Hap, Hap, Happy Days for Songwriter Charles Fox - San Jose Mercury News

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Hap, hap, happy days for songwriter Charles Fox - San Jose Mercury News http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_19678966

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By Paul Freeman For The Daily News Posted: 01/05/2012 12:07:51 AM PST Updated: 01/05/2012 12:07:51 AM PST

It should come as no surprise that Charles Fox recently received recognition from the Smithsonian Institute. The award- winning composer is, himself, an American institution, having penned such pop classics as "Killing Me Softly," "Ready To Take A Chance Again" and "I Got A Name," such iconic TV themes as "Happy Days," "Laverne and Shirley" and "The Love Boat," and scores for many films.

Fox's success is the result not only of rare talent, but of dedication to his craft.

"You never know what the public is going to reach for," he said. "But I do know if I've written a good song and I do know if there's something unique about it. You just have to know, as a songwriter, when you've written something that's special, that says what you want to say. Until then, I'm not satisfied. You keep working on it, honing away. A note up, a note down, a phrase here, invert a phrase, change the sequence. It's a process."

You can learn more about Fox's process and his fascinating career when he appears at Palo Alto's Oshman Family Jewish Community Center on Jan. 12. Perched at the piano, he'll perform and offer anecdotes, many of which will be drawn from "Killing Me Softly: My Life In Music," his recently published memoir.

Of writing the book, Fox said, "Looking back was something I really didn't do too much. I was too busy working and looking forward. So it was interesting, thinking about the past, the things that had the greatest impact on Latest headlines me." The cost of dying: It's hard to reject care even as costs Advertisement Fox grew up in the Bronx. He attended Performing Arts soar High School and went on to study composing in Paris Hear Ye: Westbound Bay Bridge shut down over with the renowned Nadia Boulanger. At Columbia Presidents Day weekend University, he studied electronic music. More California high school students taking, passing AP tests "First of all, you have to have the desire, the need," said PG&E warns of Valentine's hazard: Metallic-coated Fox. "You have to want to lock yourself in a room for balloons hours at a time, creating music. Certainly, you need to Daily crime blotter learn from the past, learn the structure that music is POLICE BEAT based on. But that basic, inherent need and the ability to write music is something you can't teach. You can't teach Palo Alto Daily News on Facebook someone how to put notes together to make a memorable melody." Like 253

His career was launched with such jobs as arranging for "The Tonight Show" orchestra, then led by Skitch Related features Henderson. Fox wrote theme songs for a number of Peninsula crime map Goodson-Todman television shows, including "What's My San Mateo County news Line," "To Tell The Truth" and "Match Game." Special report: High-speed rail Fox has written music for such movies as "Foul Play," "Barbarella," "Goodbye, Columbus" and "The Other Side of the Mountain." Most Viewed

Writing on assignment presents a whole new set of challenges. (From the last 12 hours)

"It's healthy to have confines, some sort of self-imposed restrictions, self-imposed ideas of what you're trying to say, so that 1. Purdy: Spurred by Tiger, Mickelson revels in one piece is different from another. When you work for film, clearly, you're working to a fixed amount of time in a scene." victory 2. Exclusive: Jeremy Lin says 'Lin-sanity' was Of film scoring, he explained, "It shouldn't overwhelm the film and take away from its meaning. It should add to it. To me, triggered by a leap of... the music in a film is a character on the screen, no less important than one of the lead actors. It helps the storytelling 3. Google has intriguing plans at the Googleplex process. It has a color and a character and, if it's done well, it supports the movie and gives it a shape, a contour and, of 4. Seven-pound Yorkie killed while protecting course, a musical base, as well as themes. owner in San Jose street... 5. At the ripe old age of 22, she's already a lifer at "The dialogue may be saying what's on the character's mind, but sometimes, the emotional context that music brings is work more important. Usually, it's a balance, and music supports the key moments that the composer and the director have 6. People: Katy Perry uses Grammys to bash decided are needed for the film." Russell Brand

1 of 3 2/13/2012 5:34 PM Hap, hap, happy days for songwriter Charles Fox - San Jose Mercury News http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_19678966

In 1973, Fox teamed with lyricist Norman Gimbel to create "Killing Me Softly With His Song" for a Lori Lieberman album. When Roberta Flack covered the tune, it turned into a No. 1, Grammy-winning, pop hit. Recommendations

"That song was written quickly. Roberta Flack heard it on an American Airlines flight from New York to Los Angeles. If she Exclusive: Jeremy Lin says 'Lin-sanity' had flown on United Airlines that day, I might not be in this position," Fox said. was triggered by a leap of faith - San Jose Mercury News That same year, Fox and Gimbel had another hit with "I Got A Name." 268 people recommend this.

Exclusive: Jeremy Lin says 'Lin-sanity' "That one was written for a film, 'The Last American Hero,' starring Jeff Bridges. It was meant to personify his character on was triggered by a leap of faith - San the screen. We found this new, young singer coming up the charts. His name was Jim Croce. We heard his record Jose Mercury News 'Operator' on the radio and thought he could be a very good voice for this song and for the role in the picture the song would play." 24 people recommend this.

Fox established himself as a go-to-guy for TV themes, contributing memorable opening numbers for such shows as "Wonder Woman," "The Paper Chase" and "ABC's Wide World of Sports."

Facebook social plugin "The objective is always the same, to identify what the show is about, to give it a musical color, a style, some sort of thematic and harmonic and orchestration base that make people say, 'Oh, I like that show,' that brings you right into what that show's all about, whether the song has words or not. Top Classifieds

"Music resonates with people in different ways. And television is a great communicator. Where else do you have tens of REAL RENTALS JOBS AUTOS millions of people watching at the same moment? And I'm creating music that will be heard on a weekly basis, so you have ESTATE an obligation to find the right way to do it. It's easy to put things together that sound OK, but how do you put something together that's going to be a significant part of this show, something that people are going to hang on to and remember?" CORVAIR '63 Spyder Convt. Consignments Wanted Consignments Wanted One of his most unforgettable TV tunes was the "Happy Days" theme. The 45-rpm record bearing his name, seen in every CHEVROLET 2006 HHR episode's opening, was recently enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. 18' Seaswirl I/O V8 JEEP 2009 Custom Sierra "It's on permanent display, next to the Fonz's jacket, by Archie Bunker's chair and across from the original Muppets," Fox CHEVY 2012 Impala LT DODGE 2006 Grand Caravan said. "That's touching to me. It's cool to be represented that way. It's a nice little '50s kind of song, but for a lot of people, it was a significant part of their lives, growing up. I had the same thing when I was young, listening to 'Davy Crockett.'" ALL LISTINGS

Fox, who has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, is working on three Broadway projects, as well as a piece honoring the Israeli Olympic athletes who were killed in Munich.

"I thrive on challenges. No one ever told me, 'You can't do. You shouldn't do.' And if they did, I wouldn't believe them."

Email Paul Freeman at [email protected].

Music preview

What: Composer Charles Fox Where: Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto When: 7 p.m. Jan. 12 Tickets: $10-$18; 650-223-8700 or www.paloaltojcc.org Artist website: www.charlesfoxmusic.com

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