John Bettis
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John Bettis | |
---|---|
San Pedro, California, U.S.[1] | |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Songwriter |
Years active | 1967−present |
John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American
He has been nominated four times and won two Emmy Awards for his work in television. His first Emmy was for the theme to the 1988 Summer Olympics co-written with Albert Hammond, and his second win was for "Where There is Hope" from Guiding Light.[3] Bettis has written the themes for many long-running TV series. With Steve Dorff, he wrote the theme to Growing Pains, Just the Ten of Us and My Sister Sam. With George Tipton, he wrote the themes to Empty Nest and Nurses.
He was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Promise Me You'll Remember from The Godfather Part III. His work in film also includes: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Body Rock, The Last Boy Scout, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Lonely Guy, Legend, Vision Quest, Supergirl, The Men's Club, Pure Country, Nothing in Common, Cocktail, 8 Seconds, Cobra, Back to the Beach,[4] Oh, God! You Devil,[5] December Boys, Curly Sue[6] and Say Anything.
In theatre, Bettis has provided lyrics for the musicals Lunch (tour 1994); Svengali (1992); The Last Session (L.A. Drama critics Award, Best Musical Score 1998); Say Goodnight (1999); Pure Country (2008) and most recently Josephine (2011).
Bettis has nearly 800 song credits in the
Early life
John Bettis was born in
Songwriting career
In 1969, Richard and Karen Carpenter signed a contract with
During this time Bettis was spending half the year in Nashville slowly getting acquainted with the songwriting community. After hearing the Carpenter/Bettis song "Top of the World", country star Lynn Anderson recorded the song, earning Bettis his first success in country music. Anderson was the first to release the song as a single and make it a hit in 1973. The success of Anderson's recording prompted the Carpenters to release their version as a single that same year. The Carpenters' version peaked at #1 for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1973.
While the Carpenters rose to fame with co-written hits like "Only Yesterday", "I Need to Be in Love" and their own version of "Top of the World", Bettis continued working in Nashville. In 1978, Ronnie Milsap had a number one hit with Bettis' co-written "Only One Love in My Life".
In 1981, The Pointer Sisters peaked at number two for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as number 7 on the R&B chart with "Slow Hand", written by John Bettis and Michael Clark, with Conway Twitty making it a number one hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart the following year. Clark and Bettis also co-wrote Juice Newton's "Heart of the Night" and Donna Summer's "The Woman in Me".
In 1983, Bettis gained his biggest achievement with "
In 1985, Bettis accepted an assignment in
Perhaps Bettis' best-known commissioned work is "As Long as We Got Each Other", co-written with long-time collaborator Steve Dorff as the theme song to the hit ABC Network television sitcom Growing Pains, sung by five-time Grammy winner B. J. Thomas for six seasons, solo for season 1; and, as a duet with Jennifer Warnes for seasons 2, 3, 5, and 7; and with Dusty Springfield for season 4.
In 1988, he co-wrote "One Moment in Time" with Albert Hammond which was recorded by Whitney Houston as the theme for the Summer Olympics.
John Bettis continued developing an eclectic catalog into the 1990s. 1991's "Can You Stop the Rain" topped the R&B charts in 1991 for Peabo Bryson. "If You Go Away" was a top 20 hit in 1992 for New Kids on the Block, and "Heartland", from the soundtrack to the film Pure Country, was a number one hit for George Strait.
Theater
Bettis has provided lyrics for the musicals Lunch (tour 1994); Svengali (1992); The Last Session (L.A. Drama critics Award, Best Musical Score 1998); Say Goodnight (1999); Pure Country (2008), and most recently Josephine (2011).
Awards
Bettis was nominated for an
In 2011, Bettis was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame as well as the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Personal life
John Bettis currently lives in Nashville with his wife Mary and his children.[10][citation needed]
Songs
- List of songs by John Bettis
References
- ^ "San Pedro high grad John Bettis inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame". Daily Breeze. April 26, 2011.
- ^ "John Bettis". biography. emimusicpub.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ^ "Daytime Emmy Awards (2001)". IMDb.
- ^ Hobbs, Lyndall (August 7, 1987). "Back to the Beach". Paramount Pictures.
- ^ "Oh, God! You Devil (1984) - Soundtracks - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ "Curly Sue (1991) - Soundtracks - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ ASCAP https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/writer/41926685/BETTIS%20JOHN.
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(help) - ^ "Driving dreams dashed, drummer dubbed & more!". March 20, 2016.
- ^ Littlejohn, Donna. "San Pedro high grad John Bettis inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame". interview. presstelegram.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ^ "Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame". nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com.