Michael Zager (born January 3, 1943) is an American record producer, composer, and arranger of original music for commercials, albums, network television, and

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for films. He teaches music at

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-ca ...

. Zager was a member of jazz rock band

Ten Wheel Drive Ten Wheel Drive was an American rock band which existed from 1968 to 1974. History In 1968, after the final break-up of the all-female rock band Goldie & The Gingerbreads, Genya Ravan was looking for a new band, as were two New Jersey musicians ...

from 1968 to 1973.

Music career

Zager has produced for artists such as

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

, Cissy Houston,

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson (born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the 1983 hit "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack. Bryson ...

, Luther Vandross,

Deniece Williams Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bil ...

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as '' Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), '' Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a ...

, Joe Williams,

Arturo Sandoval Arturo Sandoval is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 he met Gillespie, who became his f ...

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

, Olatunji, and The Spinners. Zager produced R&B artist Street Corner Symphony (1975), Marilyn Chambers (1976),

Andrea True Andrea Marie Truden (July 26, 1943 – November 7, 2011), better known by her pseudonym Andrea True, was an American pornographic actress and singer from the disco era. In addition to her given name, she had multiple stage names, including Inger ...

(1977), Dee Edwards (1980), Take Five (1981), Elusion (1981). He also co-wrote the Patti Day song " Right Before My Eyes" with Alexander Forbes. In 1978, the Michael Zager Band had a popular disco anthem with "

Let's All Chant "Let's All Chant" is a song written by American record producer and composer Michael Zager and Alvin Fields, and performed by the Michael Zager Band. It was based on an idea originally suggested by former head of A&R Jerry Love after he visited ...

". During 1979 and 1980 Zager wrote the medley arrangements for the Spinners' "

Working My Way Back to You "Working My Way Back to You" is a song made popular by The Four Seasons in 1966 and The Spinners in 1980. Written by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, the song was originally recorded by The Four Seasons in 1966, reaching No. 9 on the U.S. ''B ...

" / "Forgive Me, Girl" (No. 2 US

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

in March–April 1980, No. 1 UK) and " Cupid" / "I've Loved You for a Long Time" (No. 4 US Hot 100 in July–August 1980, No. 4 UK).

Appointments

Zager graduated from

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

and the Mannes College of Music. He taught at the

Mannes College of Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School ca ...

, a division within

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

, in New York City. During the summers of 2006 and 2008 Zager taught at the College of Music at

Payap University Payap University ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยพายัพ; ), established in 1974, is a private and non-profit institution founded by the Foundation of the Church of Christ in Thailand. Payap University is a liberal arts and pre-pr ...

in Chiang Mai,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. He holds the positions of the Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in Performing Arts and professor of music at

in Boca Raton, Florida. He is the author of ''Writing Music for Television and Radio Commercials (A Manual for Composers and Students)'' published by Scarecrow Press, and ''Music Production: For Producers, Composers, Arrangers, and Students'', also published by Scarecrow Press.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zager, Michael 1943 births Living people American dance musicians American disco musicians Record producers from New Jersey Songwriters from New Jersey Musicians from Passaic, New Jersey The New School faculty Mannes School of Music alumni University of Miami alumni