Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the " Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering

Euro disco Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is a genre of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the middle 1970s, incorporating elements of pop and rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco compositions featur ...

and

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

. His work with synthesizers had a significant influence on several music genres such as

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

Italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, pop, ...

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

, new wave, house, and techno music. While in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in the 1970s, Moroder started Oasis Records, later a subdivision of

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

. He is the founder of the former

Musicland Studios Musicland Studios was a recording studio located in Munich, Germany established by Italy, Italian record producer, songwriter and musician Giorgio Moroder in the early 1970s. The studios were known for their work with artists such as Donna Summer, ...

in Munich, a recording studio used by many artists including

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

. He produced singles for

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

during the mid-to-late 1970s

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

era, including " Love to Love You Baby", "

I Feel Love "I Feel Love" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, '' I Remember Yesterday'' (1977). The album concept was to ha ...

", " Last Dance", "

MacArthur Park MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and la ...

", " Hot Stuff", " Bad Girls", " Dim All the Lights", "

No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" is a song recorded by American singers Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer, released in October 1979. It was written by Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts (singer), Bruce Roberts, and produced by Giorgio Moroder and G ...

", and " On the Radio". During this period, he also released many albums, including the synthesizer-driven ''

From Here to Eternity ''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American romantic Drama (film and television)#War drama, war drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 From Here to Eternity (novel), novel of the same name by J ...

'' (1977) and '' E=MC²'' (1979). He began to compose film soundtracks and scores, including '' Midnight Express'', '' American Gigolo'', '' Superman III'', '' Scarface'', '' The NeverEnding Story'', and the 1984 restoration of ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

''. Moroder's work on the film ''Midnight Express'' (1978), which contained the international hit " Chase", won him the

Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by ...

and the

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications out ...

. He also produced a number of electronic disco songs for

the Three Degrees The Three Degrees are an American female vocal group formed circa 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although 12 women have been members over the years, the group has always been a trio. The current line-up consists of Helen Scott, Valerie Ho ...

and two albums for Sparks. In 1990, he composed "

Un'estate italiana "Un'estate italiana" (), "Un verano italiano" (; both meaning "An Italian summer") or "To Be Number One" is a 1989 song composed by Giorgio Moroder which was used as the official song of the 1990 FIFA World Cup held in Italy, the first to hold s ...

", the official theme song of the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

. Moroder has created songs for many performers including

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, Falco,

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

, Irene Cara, Bonnie Tyler,

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

, Madleen Kane,

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...

, Blondie,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

France Joli France Joli (; née Joly; born February 2, 1963) is a Canadian singer, best known for the disco classics " Come to Me" and "Gonna Get Over You". Teen stardom Born France Joly in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Joli grew up in Dorion. Her father wa ...

. Moroder has stated that the work of which he is most proud is

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

's " Take My Breath Away", which earned him the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

and the

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...

after appearing in the film ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...

'' in 1986; he had earned the same awards in 1983 for " Flashdance... What a Feeling" (as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for all of his work on '' Flashdance''). In addition to the three Academy Awards and four Golden Globes, Moroder has also received four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, two

People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the fans and general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls un ...

, and more than 100 Golden and Platinum discs. In 2004, he was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame.

Early life

Giovanni Giorgio Moroder was born to Ladin parents on 26 April 1940 in Italy in Ortisei. His father was a hotel

concierge A concierge () is an employee of a multi-tenant building, such as a hotel or apartment building, who receives and helps guests. The concept has been applied more generally to other hospitality settings and to personal concierges who manage the e ...

. He has three brothers, one of them being artist Ulrich Moroder. Moroder grew up in a mixed Ladin-, German- and Italian-speaking environment in South Tyrol, with his mother calling him Hansjörg (), a German version of his two first names.

