeyer recorded an album called Harold F with vocal tracks featuring various guest singers plus "Axel F" which appears as a bonus track. The song "Bad Guys" is based on the (otherwise unavailable) main theme for Beverly Hills Cop II.

In 1990 he co-produced the album Behaviour with Pet Shop Boys at his studio near Munich after Neil and Chris were looking for his "sound", being long time fans. The album was released later the same year and is considered by many to be Pet Shop Boys' best album.^{[citation needed]}

Influence[link]

The highly recognizable "Axel F" theme was recorded using five instruments: a Roland Jupiter-8 (lead), a Moog modular synthesizer 55 (bass), a Roland JX-3P (chord stabs), a Yamaha DX7 (bell/marimba), and a LinnDrum drum machine. It has been covered by numerous artists and in May 2005 a re-recording of the classic reached number one in the UK singles chart after being remixed with the Crazy Frog ringtone.

The theme changed the sound of contemporary urban action/comedy, just as the Top Gun Anthem became synonymous with seductive depictions of working class heroes striving for the top (like Bill Conti's "Rocky theme" did 10 years earlier).

The music for 1988's flight simulator computer game F/A-18 Interceptor from Electronic Arts was obviously inspired by the "Top Gun Anthem" and many film scenes, spoof or serious, have been scored in a faux-Top Gun fashion.

In 1991 Sylvester Levay (himself a past Moroder collaborator) faithfully re-created the theme's atmosphere in his Hot Shots! parody score (paradoxically, this score was released on CD by Varese Sarabande while the original Top Gun score has still not been released officially, although in 2006 a bootleg appeared in small circulation among collectors.)

In many ways, Faltermeyer's work on action films during the 1980s presaged the work that Hans Zimmer would embody and perpetuate during the mid 1990s. Faltermeyer's style defined the 1980s style of action scoring, heavily synthesized, very tuneful and rhythmic. Zimmer and his many protégés redefined it for the 1990s and beyond, but embodied the same kind of hybrid textures that Faltermeyer first laid down in the 1980s.

Later career[link]

"After Tango & Cash I made a decision to go back and raise my children in Germany, where I was born", Faltermeyer said in a 2006 interview for the Tango & Cash soundtrack CD. From his Red Deer Studios Estate in Munich, Germany, he has continued producing hit records and soundtracks mainly for the German market.

In 2002, he went to Vienna and wrote a musical with Rainhard Fendrich, Wake Up, which played for nearly two years in Vienna's famous Raimund Theater. The following soundtrack CD employed Copy Control technology and features an orchestral ouverture as well as 16 songs.

"But now I think it's time to come back where I started from." Faltermeyer has become re-associated with his Los Angeles agency, Creative Artists Agency, and is looking forward to getting involved again in Hollywood film scoring. Earlier in 2006, Faltermeyer wrote the in-game soundtrack music for the computer game, Two Worlds.

In late 2009, Faltermeyer was approached by Kevin Smith, director of the action comedy Cop Out starring Bruce Willis, to do the soundtrack score. Faltermeyer's return to scoring was for this film, which opened in February 2010.

Discography[link]

Soundtrack albums[link]

As composer

• Didi – der Doppelgänger (1983) (with Arthur Lauber)
• Thief of Hearts (1984) (with Giorgio Moroder)
• Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
• Fletch (1985)
• Top Gun (1986) (with Giorgio Moroder)
• Fire and Ice (Feuer und Eis (1986) (with Hermann Weindorf, one song)
• Fatal Beauty (1987) (one song)
• Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) (one song)
• The Running Man (1987)
• Starlight Express (1987)
• Formel Eins / Formula One (1986)
• Blaues Blut / Blue Blood (1989) (with Hermann Weindorf)
• Tango & Cash (1989, released 2006)
• Fire, Ice & Dynamite (Feuer, Eis & Dynamit) (1990)
• Kuffs (1992)
• White Magic (1994)
• Zeit der Sehnsucht (1994)
• Asterix Conquers America (1994)
• Frankie (1995)
• Der König von St. Pauli (1997)
• Jack Orlando (1997) (computer game score)
• Wake Up (2002)
• Two Worlds (2007) (computer game score) (Collector's Edition inclusion)
• Cop Out (2010)

As arranger only

• Midnight Express (1978)
• Foxes (1979)
• American Gigolo (1980)

Albums[link]

As songwriter / producer / arranger / musician / remixer

• Amanda Lear: I am a Photograph (1977)
• Suzi Lane: Ooh, La, La (1978)
• Roberta Kelly: Gettin' The Spirit (1978)
• Dee D Jackson: Cosmic Curves (1978)
• Giorgio Moroder and Chris Bennett: Love's in You, Love's in Me (1978)
• Giorgio Moroder: Battlestar Galactica (1978)
• Janis Ian: Night Rains (1979)
• The Sylvers: Disco Fever (1979)
• The Three Degrees: Three D (1979)
• Donna Summer: Bad Girls (1979)
• Donna Summer: The Wanderer (1980)
• Sparks: Terminal Jive (1980)
• Giorgio Moroder: E=mc² (1980)
• Donna Summer: I'm a Rainbow (1981, shelved until 1996)
• Al Corley: Square Rooms (1984)
• Laura Branigan: Self Control (1984)
• Laura Branigan: Hold Me (1985)
• Richard T. Bear: The Runner (1985)
• E. G. Daily: Wildchild (1985)
• Billy Idol: Whiplash Smile (1986)
• Donna Summer: All Systems Go (1987)
• Jennifer Rush: Heart Over Mind (1987)
• Jennifer Rush: Passion (1988)
• Pet Shop Boys: Behaviour (1990)
• Dominoe: The Key (1990)
• Chris Thompson: Beat of Love (1991)
• Falco: Jeanny (Remix) (1991)
• Falco: Emotional (Remix) (1991)
• Chaya: Here's to Miracles (1993)
• Marshall & Alexander: Marshall & Alexander (1998)
• Bonnie Tyler: All in One Voice (1999)

Selected singles[link]

As songwriter / arranger / producer

• Camino De Lobo: "Carmen Disco Suite" (1983)
• Valerie Claire: "I'm a Model (Tonight's the Night)" (1984)
• Valerie Claire: "Shoot Me Gino" (1985)
• John Parr: "Restless Heart (Running Away with You)" (1987) (not available on the Running Man soundtrack album)
• Kathy Joe Daylor: "With Every Beat of My Heart" (1990)

Selected singles including instrumental themes[link]

• Artists United For Nature: "Yes We Can" (1989) (7" & CD including instrumental version)
• Harold Faltermeyer: "Axel F" (1984) (7" including "Shoot Out")
• Harold Faltermeyer: "The Race Is On / Starlight Express" (1987)
• Harold Faltermeyer & Steve Stevens: "Top Gun Anthem" (1986) (including "Memories")
• Glenn Frey: "The Heat Is On" (1984) (7" including "Shoot Out")
• Patti LaBelle: "Stir It Up" (1984) (7" including "The Discovery")
• Marietta: "Fire and Ice" (1986) (7" & 12" including instrumental dub version)
• Chris Thompson: "The Challenge (Face It)" (Wimbledon 1989 theme, 7" & CD including instrumental version)

Solo releases[link]

• Harold F (1987)
• Worldhits (1988?) (Instrumental disco arrangements of various well-known songs)
• Harold Faltermeyer featuring Joe Pizzulo: "Olympic Dreams" (1992) (CD single)

Collections[link]

• Portrait of Harold Faltermeyer: His Greatest Hits (2003 double CD)
• Movie Greats (1986) (only CD to feature the Fletch theme)
• Stephanie Mills: The Collection (1990) (CD including "Bit by Bit (Theme from Fletch)", otherwise LP-only track)

Audio sample[link]

	Harold Faltermeyer – Axel F excerpt noicon An excerpt from Axel F
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

See also[link]

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

Further reading[link]

• Kuffs soundtrack, liner notes (unknown author), Milan 10151-2 (1992 CD)
• Tango & Cash soundtrack, liner notes by Randall D. Larson, La-La Land Records LLLCD 1052 (2006 CD)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Harold Faltermeyer at the Internet Movie Database

This biography of a living person relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (October 2009)

This biography of a living person includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2009)

Hallerin Hilton Hill (born 1964) is an American talk radio host on Newstalk 98.7 WOKI Knoxville, Tennessee, and television talk show host of Anything is Possible on WBIR-TV in Knoxville. For two years (2003-2005) he hosted a separate talk radio show on Nashville's WGFX.

Hill also works as singer/songwriter, author, motivational speaker, and trainer. He wrote "Who Would Imagine a King" along with Mervyn Warren which was recorded by Whitney Houston for the film The Preacher's Wife, and was included on the film's Grammy-nominated soundtrack.

Hill earned his bachelor's degree in communications at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. He resides in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife and children.

External links[link]

• Newstalk 98.7 WOKI

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