Rob Fusari, also known as 8Bit, is an American record producer and songwriter. He has worked with

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

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 in ...

and

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

Early life

Rob Fusari was born between 1967 and 1968. And raised in

Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 29,366, reflecting an increase of 1,975 (+7.2%) from the ...

. A child prodigy, Fusari won numerous piano competitions at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

at 8 years old.

Career

Fusari began writing songs while a student at

William Paterson University William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 and was named after American ju ...

. He started recording demos, and subsequently met hit songwriter

Irwin Levine Irwin Jesse Levine (March 23, 1938 – January 21, 1997)
- accessed April 11, 2012 was an American songwriter, who co-wrote ...

, who was known for writing "

Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" is a song recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and produced by Hank Medress and Dave Appell, with Motown/ Stax backing vocalist Telma Hopkins, J ...

" and several other hits for

Tony Orlando & Dawn Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits include " Candida", "Knock Three ...

. In the late 1990s, Fusari became producing partners with

Vincent Herbert Vincent Herbert (born January 27, 1973) is an American songwriter, record producer, record executive, and founder of Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. Work He has worked with artists such as Aaliyah, Tatyana Ali, Toni Braxt ...

. It was at this time that he wrote his first #1 hit single, " No, No, No", which launched Destiny Child's career. In 2001, Fusari produced "

Bootylicious "Bootylicious" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for their third studio album ''Survivor (Destiny's Child album), Survivor'' (2001). It was written and produced by Rob Fusari, Beyoncé and Falonte Moore. The song contains a pro ...

" for the group's third studio album '' Survivor''. The song also peaked at number 1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 1999, Fusari produced

's successful single "

Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, from a story penned by brothers Jim and John ...

" from the film of the same name. In 2002, he produced the songs " Train on a Track" by

and Whitney Houston's "

Love That Man "Love That Man" is a song by American R&B-pop singer Whitney Houston. It was written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Rob Fusari, Calvin Gaines, Eritza Laues, Bill Lee, and Balewa Muhammad for her fifth studio album '' Just Whitney'' (2002), with p ...

", which were both released as singles to varying degrees of success in 2003. The same year, Fusari first worked with

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

on a track titled "Love's Supposed 2 Be", which failed to be included on ''

In the Zone ''In the Zone'' is the fourth studio album by American pop singer Britney Spears. It was released on November 12, 2003, through Jive Records. With the conclusion of her Dream Within a Dream Tour in July 2002 and the end of her relationship with ...

''. In 2008, Fusari served as producer on Gaga's Grammy-winning debut album, ''

The Fame ''The Fame'' is the debut studio album by American singer Lady Gaga. It was released on August 19, 2008, by Interscope Records. After joining Kon Live Distribution and Cherrytree Records in 2008, Gaga began working on the album with different pr ...

''. He produced and is credited on five songs: "

Paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...

", "

Beautiful, Dirty, Rich "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (2008). It was released as a promotional single from the album on September 16, 2008. It is an uptempo dance-pop song that makes heavy use of ...

", "Again Again", "Brown Eyes" and "Disco Heaven". Fusari also produced and co-wrote "Vanity", "Glitter & Grease", and "Retro Dance Freak". In 2012, he started an independent music label, Last Quarter Records which is based in New York City. Fusari is currently signed to Sony ATV Publishing. In May 2016,

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 ...

's follow-up to the classic ''

The Lexicon of Love ''The Lexicon of Love'' is the debut studio album by English pop band ABC. It was released on 21 June 1982 by Neutron Records in the United Kingdom, by Mercury Records in the United States and Japan, and by Vertigo Records in Canada and Euro ...

'' album was released called ''

The Lexicon of Love II ''The Lexicon of Love II'' is the ninth studio album by English band ABC. It was released on 27 May 2016 on Virgin EMI, eight years after their previous album ''Traffic''. After a performance of ABC's studio album ''The Lexicon of Love'' in concer ...

''. Fusari co-wrote "Confessions of a Fool", "Singer Not the Song" and "The Ship of the Seasick Sailor" with lead singer

Martin Fry Martin David Fry (born 9 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician, and record producer. Fry's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the pop band ...

. The album entered the UK album charts at #5, the band's first UK Top 10 release since 1990. Fusari toured with ABC on their Lexicon of Love II UK Tour (with full orchestra conducted by

Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genre ...

), autumn 2016. In December Fusari and Fry wrote and produced ABC's first ever Christmas song "A Christmas We Deserve" together. BBC Radio 2 put it on the A-list upon release.

Production discography

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fusari, Rob 1960s births Living people Year of birth missing (living people) William Paterson University alumni American people of Italian descent Record producers from New Jersey People from Livingston, New Jersey Songwriters from New Jersey