Career

He began teaching himself to play the guitar, at age 15, inspired by

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

's ''Diana''. At age 18, he began touring Europe as a professional musician. He performed at night, and during the day, made recordings with two

Revox ReVox (on-logo styling REVOX) is a brand name, registered by Studer on 27 March 1951 for Switzerland, Swiss audio equipment. History The first Studer-designed tape recorders were branded Dynavox. After the first production series of Dynavox rec ...

recorders. Around age 25 he moved to his aunt's in Berlin, working as a sound engineer. Ricky Shayne's single "Ich sprenge alle Ketten" ("I bust all the chains"), composed by then-unknowns Moroder and

Michael Holm Michael Holm (born Lothar Walter; on 29 July 1943) is a German singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is primarily known as a singer of Schlager music. Although his first appearance in the hit parade was in 1962 ("Lauter schöne ...

, became a German hit. The second hit was Moroder's and Holm's cover of

Sir Douglas Quintet The Sir Douglas Quintet was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas in 1964. With their first hits, they were acclaimed in their home state. When their career was established (subsequent to working with Texas record produ ...

's single, ''Mendocino''. After two years in Berlin, Moroder moved to Munich. Moroder made his first steps in music in the Scotch Club in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

and then released a few singles under the name "Giorgio" beginning in 1963 after moving to Berlin, singing in Italian, Spanish, English, and German.

1963–1983: Contribution to electronic music

In 1968, he moved to

and came to prominence when " Looky Looky" was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in 1970. He then founded the

in the early 1970s. Moroder first implemented synthesizers into his work during the making of his album ''Son of My Fathe''r (1972), on which he used the groundbreaking Moog synthesizer. Often collaborating with lyricist Pete Bellotte, Moroder had a number of hits in his own name including "

Son of My Father "Son of My Father" is a song popularised in 1972 by Chicory Tip. The song was originally published in German as "Nachts scheint die Sonne" (''In the Night Shines the Sun''), written by Giorgio Moroder with German lyrics by Michael Holm in 197 ...

" in 1972, a No. 1 hit in the UK for Chicory Tip, before releasing the synthesizer-driven ''

'', a chart hit in 1977. That same year he co-wrote and produced the

hit single "

", the first track in the

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

genre. The following year he released " Chase", the theme from the film '' Midnight Express''. These songs achieved some chart success in the United Kingdom, the United States and across Europe, and disco-mania was spreading. ''Midnight Express'' and "Chase" brought his first

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. Moroder released '' E=MC²'' in 1979. He released three albums between 1977 and 1979 under the name Munich Machine. He composed and produced two film soundtrack albums: the first for ''

Foxes Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

'', and the second for '' American Gigolo'' (both 1980). A double album of the ''Foxes'' soundtrack was released on the disco label

which includes

's hit single " On the Radio", which Moroder produced and co-wrote. The ''Foxes'' soundtrack contains a song titled "Bad Love", written and performed by

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

and produced by Moroder. The ''American Gigolo'' soundtrack featured the Moroder-produced " Call Me" by Blondie, a US and UK number one hit. The combined club play of the album's tracks was number two for five weeks on the disco/dance charts. Moroder wrote the soundtrack of the film '' Cat People'' (1982), including the hit single " Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" featuring

, and produced the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

for the film '' Scarface'' (1983). During its initial release, the album was only available in a few countries and strictly through import in the United States. Moroder-produced tracks included " Scarface (Push It to the Limit)" by Paul Engemann, " Rush Rush" by

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

and " She's on Fire" by

Amy Holland Amy Celeste Boersma (born August 15, 1953), known professionally as Amy Holland, is an American pop and rock singer. Her career spans more than 40 years. She received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist in 1981, following her Amy Holla ...

1984–1993: Recognition and hiatus

Donna Summer Bruce Sudano Giorgio Moroder Beverly Hills

In 1984, Moroder compiled a new restoration and edit of the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

'' (1927) and provided it with a contemporary soundtrack. This soundtrack includes seven pop music tracks from

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (née Andrzejewski; formerly and still professionally Benatar ; born January 10, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, and 15 US ''Billboa ...

Jon Anderson Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...

, Adam Ant,

Billy Squier William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include " The Stroke", " Lonely Is the Night", " My Kinda Love ...

Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Calgary, Alberta in 1979. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly "Turn Me Loose (Loverboy song), Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still hear ...

, Bonnie Tyler and

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. Regarded as one of the gre ...

. He integrated the original

intertitle In films and videos, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (hence, ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred ...

s into the film as subtitles as a means of improving continuity. Since the original speed was unknown this choice was controversial. Known as the "Moroder version", it sparked debate among film buffs, with outspoken critics and supporters of the film falling into equal camps. Most critics agree that, the opinion of film purists aside, Moroder's version was a welcome addition. In 1984, Moroder worked with Philip Oakey of

the Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...

to make the album '' Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder'', which was a UK singles chart hit with " Together in Electric Dreams", title track to the 1984 film '' Electric Dreams''. The same year saw him collaborating with

Kajagoogoo Kajagoogoo ( ) were an English Pop music, pop band. They are best known for their 1983 hit single "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, and the top 10 in numerous other countries. History Beginnings (1978–1982) Formed ...

frontman Limahl for his worldwide hit " The NeverEnding Story". In 1986, Moroder collaborated with his protégé Harold Faltermeyer (of " Axel F") and lyricist Tom Whitlock to create the score for the film ''

'' (1986) which included

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina (musician), Jim Mess ...

' hit " Danger Zone" and

's " Take My Breath Away". He wrote the theme song to the film '' Over the Top'', "

Meet Me Half Way "Meet Me Half Way" is a song by American singer Kenny Loggins written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the film ''Over the Top (1987 film), Over the Top''. It also appears as the final track on his sixth studio album ''Back to Avalon''. It ...

", also performed by Loggins. In 1987, Moroder produced and co-wrote Falco's song "Body Next to Body". Moroder wrote the official theme songs, " Reach Out", for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and " Hand in Hand", for the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were repres ...

and "

" for the

. On 12 March 1992, Moroder released his fourteenth studio album, ''Forever Dancing'', his last solo project for years and he began a long hiatus in 1993. For two decades he released no new albums, focusing largely on remixes and visual art during most of the 1990s and early 2000s. With Daniel Walker he produced a soundtrack for

Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, Film producer, producer, screenwriter, Film editing, editor, photographer, and actress. She is considered one of the most controversial ...

's last film '' Impressionen unter Wasser''. His song ''Forever Friends'' was featured in the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008.

2012–present: Return and collaborations

In 2013, Moroder returned to music with the soundtrack for Google's '' Racer: A Chrome Experiment'' *
g.co/racer
/ref> Moroder contributed to

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

's 2013 studio album ''

Random Access Memories ''Random Access Memories'' is the fourth and final studio album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 17 May 2013 through Columbia Records. It pays tribute to late Music history of the United States in the 1970s, 1970s and e ...

'', admitting that he was a fan of their song " One More Time" before working with the group. His voice and story are on the album track " Giorgio by Moroder". On the track, he states "My name is Giovanni Giorgio, but everybody calls me Giorgio". In the summer of 2013, he DJ'd at the

Red Bull Music Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...

in New York. In 2014, Moroder reworked an old classic from the 1960s called "Doo Bee Doo" (2014 version), which was used in the

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

2014

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

commercial, "Wings". He also announced that he was planning to work with electro-pop producer Madeon and American singer

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

. On 9 June 2014,

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

released a new

Disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

single by Moroder (named "Giorgio's Theme"). Moroder also remixed

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

and

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

's rendition of " I Can't Give You Anything but Love". Moroder's solo studio album, ''

Déjà Vu ''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is the phenomenon of feeling like one has lived through the present situation in the past.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford University Press. pp. 167–1 ...

