Bill Conti
| Bill Conti | |
|---|---|
Bill Conti, 2008
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Conti |
| Born |
April 13, 1942 Providence, Rhode Island |
| Genres | Film score, Disco |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, Conductor |
| Instruments | bassoon, piano |
| Years active | 1969–present |
William "Bill" Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American composer and conductor best known for his film scores, including Rocky (and four of its sequels), For Your Eyes Only, Dynasty, and The Right Stuff, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Score. He also received nominations in the Best Original Song category for "Gonna Fly Now" from Rocky and for the title song of For Your Eyes Only. He has served as musical director at the Academy Awards a record nineteen times.
Conti, an Italian American, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Lucetta and William Conti. He graduated from North Miami High School in 1959. He is a past winner of the Silver Knight Award presented by the Miami Herald. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University, and also studied at the Juilliard School of Music.
His big break into celebrity came in 1976, when he was hired to compose the music for a small United Artists film called Rocky. The film became a phenomenon. Conti's training montage tune, "Gonna Fly Now", topped the Billboard singles chart in 1977, and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. The film won three Oscars at the 49th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The same ceremony was also the first time Conti served as musical director for the Academy Awards, which he has done 18 times subsequently, more than anybody else.
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