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| Agreement Between Universal And Carole Bayer Sager Universal Music Publishing Group announced the signing of legendary, Academy Award winning composer, Carole Bayer Sager, to an exclusive, worldwide administration agreement. Sager was previously signed to Warner Chappell. Carole Bayer Sager has enjoyed one of the longest hit streaks in contemporary pop, with her chart success spanning across several decades. Carole Bayer Sager's lyrics can be found in scores of the most popular and successful songs for more than 25 years. From the universal lyrics of the Grammy winning, "That's What Friends Are For, " the personal message of "Don't Cry Out Loud, " the fun Academy Awarding-winning, "Arthur's Theme, " to the emotional message of "On My Own" and the spiritual message of the Golden Globe winning and Oscar-nominated song "The Prayer, " Carole's lyrics have become part of the American vocabulary and her songs have become standards. Honors for her work include an Academy Award (seven nominations), A Grammy (nine nominations), two Golden Globe Awards (seven nominations), A Tony award (2 nominations), an induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Whitney Houston Foundation, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. David Renzer, Chairman & CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group said of the signing, "Carole Bayer Sager is one of the true modern legends of the songwriting community. We at UMPG are deeply honored to have entered into this new deal and are already enjoying working closely with Carole as she continues to write more amazing songs and future hits." Born in New York City, Carole began writing poems as a child and began songwriting while still a student at the High School of Music and Art. In 1966, still in her teens, Carole co-wrote her first No.1 hit, "A Groovy Kind of Love, " for the English group The Mindbenders, popularizing a new word in the process. This song which Phil Collins reintroduced to listeners 23 years later, again climbed to No. 1, this time becoming the most performed radio hit of 1990. Neil Diamond also included it on his 1993 album, "Up On The Roof." "That's What Friends Are For" recorded by Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight, co-written with Burt Bacharach, Carole's former writing partner/husband, was the No. 1 song of 1986 and won the Grammy Award for "Song of the Year." Carole and Burt donated their publishing moneys from the song to the American Foundation for AIDS Research. The song has continued to heighten awareness of this critical disease as well as raising over two million dollars for research and care. That same year, "On My Own, " (recorded by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald) was not only a Grammy nominee, but also the No. 1 song on three different Billboard chart lists simultaneously. There had never been a time when two songwriter-producers topped two lists with two different No. 1 songs in the same year. Carole and Burt shattered that mark and more. "That's What Friends Are For, " and "On My Own" topped three lists. Ten years later in 1996 "On My Own" topped the country charts when Reba McEntire with Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride and Linda Davis re-recorded it and received a Grammy nomination for best Country Collaborations With Vocals. Bayer Sager has always credited Carole King with having a major impact on her career and was thrilled to have recently worked with her. King performed "Anyone At All, " co-written with King for the Nora Ephrom film "You've Got Mail." The three also collaborated on "My One True Friend" performed by Bette Midler for Universal's film "One True Thing" with Meryl Streep. Most importantly to Bayer Sager, she has gotten the opportunity to co-write along with King for King's long-awaited forthcoming LP. Her collaborations with Marvin Hamlisch resulted in two Oscar nominations, "Looking Through The Eyes Of Love" from "Ice Castles" and "Nobody Does It Better" from "The Spy Who Loved Me." Lyrics which Carole co-wrote with Hamlisch and Neil Simon can be heard in the Tony Award winning musical, "They're Playing Our Song." She also wrote songs for Bob Fosses' Broadway musicals, "All That Jazz" and "Dancin." Her creative songwriting collaborations in 1994 and 1995 earned her back to back Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for "Look What Love Has Done" from the feature film, "Junior and "The Day I Fall In Love" from the film "Beethoven." Two of her songs were nominated for Grammy's in 1996 -- "When You Love Someone" recorded by James Ingram and Anita Baker and previously mentioned, "On My Own." Other Bayer Sager collaborators have included Albert Hammond, Bette Midler, James Ingram, Neil Diamond, Dave Stewart, The M&M Girls, Rodney Jerkins and The Corrs' latest LP, Talk Around Corners, which has sold over four million copies. Most recently, Carole's efforts have resulted in an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award for Celine Dion/Andrea Bocelli's duet of "The Prayer" co-written with David Foster for the Warner Bros. Motion picture, "The Quest For Camelot." "The Prayer" duet with Andrea Bocelli is featured on Celine Dion's new Sony LP, These are Special Times and was performed by them on Celine's CBS holiday TV special, the 41st Annual Grammy Awards and the 67th Annual Academy Awards. Carole's songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Barbara Streisand, The Doobie Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton, Robert Flack, Peabo Bryson, Johnny Mathis, Kenny Rogers, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, Carly Simon, Leo Sayer, Dionne Warwick, Phil Collins and even Carole herself. Her first album, "Carole Bayer Sager, " spawned a No. 1 international single "You're Moving Out Today" and was a platinum LP in England, Germany, Japan and Australia. Two more albums followed with another hit single, "Stronger Than Before" from the Burt Bacharach produced album, "Sometimes Late At Night." write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |