Thor Baldursson (born Þórir Baldursson in 1944) is an Icelandic composer, organist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...

, and records with

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 ...

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

and Elton John. The 1978 Disco-funk track

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining (village), New York, Ossining, New York, United States. It is abou ...

by his band Gaz became a sought after sample, its rhythm appearing on a number of hits to this day, giving Baldursson songwriting credits on tracks by Drake (Wu-Tang Forever), Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue and more. That sample is the foundation block of the

Baltimore Club Baltimore club, also called B'more club, B'more house or simply B'more, is a music genre that fuses breakbeat and house. It was created in Baltimore in the early 1990s by Frank Ski, Scottie B, Shawn Caesar, DJ Technics, DJ Class, DJ Patrick, K ...

genre of music. Baldursson grew up in Keflavík, close to the US military base that ran the international airport. The American radio broadcasts from the base were a heavy influence on him. His first successes were locally, with his band Savanna Tríó, who released a number of folk records between 1962 and 1967. He moved to Sweden in 1970, and to Germany in 1972. While in Germany he started working with Giorgio Moroder and

Pete Belotte Peter John Bellotte (born 28 August 1943)Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Inde ...

, as their arranger, as well as some production and instrumentation. He conducted the

Salsoul Orchestra The Salsoul Orchestra was the backing Band (music), band of session musicians for many acts on the New York City label Salsoul Records and, under its own name, recorded several hit singles and albums between 1975 and 1982. History The orchestr ...

References

{{authority control Icelandic composers 1944 births Living people