Peter Himmelman (born November 23, 1959, in St. Louis Park, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter and film and television composer from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

, who formerly played in the Minneapolis indie rock band

Sussman Lawrence Sussman Lawrence was a band led by Peter Himmelman on lead vocals and guitar, with his cousin Jeff Victor on keyboards and backup vocals. Both had previously performed as the only white members in Minneapolis soul singer Alexander O'Neal's band. ...

before pursuing an extensive solo career. Himmelman is also the founder of Big Muse, a company which helps individuals and organizations unlock their creative potential. He is married to Maria Dylan, a lawyer and adopted daughter of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

. They have four children.

Career

Himmelman garnered his first solo deal on

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...

in 1985 after a video for the song "Eleventh Confession" made its way onto regular rotation on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. His first release entitled ''This Father's Day'' was composed for Himmelman's father David. In the early '90s, he achieved significant alternative radio play with songs including "The Woman With The Strength of 10000 Men", from his ''From Strength To Strength'' release. He was nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 2002 for his song "Best Kind Of Answer" which appeared in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

series

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...

, for which Himmelman also composed the score. He was the composer for the FOX television show

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...

through the fourth season. He was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for his children's album, ''My Green Kite''.

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

has called Himmelman "one of rock's most wildly imaginative performers" for his often highly improvisational stage shows.

Big Muse

In 2011 Himmelman began working with organizations and brands such as

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

Gap Inc. The Gap, Inc., commonly known as Gap Inc. or Gap (stylized as GAP), is an American worldwide clothing and accessories retailer. Gap was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The c ...

, and

Banana Republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring c ...

to help them achieve better communication, innovation and leadership with a company he started called Big Muse. The methodology Himmelman created is designed to help organizations increase innovative thinking, team building and leadership ability. Its main metaphor for teaching these skills is songwriting.

Discography

Solo studio albums

*1986: ''This Father's Day'' (reissued 1995) *1987: ''Gematria'' *1989: ''Synesthesia'' *1991: ''From Strength to Strength'' *1992: ''Flown This Acid World'' *1994: ''

Skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

'' *1999: ''Love Thinketh No Evil'' *2004: ''Unstoppable Forces (bonus disc: Himmelvaults, vol. 3) *2005: ''Imperfect World'' *2007: ''Pigeons Couldn't Sleep'' (bonus DVD: Rock God – originally titled: Mittin Derinin) *2010: ''The Mystery and the Hum'' *2014: ''The Boat That Carries Us'' *2017: ''There Is No Calamity'' *2020: ''Press On''

Band albums

*1978: Shangoya – "Get a Grip" – 7" single *1979: Sussman Lawrence – ''Hail to the Modern Hero'' (reissued 1980) *1984: Sussman Lawrence – ''Pop City'' *2004: ''The Complete Sussman Lawrence'' (1979–1985) (double CD reissue with bonus tracks) (CD, Deep Shag Records) *2013: Minnesota – ''Are You There?'' (2013)

Solo children's albums

*1997: ''My Best Friend Is a Salamander'' *2000: ''My Fabulous Plum'' (re-issued 2004) *2004: ''My Lemonade Stand'' *2007: ''My Green Kite'' *2009: ''My Trampoline''

Live albums

*1996: ''Stage Diving'' – Live from The Bottom Line – NY, NY *2008: ''Pen and Ink''

Greatest hits compilations

*2004: ''The Complete Sussman Lawrence (1979–1985)'' (double CD reissue with bonus tracks) (CD, Deep Shag Records) *2005: ''Mission of My Soul, The Best of Peter Himmelman'' *2007: ''Songs of Folly and Transcendence (1998–2007)'' *2011: ''Best of Kids Collection: Songs to Make Boring Days Fun''

Rarities releases

*1998: ''Himmelvaults, Vol. 1'' *1999: ''Himmelman Music for Film'' *2002: ''Himmelvaults, Vol. 2'' *2004: ''Himmelvaults, Vol. 3'' – bundled with Unstoppable Forces *2005: ''Himmelvaults, Vol. 4 Pristine'' *2005: ''Himmelvaults, Vol. 5 When Grace Collides with Sin'' *2006: ''Himmelvaults, Vol. 6'' *2007: ''Himmelvaults, Vol. 7'' *2008: ''Himmelvaults, Vol. 8'' *2009: ''Blackout in the Book of Light'' *2011: ''Flimsy'' *2014: ''Himmelvaults, Vol. 9'' ;Spinoza Bear Project -In the early 1980s Peter Himmelman wrote and produced songs for Spinoza Bear, a therapeutic stuffed animal that was used to eliminate the stress of children in hospitals, rape victims, autism sufferers and others. He was also the voice of the bear. *1984: ''I'm Your Friend and My Name Is Spinoza – Bonding, Opens Communication'' *1985: ''You Are All You Need To Be – Encouragement, Self Esteem'' *1985: ''Everybody Needs A Little Tenderness – Ease Anxiety'' *1985: ''Dream on the Water – Encourage Sleep'' *1986: ''Do You Wonder – Curiosity, Learning'' *1986: ''Good Friends – Feelings, Relationships'' *1991: ''New Beginnings – Relaxation, Healthy Choices'' *1991: ''Breathing Healthy, Breathing Free – Positive Attitude, Deep Breathing'' *1991: ''Hold On to Me – Grief and Loss''

Filmography

Furious World He was also the creative force behind Furious World his live Internet show,(2008–2010) which broadcast every Tuesday evening at 7 pm (PT) from his home studio. The highly innovative show featured original live music with his band, video segments that ranged from philosophical to comedic, and special guests from the world of technology, music and the arts. Rock G-d Film Rock G-d is a documentary about Peter Himmelman directed by Keith Wolf. It is described as "a road epic about the pursuit of an adolescent dream into adult reality that powerfully touches on issues of faith, fame and failure".

