Richard Bernard Halligan (August 29, 1943 – January 18, 2022) was an American musician and composer, best known as a founding member of the jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Halligan was born in Troy, New York. He was BS&T's trombonist on their first album, '' Child Is Father to the Man'', but when Al Kooper left the band after that first album, Halligan switched to keyboards and began playing

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

as well. He received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Performance for "Variations on a Theme By

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

" from the album '' Blood, Sweat & Tears''. Halligan also arranged many of the band's charts during this time period, and he wrote several songs including "Redemption" and "Lisa Listen to Me." Halligan left BS&T in 1971 after recording their fourth album, when the band began to shift to more rock-oriented music. In the 1970s and 1980s Halligan composed and arranged music for a number of motion pictures, including ''

Go Tell the Spartans ''Go Tell the Spartans'' is a 1978 American war film directed by Ted Post and starring Burt Lancaster. The film is based on Daniel Ford's 1967 novel ''Incident at Muc Wa'' about U.S. Army military advisors during the early part of the Vietnam ...

'' (1978), '' Cheaper to Keep Her'' (1981), ''

Fear City ''Fear City'' is a 1984 American neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Tom Berenger, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Scalia, and Melanie Griffith. The screenplay was written by longtime Ferrara collaborator Nicholas St. J ...

'' (1984), and the Chuck Norris films '' A Force of One'' (1979) and ''

The Octagon The Octagon may refer to: *The Octagon, Christchurch, a former church in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand *The Octagon, Dunedin, the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand *The Octagon (Egypt), the headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of ...

'' (1980). In 2006 he was active as a composer and performer for various types of music, including jazz and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

. In 2011 and 2012 he developed and performed an autobiographical one-man show entitled "Musical Being". An early title for it was "Man Overboard" and in 2013 called "Love, Sweat & Fears". Halligan earned a master's degree in music theory and composition from the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

. He also conducted his original works in Carnegie Hall. Halligan died from natural causes in Rome on January 18, 2022, at the age of 78. His daughter,

Shana Halligan Shana Beth Halligan (born October 11, 1973) is a singer, songwriter, and composer based out of Los Angeles, California best known for her work as the former vocalist for the trip-hop act Bitter:Sweet. She is the daughter of Dick Halligan, a fou ...

, was the vocalist of trip hop duo Bitter:Sweet.

Discography

* '' Child Is Father to the Man'' (1968) * '' Blood, Sweat & Tears'' (1968) * '' Blood, Sweat & Tears 3'' (1970) * '' B, S & T 4'' (1971) * ''Cat's Dream'' (2007) * ''Slow Food Forum'' (2007)

References

External links

* * Dick Halligan at AllMusicGuide.com* * 1943 births 2022 deaths Musicians from Troy, New York American jazz composers American male jazz composers American film score composers American male film score composers American television composers Grammy Award winners American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Manhattan School of Music alumni Blood, Sweat & Tears members Media containing Gymnopedies American rock keyboardists American jazz keyboardists American jazz pianists American male pianists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American pianists 21st-century trombonists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians {{US-jazz-trombonist-stub