Randy Edelman

Born on June 10, 1947, in Patterson, New Jersey, Randy Edelman demonstrated an early aptitude for music by teaching himself piano and composing his initial songs at age 14. After a short stint studying medicine at the University of Cincinnati, he left academia to focus on a musical path that led to an arranging position at King Records. Relocating to New York in 1970, he took a staff-writing role at CBS Records while also performing on keyboards for the Broadway show The Boyfriend. His self-titled debut pop album appeared in 1972, the same year he delivered his first film score for Outside In. Settling in Los Angeles around this period, Edelman frequently opened for the Carpenters, who included his composition “Piano Picker” on the album A Song for You. Although his subsequent solo releases—1973’s Laughter & Tears and 1975’s Prime Cuts—built a loyal following in Britain, American audiences primarily recognized him through his songwriting, which attracted covers from Patti LaBelle, Olivia Newton-John, and Bing Crosby; Barry Manilow’s 1976 Top Ten hit “Weekend in New England” further highlighted his material. Turning to television scoring in the early 1980s, he supplied music for MacGyver and multiple TV movies before securing his first major feature assignment with the 1988 comedy Twins starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. Additional comedic scores such as Ghostbusters 2, Kindergarten Cop, and My Cousin Vinny preceded a Golden Globe nomination for the 1992 historical action-drama The Last of the Mohicans. He later received an Emmy Award for his contributions to NBC’s broadcast of the 1996 Summer Olympics.