Alan Paul Wichinsky (born November 23, 1949,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning singer and composer, best known as one of the founding members of the current incarnation of the vocal group

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...

Education

Raised in Newark and

Hillside, New Jersey Hillside is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 21,404, reflecting a decline of 343 (−1.6%) from the 21,747 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in ...

Paul graduated from Hillside High School and attended Newark State College (now

Kean University Kean University () is a public university in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, Union and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Kean University was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey, as th ...

) where he earned a BA in Music Education.Alan Paul profile
The Manhattan Transfer. He received two Honorary Doctorate degrees, one in The Humanities from Kean University and another in Music from

Berklee School of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

.Wilbur Theater The Manhattan Transfer
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Career

He began his professional career on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the age of 12 in the original cast of ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...

'' After college, he returned to Broadway as Teen Angel and Johnny Casino in the original cast of '' Grease'', where he introduced the songs "

Beauty School Dropout "Beauty School Dropout" is a song from the musical '' Grease''. It was written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, and was performed by Frankie Avalon for the film version and soundtrack album Overview In the musical, the song is the showcase piece of ...

" and "Born to Hand Jive". In 2004, he released a solo CD called ''Another Place in Time''. He also provided Dino Spumoni's singing voice on the animated television series ''

Hey Arnold! ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Craig Bartlett. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandpare ...

Awards

As a writer and arranger for The Manhattan Transfer, he earned four Grammy nominations for his compositions "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone" and "Code Of Ethics" and for his vocal arrangements for "Ray’s Rockhouse". He received a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocalist, Male.

Personal life

Paul has been married to writer/model Angela Paul for 30 years; they have one daughter, Arielle.

References

External links

Alan Paul
on The Manhattan Transfer Official Website (requires Flash) 1949 births Living people American male singers The Manhattan Transfer members Kean University alumni American male musical theatre actors Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance Hillside High School (New Jersey) alumni Singers from New Jersey People from Hillside, New Jersey Musicians from Newark, New Jersey {{US-music-bio-stub