John Joseph Capek is a composer, arranger, keyboardist, producer.

Biography

John Capek was born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

(now

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

). on 27 November 1947. He is the son of Fred Capek, a concert pianist and Mechanical Engineer, and Irene Capek, both survivors of Terezin and the Auschwitz concentration camp. Capek moved with his family to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia at the age of three. His father was his first piano teacher and showed him the works of Czech composers

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...

and Antonín Dvorak, which he was playing by the age of three. Capek’s wife Batsheva, born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, is a singer and guitar player, known for her Yiddish and Hebrew songs.Batsheva hits high note at GOP
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Career

Capek studied piano as a child, then later, influenced by Little Richard,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

and

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

, co-founded

Carson Carson may refer to: People *Carson (surname), people with the surname *Carson (given name), people with the given name Places ;In the United States * Carson, California, a city * Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois *Carson, Iowa, a city * ...

, one of Australia's premier blues bands. He graduated as a Chemical Engineer but left this job soon after to pursue his passion of music. Capek then played in the bands

King Harvest King Harvest was a 1970s French- American rock band who formed initially in Ithaca, New York, but broke up and reformed in Paris where they began recording their first songs. They are known for their 1972 hit single "Dancing in the Moonlight ...

, Flite, and with Australian music artists

Doug Parkinson Douglas John Parkinson (30 October 1946 – 15 March 2021) was an Australian pop and rock singer. He led the bands Strings and Things/A Sound (1965), the Questions (1966–1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus (1968–1970, 1971), Fanny Adams (1970� ...

and Renee Geyer. In 1973 Capek emigrated to Canada. In

Capek played keyboards and arranged songs for

Marc Jordan Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

, Ian Thomas,

Dan Hill Daniel Grafton Hill IV (born 3 June 1954) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major international hits with his songs " Sometimes When We Touch" and "Can't We Try", a duet with Vonda Shepard, as well as a number of other charti ...

and

Dianne Brooks Gwendolyn Dianne Brooks (January 3, 1939 – April 29, 2005), was a soul, r&b and jazz singer from New Jersey. With the Three Playmates, Brooks recorded several songs in 1957. She moved to Toronto shortly thereafter. Her part in Canadian soul m ...

, and produced hit recordings for Hill,

Ken Tobias Kenneth Wayne Paul Tobias (born July 25, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He is noted for penning the 1971 chart-topping hit for The Bells, " Stay Awhile", and for several top-selling recordings of his own. Early career Born and raised ...

The Good Brothers The Good Brothers are a Canadian country, bluegrass and folk music group originating from Richmond Hill, Ontario. The band's core members are Brian Good (guitar), his twin brother Bruce Good (autoharp) and younger brother Larry Good (banjo). B ...

, the

Downchild Blues Band The Downchild Blues Band is a Canadian blues band, described by one reviewer as "the premier blues band in Canada". The band is still commonly known as the Downchild Blues Band, though the actual band name was shortened to "Downchild" in the ea ...

and

Amy Sky Amy Sky (born 24 September 1960) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, theatre actress, and television host. Sky started classical music lessons at the age of five, and plays piano, guitar, cello and recorder. She has a degree from t ...

. He formed a songwriting partnership with Jordan and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, placing songs with

René Shuman René Shuman (born 5 December 1967) is a Dutch singer, guitarist, composer and producer. Shuman gained national fame through his performance in Henny Huisman's ''Soundmixshow''. He came in second with Elvis Presley's repertoire, a rendition of ...

, Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Diana Ross, Manhattan Transfer, Isaac Hayes and many others. As a session musician Capek recorded with legendary producers

Humberto Gatica Humberto Gatica is a Chilean-born American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with Celine Dion, Chicago, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. Gatica's inte ...

and John Boylan. As "John Capek & The Family of Man" he released his debut recording, "Indaba (Mesa Blue Moon)". Capek co-wrote much of Australian singer

John Paul Young John Inglis Young, OAM (born 21 June 1950), known professionally as John Paul Young, is a Scottish-born Australian pop singer who had his 1978 worldwide hit with " Love Is in the Air". His career was boosted by regular appearances as a perform ...

's 1984 album, One Foot in Front. Returning to Toronto in 1995, John continued writing for Stewart, as well as for Cher, Amanda Marshall, Bonnie Raitt amongst others, and also scored the television series "Grandpa's Garden" and "Letters to God".

Appointments

John Capek is a former director of the Songwriters Association of Canada and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and founding faculty member of the songwriting program at the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Songwriting

An exceptionally prolific pop songwriter, Capek is noted for his use of complex harmonies, mostly associated with

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

. His biggest success to date has been

Rhythm of My Heart "Rhythm of My Heart" is a song written by Marc Jordan and John Capek that Dutch rock and roll artist René Shuman included on his 1986 debut album, ''René Shuman''. In 1991, British singer Rod Stewart recorded the song for his album ''Vagabond ...

with Rod Stewart. Other Capek hits include "Take Me Home" with Joe Cocker and featured in the film Blown Away, "Promises" with Amanda Marshall, "Love So High" with Cher, and "Deep Water" with Bonnie Raitt. His songs have also been recorded by artists in the Czech Republic and used in films such as '' Cocktail'', '' The Silencer'' and '' The Perfect Storm''.

References

Encyclopedia of Music in CanadaSongwriters Association of Canada

External links

www.JohnCapek.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capek, John Australian songwriters The Royal Conservatory of Music faculty Living people Musicians from Prague Year of birth missing (living people) Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada Canadian male composers Canadian songwriters 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian composers 21st-century Canadian male musicians