Film and TV composition credits

TV scoring credits *

(FOX) *

(CBS) – Emmy nominated song "Best Kind of Answer" *

Men in Trees ''Men in Trees'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series starring Anne Heche as relationship coach Marin Frist, which premiered on September 12, 2006, on ABC. The series is set in the fictional town of Elmo, Alaska, and concerns M ...

(ABC) * Ex List (CBS) *

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization ...

(TNT) * Freshmen Diaries (Showtime) *

The American Embassy ''The American Embassy'' is an American drama series that aired on Fox from March to April 2002. The series was created by James D. Parriott, and executive produced by Danny DeVito. Synopsis The series follows the personal and professional lif ...

(FOX) *

Going to California "Going to California" is a ballad recorded by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on their untitled fourth album in 1971. In 2012, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked "Going to California" number 11 on their list of the 40 greatest Led Zep ...

(Showtime) *

Making the Band 4 ''Making the Band'' is an ABC/MTV reality television series that exists in separate iterations, each focusing on a specific music act. It spawned musical acts O-Town, Da Band, Danity Kane, Day26, and Donnie Klang. Except for the first iterati ...

(MTV) *

Bug Juice ''Bug Juice'' is a Disney Channel reality series that premiered on February 28, 1998. The series focuses around 20 kids and their experiences at summer camp. Together, the kids work hard to excel in their activities and become friends. The phra ...

(Disney) * ER – Season 9 – "A Thousand Cranes" (NBC): "Always in Disguise" from the album Flown This Acid World *

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

– Season 3 "Lend Me an Ear" (NBC) *

How To Rock ''How to Rock'' is an American teen sitcom that ran on Nickelodeon from February 4 to December 8, 2012. It stars singer Cymphonique Miller, who previously sang the theme song for Nickelodeon's ''Winx Club''. The series is based on the 2011 book ...

(Nickelodeon) Film music/scoring credits * Ash Tuesday – Janeane Garofalo * Four Feet * The Souler Opposite – Chris Meloni, Tim Busfield * Bill's Gun Shop *

A Slipping-Down Life ''A Slipping-Down Life'' is a 1999 romantic drama film directed by Toni Kalem. Based on a novel by Anne Tyler, it stars Lili Taylor and Guy Pearce. Plot Shy loner Evie (Taylor) hears musician Drumstrings Casey (Pearce) on the radio one night and ...

– Guy Pearce, Lili Taylor * Dinner & Driving – Joey Slotnick, Paula DeVico, Sam Robards, Brigitte Bako * Liar's Poker – Flea * Crossing The Bridge – Jason Gedrick, Stephen Baldwin, David Schwimmer *

Pyrates ''Pyrates'' is a 1991 comedy film, starring Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick about a couple who experience pyrokinesis after having sex. Directed and written by Noah Stern, the film was released on VHS on December 18, 1991. Plot When Ari (Kevin B ...

– Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick * Queen Sized – Nikki Blonsky *

Porn 'n Chicken Porn 'n' Chicken was a club based at Yale University. The secret society blazed briefly in the headlines in 2001 when members announced plans to make their own pornographic film on campus starring other Yale students, although the film was never re ...

* Snow in August * A Face to Kill For – Doug Savant, Crystal Bernard * Long Gone – Dermot Mulroney * Heart of Dixie – Ally Sheedy, Phoebe Cates, Treat Williams

Awards

* ASCAP – Top TV Series: Judging Amy (2000) * ASCAP – Top TV Series: Judging Amy (2003) * ASCAP – Top TV Series: Judging Amy (2004) * ASCAP – Top TV Series: Judging Amy (2005) * Family Channel Seal of Quality – My Best Friend is a Salamander (1997) * Family Channel Seal of Quality -My Fabulous Plum (2003) * Parents Choice – My Best Friend is a Salamander (1997) * Parents Choice – My Fabulous Plum (2003) * Parents Choice – My Green Kite (2007) * Parents Choice – My Trampoline (2009) * National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) Gold Award – My Green Kite (2007) * National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) Gold Award – My Trampoline (2009) * Minnesota Music Award – Best Male Songwriter (1993) Award nominations * Emmy 2002 Music and Lyrics – Judging Amy, song: "The Best Kind Of Answer" * Grammy 2008 Best Musical Album for Children – ''My Green Kite''

Visual art

Himmelman is also a visual artist and painter whose work appeared on the cover of his 1987 Island release ''Synesthesia''. A collection of his recent art can be found online.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Himmelman, Peter American film score composers American rock guitarists American male guitarists People from St. Louis Park, Minnesota Living people 1959 births American rock singers Baalei teshuva American male singer-songwriters Jewish American musicians Jewish rock musicians Singer-songwriters from Minnesota Guitarists from Minnesota 20th-century American guitarists American male film score composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews