Alexis King de Azevedo (born January 14, 1943) is an American composer, song writer, pianist, actor and singer known primarily for his film scores and his work on ''

The Swan Princess ''The Swan Princess'' is a 1994 American animated fantasy film based on the ballet ''Swan Lake''. Featuring Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is directed by ...

'' of which one of his songs was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

. De Azevedo, a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

, also produced the music for the

LDS LDS may refer to: Organizations * LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, US Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within t ...

musical ''

Saturday's Warrior ''Saturday's Warrior'' is a religious-themed musical written by Douglass Stewart and Lex de Azevedo about a family who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The musical tells the story of a group of children ...

''.

Biography

Lex de Azevedo was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, the son of Alyce King of

the King Sisters The King Sisters were an American big band-era vocal group consisting of six sisters: Alyce, Donna, Luise, Marilyn, Maxine, and Yvonne King. History Born and raised in Pleasant Grove, Utah, the King sisters were part of the Driggs family of e ...

by her first marriage. He served as a musical director for ''

The Sonny & Cher Show ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' was an American variety show that starred American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was ...

'',

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and the

Jackson Five The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

and

the Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...

. He composed the scores for the films '' Where the Red Fern Grows'' (1974), '' Against a Crooked Sky'' (1975), '' Baker's Hawk'' (1976), '' Brigham'' (1977) and ''

'' (1994), for the latter he was nominated for a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

in 1995 for the song " Far Longer than Forever". During the 1960s, De Azevedo produced several albums for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, including

Laurindo Almeida Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...

's ''Plays for a Man and a Woman'' and the

Four King Cousins The Four King Cousins are an American female harmonizing pop singing group. Born into a show business family, the cousins are daughters of the members of the singing group The King Sisters. Sisters Tina Cole & Cathy Cole Green are the daughters ...

' ''Introducing the Four King Cousins''. He produced the hit version, by the Youngstown, Ohio-based quartet

the Human Beinz The Human Beinz ( ) is an American rock band from Youngstown, Ohio. Originally known as The Human Beingz, the band initially featured John "Dick" Belley (vocals, guitar), Joe "Ting" Markulin (vocals, guitar), Mel Pachuta (vocals, bass), and Gary C ...

, of the Isley Brothers' " Nobody but Me", which rose to #8 in 1968. He composed for pop singers (including many members of his own family) and the stage. He is also credited as the co-writer of the Latter-day Saint production, ''

''. De Azevedo has ten children. His daughters

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

and Emilie are the creators and producers of the

Signing Time! ''Signing Time!'' is an American television program targeted towards children aged one through eight that teaches American Sign Language. It is filmed in the United States and was created by sisters Emilie Brown and Rachel Coleman, the latter ...

videos, designed to teach children

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

, and he appears in them during the grandparents sequence of Vol. 2. De Azevedo's daughter Julie de Azevedo Hanks is a Latter-day Saint inspirational pop singer. She is also a psychologist who owns and runs Wasatch Family Therapy.Deseret Book profile on Julie de Azevedo Hanks
deseretbook.com; accessed January 10, 2016. De Azevedo’s youngest daughter, Sarah de Azevedo, is a professional tattoo artist and business owner in Salt Lake City.

Discography

*''Mountains'' (Aubergine, 1991) *''Moab'' (Aubergine, 1993) *''Variations On A Sacred Theme'' (Shadow Mountain, 1998) *''Variations On A Sacred Theme, Vol. 2'' (Shadow Mountain, 1999) *''A Time To Love'' (Embryo, 2006) Lex de Azevedo has also recorded hundreds of instrumental versions of popular songs. These were intended for airplay on

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...

radio stations and were not released commercially. These tracks are a mainstay on the

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

channel Escape, which usually plays at least one of de Azevedo's recordings each hour. They have been made available for download at Surrey House Music'
website
and also on YouTube.

References

External links

* – official website and bio
Biography by Dacia A. Blodgett-Williams at Almusic.com
* *
Radio interview (Program originally aired on KSL Radio on November 28, 1999.)
*
Lex De Azevedo music scores and sketches, MSS 2150
L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gran ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Azevedo, Lex 1943 births Living people American film score composers American television composers Songwriters from California Record producers from California Animated film score composers Latter Day Saints from California American people of Brazilian descent American people of Portuguese descent Classical musicians from California King family (show business) Easy listening musicians American male film score composers Musicians from Los Angeles American male songwriters

Biography

Discography

See also

References

External links