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John Cameron (musician)

January 01, 1970

John Cameron (born 20 March 1944)[1] is a British composer, arranger, conductor and musician. He is well known for his many film, TV and stage credits, and for his contributions to pop recordings, notably those by Donovan, Cilla Black and the group Hot Chocolate. Cameron's instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", became a hit for his group CCS and, for many years, a version of Cameron's arrangement was used as the theme music for the BBC TV show Top of the Pops.

John Cameron
Born (1944-03-20) 20 March 1944 (age 80)
Woodford, Essex, England
Occupation(s)Composer, arranger, conductor, record producer
Years active1966–present

Biography edit

Cameron was born in Woodford, Essex, England. By the age of 12, he had started performing in talent shows, and at 14 played jazz piano in pubs in Croydon.[2] He was educated at Wallington County Grammar School and at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he was a contemporary of Daryl Runswick.[3] Aside from performing on the local jazz scene, Cameron also became Vice-President of the Cambridge Footlights comedy club, where he collaborated on lyrics and performed with Eric Idle.[2]

After leaving Cambridge, he played in jazz groups, often performing satirical material, and recorded an album, Cover Lover, in 1966. He also began working as an arranger for pop and rock artists, including Alex Harvey, before being introduced to folk-pop artist Donovan.[2] His credits include Donovan's number 1 U.S. hit "Sunshine Superman" (co-arranged with Spike Heatley). Cameron eventually became Donovan's music director, but there was an unexpected hiatus of several months following the recording of the Sunshine Superman album. Donovan's British label, Pye Records, who had a US licensing deal with Warner Bros Records, filed a lawsuit when they found out that Donovan had signed an American recording deal with rival label Epic Records. The legal proceedings held up the UK release of the album, and prevented Donovan from touring or recording for several months in early 1966. In the interim Cameron was obliged to go back to conducting pantomime at his local Watford Palace Theatre.[4]

From mid-1966, with the lawsuit resolved, Cameron began touring and recording regularly with Donovan, and he arranged and played on many of his hit singles "Jennifer Juniper" and "Epistle to Dippy", the albums Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow, as well as Donovan's music for the 1967 Ken Loach film, Poor Cow.[5]

Cameron also began working in television; one of his first major credits in this area was as music director and arranger for three seasons of the TV variety series Once More with Felix with folk-singer Julie Felix (1967–69), The Bobbie Gentry Show and numerous episodes of Stanley Dorfman's In Concert series for the BBC, which featured artists including James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Randy Newman.[5]

Cameron also scored two British hits as a songwriter with "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind", a number 20 UK hit for Cilla Black (which was also a number 11 UK hit for Agnetha Fältskog in 2004) and "Sweet Inspiration", a Top 10 single for Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon.[6]

Cameron's first venture in film composition was for director Ken Loach, who asked him to compose the score for Kes (1969).[7] This led to further commissions, including The Ruling Class (1972) with Peter O'Toole, Night Watch (1973) with Elizabeth Taylor, and A Touch of Class (1973) with Glenda Jackson and George Segal, for which Cameron was nominated for an Academy Award.[5] His other film scores included The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970) and the cult horror film Psychomania (1973), among many others. He also collaborated with Keith Mansfield on albums of library music.[2]

In the early 1970s, Cameron formed CCS, a jazz-rock big band that included Cameron, Mickie Most, Alexis Korner and Herbie Flowers; they scored four UK hits—a mainly instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" (UK number 13), a version of which was also used as the theme music for Top of the Pops from 1970 to 1981; the Donovan songs "Walkin'" (UK number 7); and "Tap Turns on the Water" (UK number 5) and "Brother" (UK number 25), both written by Cameron and Korner.[5]

Cameron had further success as pop arranger with UK soul-funk band Hot Chocolate, working on all their hit singles including "Emma", "Heaven Is in the Back Seat of My Cadillac", "You Sexy Thing" and "Every 1's a Winner". Similarly, he worked as arranger with Heatwave on three albums, including the singles "Boogie Nights", "Always and Forever", "The Groove Line" and "Gangsters of the Groove".[5] He is also credited for the score on the 1974 UK hit single "Central Park Arrest" by vocal trio Thunderthighs, working alongside Steve Rowland (record producer) and songwriter Lynsey de Paul.[8]

In the late 1970s, Cameron was approached by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg to arrange and conduct a concept album based on Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. Initially staged in Paris, France, by Robert Hossein, it was then produced in the UK by Cameron Mackintosh and the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. Les Misérables became one of the most successful musicals of all time, winning Cameron the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations and a National Broadway Theatre Award.[5] He also orchestrated the 1991 London Palladium revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Honk! and Spend Spend Spend.

