Ira Newborn is an American musician, actor, orchestrator and composer, best known for his work composing motion picture soundtracks.
Life and career
Newborn was born in New York City. Among the many films he has scored or for which he has written songs are Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Mallrats, the smoky jazz score for Into the Night – for which he wrote music for B.B. King – and . He frequently worked with director John Hughes. He also stepped in as musical director and producer for The Blues Brothers. Newborn's many film credits also include a small acting role in Xanadu, in which he appears as a 1940s band leader. Newborn's most famous association is possibly as the soundtrack composer for the Naked Gun series of police satires starring Leslie Nielsen. Newborn’s brassy big band/blues theme song for the franchisefirst appeared on the TV series that inspired the movies, 1982's Police Squad!. Newborn has also worked in concerts and commercials, on Broadway, and in the recording industry as performer, arranger, composer, and conductor. Newborn is also a professor at New York University, from which he received his bachelor's degree in 1972. Influenced by an eclectic variety of composers — such as Johann Sebastian Bach, James Brown and Beatles — guitarist Newborn led and played in several musical groups before signing on as the musical director for the vocal groupThe Manhattan Transfer. Among the many artists on whose records Ira Newborn has worked are Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Billy Joel, and The Pointer Sisters.
As a songwriter
Newborn wrote two songs performed by B.B. King for the Into the Night soundtrack: "My Lucille" and "Into the Night". Two songs co-written by Newborn appeared on the Into the NightLP, but not in the film: "Don't Make Me Sorry", co-written by Joe Esposito and performed by Patti La Belle; and "Keep It Light", co-written by Reginald "Sonny" Burke and performed by Thelma Houston. Newborn also co-wrote "Clap Your Hands" for The Manhattan Transfer. He co-wrote the song "Get It On And Have A Party" with singer Patti Brooks for the Dr. Detroit soundtrack. Both "Geek Boogie" from Sixteen Candles and "Geek Romance" from Weird Science were credited to Ira and the Geeks. He co-wrote "I Guess I'm Just Screwed" for ' with David Zucker and Robert LoCash. With Peter Segal, he co-wrote "The Food Song" for the ' soundtrack.
