Michael Omartian
Michael Omartian | |
---|---|
Born | November 26, 1945 |
Origin | R&B |
Occupation(s) | Composer, musician, record producer |
Instrument(s) | Keyboards, drums, vocal |
Years active | 1970–present |
Website | michaelomartian |
Michael Omartian (born November 26, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger,
Omartian has produced albums for many artists, including
Life and career
Omartian was born in
In the late 1960s, Omartian helped launch
He was a founding member of the 1970s
Omartian has recorded a number of highly polished contemporary Christian music albums under his own name, including White Horse, Mainstream, Adam Again, and Conversations (an instrumental album). Virtually all his solo albums are now out of print. Omartian has also produced several Christian albums for others, most notably The Imperials' award-winning albums One More Song for You (1979) and Priority (1980).
In 1980, thanks to Christopher Cross' eponymous debut album, Omartian was nominated for four Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, and won three, for Record of the Year ("Sailing"), Album of the Year (Christopher Cross) and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist ("Sailing").[6] He received a fifth nomination that year for Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational, for his own album, The Builder, written and performed with his wife, Stormie.[7]
In 1985, Omartian was arranger and a keyboard player for the No. 1 hit "
In 2003, Omartian scored an audio book rendition of the biblical gospels, called Gospels Come to Life. The audio Bible was read by fellow CCM writer/musician Michael W. Smith, based on musical ideas by Smith. The Spanish-language version of this audio Bible was narrated by CCM artist Jaci Velasquez.
Toward the end of 2006, Omartian contributed to an album with
Omartian produced number-one records in three separate decades: the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.[11] He was nominated for Producer of the Year in 1980, 1984, and 1986.[12] In 1991, he was nominated for Album of the Year for Heart in Motion by Amy Grant.[12] In 1995, he was nominated for Country Song of the Year for "When Love Finds You," with Vince Gill, and for Gospel Album of the Year for The Light Inside, with Gary Chapman.[12] In 1994, Omartian produced One Voice, an album for the Summer Olympic Games.[13] His song "Atlanta Reel" was used as the theme for the swimming events.[13]
In early 2024, Omartian did an hour plus long interview with Rick Beato where he spoke about his time with Steely Dan, Christopher Cross and others along with his early days and influences which was made available on Beato's You Tube channel.
Discography
- White Horse (1974)
- Adam Again (1977)
- Seasons of the Soul (1979)
- Mainstream (1982)
- Conversations (1986)
- The Race (1991)
Awards
Grammy Awards In 1980, he was nominated for ten Grammy Awards, three of which he won for producing and arranging on Christopher Cross' debut album:
- 1980:
- 1980: Record of the Year for "Sailing"
- 1980: Album of the Year for Christopher Cross
GMA Dove Awards
- 1981: Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for One More Song for You (The Imperials)
- 1982: Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for Priority (The Imperials)
- 1997: Instrumental Album of the Year for The Players (with Dann Huff, Tommy Sims, Tom Hemby, Terry McMillan, Chris Rodriguez, Shane Keister, Mark Douthit, Eric Darken)
References
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (April 22, 2009). "Kris Allen's 'She Works Hard For The Money': The Story Behind The Cover – Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
- ^ Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny (November 26, 1945). "Michael Omartian | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- ^ "53. Adam Again – Michael Omartian | CCM's 500 Best Albums Of All Time". Ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com. June 7, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- ^ "Michael Omartian". Ccmclassic.com. November 26, 1945. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- ^ "Billy Joel, "Piano Man," credits". AllMusic. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ a b "23rd Annual Grammy Awards". www.grammy.com. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
- ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 20, 1980.
- ^ "Performers From USA For Africa's "We Are The World"". In The 80s. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- ^ Herring, Buck. "One on One (Annie's newest release 2006)". Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
- ^ "2nd Chapter Of Acts And Michael And Stormie Omartian – Together Live". Discogs]. November 13, 1983. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
- ^ "Michael Omartian | Yamaha Artists". Yamaha.com. November 26, 1945. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Artist Michael Omartian". grammy.com. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- ^ a b "Michael Omartian | Yamaha Artists". Yamaha.com. June 15, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Biography: Michael Omartian". AllMusic. Retrieved June 2, 2010.