Gunnar Madsen is an American composer and vocalist. He was the founder and leader of

The Bobs The Bobs were an a cappella vocal group founded in San Francisco, California in the early 1980s. They moved to Seattle, Washington and were active recording and touring throughout the United States, Canada and Europe until their farewell show a ...

before leaving the group in 1991, and has released several albums as a solo artist since then.

Biography

Madsen learned to play guitar as a teenager and studied classical piano at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

. He worked for a

singing telegram A singing telegram is a message that is delivered by an artist in a musical form. Singing telegrams are historically linked to normal telegrams, but tend to be humorous. Sometimes the artist is in costume or formal clothing. Western Union, the Am ...

corporation before founding the '' a cappella'' ensemble

in 1981. Among other successes, Madsen was nominated for a

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 pr ...

for their arrangement of " Helter Skelter" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

. Madsen left The Bobs in 1991 and began writing

video game music Video game music (or VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led t ...

for the Atari Coin-Op games. He began releasing albums as a solo artist in 1997 and has released eight as of 2021. His efforts include three children's records (all recipients of Parents' Choice Gold Awards), three recordings of instrumental compositions. In 2021 he began releasing electronic music under the names MCMGM and markeprang. The title song from his CD '' Old Mr. Mackle Hackle'' was adapted by Madsen into a children's book for

Little, Brown & Co Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

. He provided the singing voice for

Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned nom ...

's portrayal of Sammy Davis, Jr. in the HBO film ''

The Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business frie ...

'', and arranged music for and appeared in the 2006

Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

film ''

The Break-Up ''The Break-Up'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peyton Reed, starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston. It was written by Jay Lavender and Jeremy Garelick from a story by them and Vaughn, and produced by Universal Pict ...

''. His music has also been featured in HBO's ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United Stat ...

'' and the films '' Breaking the Rules'' and '' Just a Kiss''. A musical, "The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World", based on the life story of

The Shaggs The Shaggs were an American rock band formed in Fremont, New Hampshire, in 1965. The band was composed of the sisters Dorothy "Dot" Wiggin (vocals and lead guitar), Betty Wiggin (vocals and rhythm guitar), Helen Wiggin (drums) and, later, Rac ...

(co-written with Joy Gregory) was co-produced Off-Broadway by the New York Theatre Workshop and

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

in 2011, and was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award and two Drama Desk Awards.

Solo discography

*''6 Songs for Children'' (1991) *''Spinning World: 13 Ways of Looking at a Waltz'' (1997) *''The Power of a Hat'' (1998) *''Old Mr. Mackle Hackle'' (1999) *''Ants in My Pants'' (2001) *''The Fall of Troy'' (2006) *''I'm Growing'' (2008) *''Two Hands'' (2009) *''I Am Your Food'' (2018) *''On The Floor (as MCMGM)'' (2021) *''Transitions (as markeprang)'' (2021)

References

*Jason Ankeny, Gunnar Madsenat Allmusic *New York Time

*IMD

*BroadwayWorld.co

External links

Gunnar Madsen Website
includes
biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madsen, Gunnar American male composers 21st-century American composers Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) University of California, Berkeley alumni 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers