William Harold Wheeler Jr. (born July 14, 1943), better known as Harold Wheeler, is an American orchestrator, composer, conductor, arranger, record producer, and music director. He has received numerous

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

and

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

nominations for orchestration, and won the 2003

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. This category was eliminated with the 2011� ...

for ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

''.

Career

Wheeler first worked in the 1960s as the musical director for

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

making him the first African-American MD of a major pop act. He also was doing arranging for

Tony Orlando Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

and

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

during that time. He was named Music Conductor for the

76th Academy Awards The 76th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2003 and took place on February 29, 2004, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 ...

, becoming only the second African-American conductor in the Academy's history. He also was a music arranger on the

79th Academy Awards The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2006 and took place February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...

. Wheeler was one of two conductors (the others being fellow composers

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

and

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both '' Late ...

) during the closing ceremonies of the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. Wheeler was the musical director on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Network show, ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'' for the show's first 17 seasons. In January 2014, it was announced that former ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' bandleader

Ray Chew Ray Chew is an American musician who specializes in keyboards and contemporary and orchestral arranging. He is the music director of ABC's Dancing with the Stars (2014–present). Chew was music director for Fox's American Idol from 2010 to 20 ...

would take over as musical director for the show's 18th season.

Awards

In 2008, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the

NAACP Theatre Awards The NAACP Theatre Awards are a NAACP member voted awards started in 1991 and presented annually by the Beverly Hills-Hollywood branch of the NAACP to honor outstanding people of color in theater. The ceremonies usually take place in the Los Angele ...

In 2019, he received a Special

for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater.

Personal

Harold was born in St Louis, Missouri. He attended

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, where he met his future wife- television, Broadway, and movie performer

Hattie Winston Hattie Mae Winston (born March 3, 1945) is an American film, television and Broadway actress and voice artist. She is known for her roles as Margaret Wyborn on ''Becker'', Lucy Carmichael in ''Rugrats'', ''The Rugrats Movie'', and the spin off se ...

Stage

* '' Promises, Promises'' (1968) – Musical Director, dance arrangements * '' Coco'' (1969) – Dance arrangements * ''

Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death ''Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death (Tunes from Blackness)'' is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Melvin Van Peebles. The musical contains some material also on three of Van Peebles' albums, ''Brer Soul'', '' Ain't Supposed to Die ...

'' (1971) – Musical direction and supervision * ''

Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tent ...

'' (1971) – Musical Supervisor * '' Don't Play Us Cheap!'' (1972) – Musical Supervisor * ''

Love For Love ''Love for Love'' is a Restoration comedy written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered on 30 April 1695 at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. Staged by Thomas Betterton's company the original cast included Betterton as Valenti ...

'' (1974) – featuring songs by * ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown (writer), William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's childr ...

'' (1975) – music orchestrated by * '' Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music'' (1981) – Musical Director * ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,Gro ...

'' (1981) – Musical Supervisor, music orchestrated by * '' Little Me'' (1982) – music orchestrated by * ''

The Tap Dance Kid ''The Tap Dance Kid'' is a musical based on the novel ''Nobody's Family is Going to Change'' by Louise Fitzhugh. It was written by Charles Blackwell with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics by Robert Lorick. Synopsis Act I William Sheridan, a su ...

'' (1983) – Musical Supervisor, music arranged by, vocal arrangements by * ''

'' (1984) – music orchestrated by * ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' (1984) – additional orchestrations by * ''

Leader of the Pack "Leader of the Pack" is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich. It was a number one pop hit in 1964 for the American girl group the Shangri-Las. The single is one of the group's best known songs as well as a ...

'' (1985) – opening dance sequence composed and orchestrated by * ''

Grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and the centre contour of the blade's back (me ...

'' (1985) – additional orchestrations by * ''

'' (1987) – Musical Supervisor, music orchestrated by * ''

Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...

'' (1988) – Musical Supervisor, music orchestrated by * ''Tommy Tune Tonite!'' (1992) – arrangements and/or orchestrations by * '' The Life'' (1997) – music orchestrated by * ''

Side Show In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers ...

'' (1997) – music orchestrated by * '' Little Me'' (1998) – music orchestrated by * ''

Swing! ''Swing!'' is a musical conceived by Paul Kelly with music by various artists. It celebrates the music of the Swing era of jazz (1930s–1946), including many well-known tunes by artists like Duke Ellington, William "Count" Basie, Benny Goodma ...

'' (1999) – music orchestrated by * ''

The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is s ...

'' (2000) – music orchestrated by * ''

'' (2002) – music orchestrated by * ''

Never Gonna Dance ''Never Gonna Dance'' is a Broadway musical featuring the music of Jerome Kern. The musical was based on the 1936 Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film '' Swing Time''. Lyricists include Oscar Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin, P. G. Wodehouse, Bernard Dougal ...

'' (2003) – music orchestrated by * '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' (2005) – music orchestrated by * ''

Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

'' (2005) – music orchestrated by * '' Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway'' (2011) – arrangements and orchestrations by * ''

'' (2014) – music orchestrated by * '' Ain't Too Proud'' (2019) – music orchestrated by

Partial discography

– ''

Here Comes the Sun "Here Comes the Sun" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. It was written by George Harrison and is one of his best-known compositions. Harrison wrote the song in early 1969 at the country house o ...

'' (1971) – Arranger, conductor & producer *

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

– ''

Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. ''Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. It was produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos from June through October 1972 at the budget-priced 914 Sound Studios. The album was r ...

'' (1973) – Piano on "

Blinded By the Light "Blinded by the Light" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, a which first appeared on his 1973 debut album '' Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' A cover by British rock band Manfred Mann's Earth Band reached number one on the ...

" and "

Spirit In The Night "Spirit in the Night" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer/songwriter Bruce Springsteen for his debut album '' Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' (1973). It was also the second single released from the album. A cover vers ...

" * ''

'' (1985) – Additional orchestrations * The Harold Wheeler Consort – ''Black Cream'' (1975) RCA BGL1-0849 – Producer, arranger, piano/keyboards/organ/Moog, composer credit for tracks "Black Cream" and "Color Me Soul" *

Meco Domenico Monardo (born November 29, 1939), known as Meco, is an American record producer and musician, as well as the name of his band or production team. Meco is best known for his 1977 space disco version of the ''Star Wars'' theme from his ...

– '' Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk'' (1977) – arranger & producer * ''

'' (1978) – soundtrack * '' Straight Out of Brooklyn'' (1991) – original music * ''

Mississippi Rising ''Mississippi Rising - The Concert in Support of the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Efforts (2005)'' telethon (2 DVD set) was quickly put together after Hurricane Katrina had devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States between 23 and 30 August 200 ...

'' (2005) – Arranger and conductor

As sideman

With

Bernard Purdie Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdie ...

*''

Purdie Good! ''Purdie Good!'' is an album led by jazz drummer Bernard Purdie which was recorded for the Prestige label in 1971.

'' (Prestige, 1971) *''

Stand by Me (Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get) ''Stand By Me (Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get)'' is an album led by jazz drummer Bernard Purdie which was recorded for the Mega label in 1971 and released on their Flying Dutchman Series.

'' (Mega, 1971)

References

External links

* * *
thehistorymakers.com/biographyAll Music GuideHarold Wheeler Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2021) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Harold 1943 births Living people African-American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American male composers 21st-century American composers Record producers from Missouri American music arrangers Musicians from St. Louis Classical musicians from Missouri Special Tony Award recipients 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people