'', was released in 2015. It features collaborations with

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

, Sia,

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

Mikky Ekko John Stephen Sudduth, known professionally as Mikky Ekko, is an American singer and songwriter from Nashville. He co-wrote and was featured on Rihanna's 2013 single "Stay (Rihanna song), Stay", which charted in multiple countries, becoming his fir ...

and

Matthew Koma Matthew Bair (born June 2, 1987), known professionally as Matthew Koma is an American singer, songwriter musician, DJ and record producer. Songs written or co-written by Koma include "Spectrum (song), Spectrum", "Find You (Zedd song), Find You" ...

, among others. On 16 January, the collaboration with

, " Right Here, Right Now", was leaked to the internet ahead of its official release. The song, along with a video teaser, was officially released on 20 January 2015 and on 18 April 2015 reached number one on the US

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

, becoming Moroder's first chart-topper in 15 years. In March 2015, Moroder supported Minogue during the Australian leg of her Kiss Me Once Tour. Moroder and Sia collaborated in May 2015 on the title track from Moroder's LP ''Déjà Vu''. In September 2015, Moroder was featured on

's EP '' Kylie + Garibay'' on the song "Your Body". In 2016, he and Raney Shockne wrote and composed the music to the video game '' Tron RUN/r''. The soundtrack album was released on 31 May 2016. In October 2016, Moroder produced "One More Day" for

Sistar Sistar (; stylized in all caps) was a South Korean girl group formed in 2010 by Starship Entertainment. The group consisted of Hyolyn, Yoon Bo-ra, Bora, Soyou and Kim Da-som, Dasom. They made their official debut with the song "Push Push (Sistar ...

, a Korean girl group. They debuted the song live on 8 October, at Korea's DMC Festival 2016, with Moroder being present in the audience. The music video for the song was released on 22 November, alongside the official digital release of the track. 2021 saw Moroder return to the studio with

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

, co-writing and producing two tracks, "Tonight United" and "Beautiful Lies" for their 2021 album '' Future Past''. In January 2025, Moroder co-produced

's album '' Hurry Up Tomorrow'', as well as co-writing the songs "Big Sleep" and "Without a Warning", serving as a sonic influence on the entire album.

Awards

Moroder has won three

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

: Best Original Score for '' Midnight Express'' (1978); Best Song for " Flashdance...What a Feeling", from the film '' Flashdance'' (1983) and Best Song for " Take My Breath Away", from ''

'' (1986). Moroder also won two of his four

for ''Flashdance'': Best Album or Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special and Best Instrumental Composition for the track "Love Theme from Flashdance". The third was awarded for Best Dance Recording for the song "Carry On". Moroder also won four

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

s: two Best Original Score for "Midnight Express" and "Flashdance... What a Feeling", and two Best Original Song for "Flashdance... What a Feeling" and "Take My Breath Away". On 20 September 2004, Moroder was honoured at the Dance Music Hall of Fame ceremony, held in New York, when he was inducted for his achievements and contributions as a producer. In 2005, Moroder was named a '' Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'', and in 2010

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

awarded him the ''Grande Ordine al Merito della Provincia autonoma di Bolzano''. In 2011, he was awarded the

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

by the World Soundtrack Academy. In 2014, Moroder won his fourth

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for

's ''

'' (Album of the Year).

Legacy

The British

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

duo

Curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

covered "

" in 1992. The song was later included on the double CD compilation '' The Way of Curve'', released in 2004. Bronski Beat covered "

" and "Love to Love You Baby" for their debut album '' The Age of Consent'' (1984). " On Fire", the second single from rapper

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

's seventh studio album ''

Rebirth Rebirth may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film * ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film * ''Rebirth'', a 2011 documentary film produced by Project Rebirth * '' ...

'', contains allusions from

's song "She's on Fire" and was inspired in its entirety by '' Scarface''.Lil Wayne's 'On Fire' Inspired By 'Scarface,' Producer Dre Says
– MTV " Push It", the second single from rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

' debut album '' Port of Miami'', samples " Scarface (Push It to the Limit)" and the story of the video has a very similar theme to the film '' Scarface''. It was produced by

J. R. Rotem Jonathan Reuven Rotem (born July 23, 1975) is a South African-born American record producer, songwriter and music publisher. Biography Early life Rotem was born in July 23, 1975 in Johannesburg, South Africa to Jewish Israeli people, Israe ...

. His song "Tears" was sampled and used as the basis of the

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972 in San Jose, California, San Jose, California), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, ''Endtroducing.....,'' was released in 1996. He uses l ...

song "Organ Donor" on his 1996 album '' Endtroducing.....''. Canadian

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group Swollen Members sampled the song in "Fuel Injected" and "Meltdown". It also appears on the song "Tragedy" by RZA. The main melody and chord progression form the basis of " Marz" by folk musician John Grant and " Only Light" by Australian ska band

the Cat Empire The Cat Empire are an Australian jazz/funk band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1999. For most of the band's duration, the core members were Felix Riebl (lead vocals, percussion), Harry James Angus (trumpet, vocals), Will Hull-Brown (drums), ...

. Hip hop duo

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

used a sample from the song "Tony's Theme" in their song " G.O.D. Pt. III". His song "E=MC²" was sampled and used for J. Dilla's song of the same title. One of his early compositions, "Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo" from 1969, was featured for many years in silent sketches on ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...

'' as part of a medley that also included " Mah Nà Mah Nà", a 4/4 adaptation of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's "Für Elise", and " Gimme Dat Ding". The theme from ''Midnight Express'' was sampled by hip-hop duo

OutKast Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...

for their song "Return of the Gangsta", and by hip-hop producer

J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

for "Phantom of the Synths", a beat later used by MF Doom for "Gazzillion Ear" and by Jay Electronica for "Dimethyltryptamine". " Chase" was used as the entrance theme music for the

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

the Midnight Express throughout the early 1980s as well as in a number of montage videos for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

coverage and CBS's coverage of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Art Bell Arthur William Bell III (June 17, 1945 – April 13, 2018) was an American broadcaster and author. He was the founder and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program '' Coast to Coast AM'', which is syndicated on hundreds ...

also frequently used the song as the main theme and bumper music for his late-night

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

programs

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 198 ...

and Midnight in the Desert. Moroder's opening theme from the 1983 film '' Scarface'' is sampled by

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

and

for the track "It's Mine". "Leopard Tree Dream" from ''Cat People'' is sampled by Cannibal Ox in the song "Iron Galaxy". "The Legend of Babel" theme from the ''Metropolis'' soundtrack was covered by DJ Dado. British electronica musician

Little Boots Victoria Christina Hesketh (born 4 May 1984), known professionally as Little Boots, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ. She was previously a member of the band Dead Disco. Since performing as a solo artist, she has released four albums: ''H ...

covered "Love Kills", which was written in collaboration with

. "Future Lovers", a song from American recording artist Madonna's 2005 album '' Confessions on a Dance Floor'', has a bass line inspired by Donna Summer's Moroder-produced hit "

". Furthermore, Madonna opened her 2006 Confessions Tour with a medley of "Future Lovers" and "

". The version of " Live to Tell" that Madonna performed on The Confessions Tour heavily samples Moroder's song "Tears".

Suns of Arqa Suns of Arqa are a world music collective founded in 1979 by Michael Wadada. Since the group's formation, over 200 people from around the world have played and recorded with them, and in many cases these were like-minded musicians Wadada met ...

's album "Technomor" includes the track "Moroder Vibe" which contains elements of "

". Underworld's 1999 album, ''

Beaucoup Fish ''Beaucoup Fish'' is the fifth album by Underworld, released in 1999. Following the huge success of the single " Born Slippy .NUXX" from its use in the film '' Trainspotting'', ''Beaucoup Fish'' was Underworld's most anticipated release. It spaw ...

'', contains a song titled " Shudder/King of Snake", which contains an interpolation of the bass line from "

". "I Feel Love" was inducted into the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...

in 2011. In 2013, a dance club named after Moroder called Georgio's opened in Hollywood's Standard Hotel. Moroder even visited it and for the first time saw people dancing to his music, stating: "I never saw people dancing to my music. I was too busy working. I was always in the studio. I never took the coca." In February 2016, Shooter Jennings, the son of outlaw country singer

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

, released a tribute album entitled '' Countach (For Giorgio)'', his seventh studio album. Shooter Jennings stated that Moroder's music from the movies '' Midnight Express'' (1978), '' Cat People'' (1982) and '' The NeverEnding Story'' (1984) had a major influence on him as a child which "...set the foundation for the music of my entire life."Sterdan, Darryl. "Lord of Moroder" in ''The Ottawa Sun''. 19 March 2016 Before his career reboot with Daft Punk, Moroder dedicated decades to his personal hobbies/projects. He designed a car with Marcello Gandini and ex-Lamborghini personnel, the Cizeta-Moroder V16T. Also in a 2013 interview, he spoke about the architectural design of a pyramid-like apartment that was supposed to take place in Dubai. It was never built. Other projects included creating his own cognac liquor and getting involved with digital and neon art and putting on shows. Moroder is a character in '' Summer: The Donna Summer Musical'', in reference to his work with disco diva Donna Summer.

Personal life

Moroder currently lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. He was married to his Mexican manager Francisca Gutiérrez from 1990 until her death in 2022. Their son Alessandro was born in 1989. He is a friend of

, with whom he composed the 1973 album '' Spinach 1'' under the moniker "Spinach". Holm's song ''Giorgio und ich'' is dedicated to Moroder.

Discography

*'' That's Bubblegum – That's Giorgio'' (1969) *'' Giorgio'' (1970) *''

'' (1972) *'' Giorgio's Music'' (1973) *'' Einzelgänger'' (1975) *'' Knights in White Satin'' (1976) *''

'' (1977) *''

Love's in You, Love's in Me ''Love's in You, Love's in Me'' is a 1978 album by Giorgio Moroder and Chris Bennett (musician), Chris Bennett. Track listing All tracks composed by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte #"Love's in You, Love's in Me" - 3:46 #"Keep It Together" - 3:32 ...

'' (1978) *'' E=MC²'' (1979) *''Solitary Men'' (1983) (with Joe Esposito) *''Innovisions'' (1985) *'' Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder'' (with Philip Oakey) (1985) *'' To Be Number One'' (1990) *''Forever Dancing'' (1992) *''

'' (2015)

References

External links

*
Giorgio Moroder
at

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

Giorgio Moroder
at

encyclopedia.com ''Encyclopedia.com'' is an online encyclopedia. It aggregates information, images, and videos from other published dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference works. History The website was launched by Infonautics in March 1998. Infonautics w ...

* *
Official trailer for Moroder's version of ''Metropolis''
on

Vimeo Vimeo ( ) is an American Online video platform, video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moroder, Giorgio 1940 births Ladin people Living people People from Santa Cristina Gherdëina Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songwriters Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Eurodisco musicians Disco musicians Hi-NRG musicians Italian film score composers Italian male film score composers Italian record producers Italian male songwriters Italian songwriters Italian DJs Italian dance musicians English-language singers from Italy Dunhill Records artists London Records artists RCA Records artists Virgin Records artists Golden Globe Award–winning musicians Grammy Award winners Grammy Award winners for dance and electronic music Italian electronic musicians Italian Italo disco musicians Scarface (1983 film) Italian expatriates in Germany Italian expatriates in the United States Hansa Records artists Giorgio Germanophone Italian people David di Donatello Career Award winners