Biography
John Bettis, working as a lyricist, built his primary reputation on a prolonged partnership with the Carpenters. That association opened with the 1969 album Offering and ran for the full length of the duo’s existence, generating multiple Top Ten hits such as "Goodbye to Love," "Yesteday Once More," "Top of the World," and "Only Yesterday." Additional major songs from his catalog encompass the Top Ten ballad "Human Nature" from Michael Jackson’s 1982 blockbuster Thriller, "Slow Hand," a smash for both Conway Twitty and the Pointer Sisters, and "Crazy for You," the 1985 Madonna chart-topper. Bettis occupied the post of Chairman of the Board at the National Academy of Songwriters across 1986 and 1987. In 1988 he received an Emmy Award for "One Moment in Time," the theme he supplied for the Olympic Games. His further collaboration with composer Carmine Coppola produced "Promise Me You'll Remember" for the 1990 film The Godfather Part III, which earned an Oscar nomination as well. Two years later Bettis teamed with Steve Dorff to compose "Heartland," the theme to the George Strait movie Pure Country.