Michael Sembello

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

Michael Sembello
Birth nameMichael Andrew Sembello
Born (1954-04-17) April 17, 1954
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresHi-NRG, new wave, synthpop, pop rock, R&B, soul, pop, funk
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active1975–present
LabelsWarner Bros., EMI, A&M, Frontiers
Associated actsStevie Wonder

Sembello was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his 1983 song "Maniac", which he sang and co-wrote. The song reached number one in the United States[1] and featured in the Flashdance movie soundtrack.

He is the brother of the late songwriter and composer Danny Sembello and the late singer songwriter John Sembello of Dino & Sembello fame.

Early life

Sembello was born and raised in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, a western suburb of Philadelphia.[2]

Career

Sembello began his career in music as a session musician, working as a guitarist. By age 17 he was working professionally with Stevie Wonder on electric and acoustic guitar as a studio player on Wonder's Fulfillingness' First Finale.[3] He continued the same year, chosen as one of the core artists who worked on Songs in the Key of Life, an ambitious double album that took two years to create. He was credited as lead and rhythm guitarist on most of the tracks—including the intricate jazz rock lead guitar part of the instrumental "Contusion"[4]—and shares songwriting credit with Wonder on the song "Saturn", according to the album's liner notes.

Sembello wrote a song, "Carousel", which Michael Jackson recorded for his 1982 album Thriller, but it was replaced on the track list by "Human Nature".[5][6] The song was subsequently included as a bonus track on Thriller 25, the 25th-anniversary edition reissue of the album; the full version was later released on iTunes in 2013 as part of The Ultimate Fan Extras Collection.[7]

Sembello released his first solo album, Bossa Nova Hotel, in 1983. The song "Maniac" from that album, which he co-wrote with his keyboardist Dennis Matkosky, was selected for inclusion in the film Flashdance. "Maniac" was the second-best-charting song from the soundtrack (after the title track) and the ninth-biggest single of 1983. That soundtrack won a Grammy Award in 1984 for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.[8]

Sembello produced guitarist Jennifer Batten's first solo album, Above Below and Beyond in 1992.[9] In 1994, he produced Argentine singer Valeria Lynch's album Caravana de Sueños (1994), and co-wrote the title song with Puerto Rican Wilkins Vélez.

Sembello's songs are featured in the films Cocoon, Independence Day, Gremlins, The Monster Squad and Summer Lovers. His song "Gravity" from Cocoon was accompanied by a music video directed by the film's director Ron Howard and included an appearance by Howard in a scripted fictional foreword to the video.

In 2008, Sembello worked with saxophonist Michael Lington on his album Heat, which was nominated as Jazztrax Album of the Year for 2008. Michael and his brother Danny Sembello penned three songs with Lington for the project.

Sembello has recorded his vocals in six languages.[10] In May 2009, the album Moon Island was released on EMI Japan. The album consists of American pop songs given new arrangements with a strong Brazilian influence.

Discography

Studio albums
  • Bossa Nova Hotel (1983) – US #80[11]
  • Without Walls (1986)
  • Caravan of Dreams (1992)
  • Backwards in Time (1997)
  • Ancient Future (2002)

Compilation albums
  • The Lost Years (2003)

Singles
Title Release Peak chart positions Album
US
[1]		 US
Adult
[12]		 US
R&B
[13]		 AUS
[14]		 BEL
(FLA)
[15]		 GER
[16]		 IRE
[17]		 NED
[18]		 NZ
[19]		 SWI
[20]		 UK
[21]
"Summer Lovers" 1982 — — — — — — — — — — — Summer Lovers
"Maniac" (also from Flashdance) 1983 1 34 — 2 11 6 28 10 7 2 43 Bossa Nova Hotel
"Automatic Man" 34 — — 49 — 66 — — — — —
"Talk" 1984 — 25 — — — — — — — — —
"Gremlins...Mega Madness" — — — — — — — — — — — Gremlins
"Gravity" (also from Cocoon) 1985 — — — — — — — — — — — Without Walls
"Tear Down the Walls" 1986 — — — — — — — — — — —
"Wonder Where You Are" — — 79 — — — — — — — —
"Heavy Weather" 1992 — — — — — — — — — — — Caravan of Dreams
"Reach for the Dream" 1995 — — — — — — — — — — — non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

See also

References
  1. "Billboard > Michael Sembello Chart History > Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  2. "Europeans Crazy About Main Line's 'Maniac'". Ardmore-Merion-Wynnewood, PA Patch. November 27, 2012.
  3. Steve Millward (April 9, 2018). Fast Forward: Music And Politics In 1974. Troubador Publishing Ltd. pp. 58–. ISBN 978-1-78589-540-1.
  4. Pat Martino Documentary Michael Sembello Interview, retrieved November 30, 2019
  5. Pirnia, Garin (May 7, 2012). "Human Nature". Rolling Stone.
  6. Wheeler, Brad (May 20, 2014). "The maestro Quincy Jones and his singing Montreal protégé". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  7. Recordings, Legacy (July 2, 2013). "Carousel". PR NewsWire.. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  8. "Jackson Claims 8 Grammys". Times-News. February 29, 1984. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  9. Prato, Greg (December 30, 2003), "Jennifer Batten Biography", Allmusic.com, Rovi Corp, retrieved July 26, 2011
  10. Randolph Michaels (September 2005). Flashbacks to Happiness: Eighties Music Revisited. iUniverse. pp. 160–. ISBN 978-0-595-37007-8.
  11. "Billboard > Michael Sembello Chart History > Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  12. Joel Whitburn. Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top Adult Songs, 1961-2006. Record Research Inc. p. 246. ISBN 0898201691.
  13. "Billboard > Michael Sembello Chart History > Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  14. Australian chart peaks:
  15. "Ultratop > Michael Sembello in Ultratop Vlaanderen" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  16. German singles chart peaks:
  17. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know > Search results for 'Michael Sembello' (from irishcharts.ie)". Imgur.com (original source published by Fireball Media). Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  18. "dutchcharts.nl > Michael Sembello in Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  19. "charts.nz > Michael Sembello in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  20. "hitparade.ch > Michael Sembello in der Schweizer Hitparade" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  21. "Official Charts > Michael Sembello". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
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