Cameron's numerous TV credits include The Protectors television series, the Emmy Award-winning TV miniseries Jack the Ripper (starring Michael Caine), Disney's Little House on the Prairie, To End All Wars and The Path to 9/11, for which Cameron was nominated for an Emmy Award.[5]

Cameron has also worked with artists such as José Carreras and the Choir of New College Oxford and Swedish baritone Carry Persson.[5] He produced and arranged Lux Aeterna, a choral setting of Elgar’s Nimrod, and conducted his own composition, Missa Celtica, recorded with the English Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of New College Oxford.[9]

The song "Paper Habits" by Jet Life (Currensy's rap group), sampled Cameron's "Liquid Sunshine", and is from the group's collaboration album Jet World Order (2011).

Filmography edit

Selected discography edit

  • The Protectors (CD, Networkonair. Original incidental music from the series, released in 2009)
  • Folk, Funk and Beyond: the arrangements of John Cameron. Ace Records CDTOP 1631 (2023)

References edit

  1. ^ "John Cameron". IMDb.com. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Johnnie Johnstone, "Just Say Yes!", Shindig!, #119, September 2021, pp. 56-61
  3. ^ 'Tripos Examination Results', The Times, 11 June 1965.
  4. ^ "John Cameron on Harold McNair", JazzWax.com. Retrieved 15 September 2022
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h . Johncameronmusic.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  6. ^ "CREDIT LIST :: John Cameron". Johncameronmusic.com. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  7. ^ "Kes". IMDb.com. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  8. ^ "Thunderthighs - Central Park Arrest". Discogs.com. 20 June 1974. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  9. ^ "John Cameron", Zorro.com. Retrieved 16 April 2022

External links edit

  • John Cameron official website
  • CCS
  • John Cameron at IMDb

January 01, 1970
john, cameron, musician, john, cameron, born, march, 1944, british, composer, arranger, conductor, musician, well, known, many, film, stage, credits, contributions, recordings, notably, those, donovan, cilla, black, group, chocolate, cameron, instrumental, ver. John Cameron born 20 March 1944 1 is a British composer arranger conductor and musician He is well known for his many film TV and stage credits and for his contributions to pop recordings notably those by Donovan Cilla Black and the group Hot Chocolate Cameron s instrumental version of Led Zeppelin s Whole Lotta Love became a hit for his group CCS and for many years a version of Cameron s arrangement was used as the theme music for the BBC TV show Top of the Pops John CameronBorn 1944 03 20 20 March 1944 age 80 Woodford Essex EnglandOccupation s Composer arranger conductor record producerYears active1966 present Contents 1 Biography 2 Filmography 3 Selected discography 4 References 5 External linksBiography editCameron was born in Woodford Essex England By the age of 12 he had started performing in talent shows and at 14 played jazz piano in pubs in Croydon 2 He was educated at Wallington County Grammar School and at Corpus Christi College Cambridge where he was a contemporary of Daryl Runswick 3 Aside from performing on the local jazz scene Cameron also became Vice President of the Cambridge Footlights comedy club where he collaborated on lyrics and performed with Eric Idle 2 After leaving Cambridge he played in jazz groups often performing satirical material and recorded an album Cover Lover in 1966 He also began working as an arranger for pop and rock artists including Alex Harvey before being introduced to folk pop artist Donovan 2 His credits include Donovan s number 1 U S hit Sunshine Superman co arranged with Spike Heatley Cameron eventually became Donovan s music director but there was an unexpected hiatus of several months following the recording of the Sunshine Superman album Donovan s British label Pye Records who had a US licensing deal with Warner Bros Records filed a lawsuit when they found out that Donovan had signed an American recording deal with rival label Epic Records The legal proceedings held up the UK release of the album and prevented Donovan from touring or recording for several months in early 1966 In the interim Cameron was obliged to go back to conducting pantomime at his local Watford Palace Theatre 4 From mid 1966 with the lawsuit resolved Cameron began touring and recording regularly with Donovan and he arranged and played on many of his hit singles Jennifer Juniper and Epistle to Dippy the albums Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow as well as Donovan s music for the 1967 Ken Loach film Poor Cow 5 Cameron also began working in television one of his first major credits in this area was as music director and arranger for three seasons of the TV variety series Once More with Felix with folk singer Julie Felix 1967 69 The Bobbie Gentry Show and numerous episodes of Stanley Dorfman s In Concert series for the BBC which featured artists including James Taylor Joni Mitchell and Randy Newman 5 Cameron also scored two British hits as a songwriter with If I Thought You d Ever Change Your Mind a number 20 UK hit for Cilla Black which was also a number 11 UK hit for Agnetha Faltskog in 2004 and Sweet Inspiration a Top 10 single for Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon 6 Cameron s first venture in film composition was for director Ken Loach who asked him to compose the score for Kes 1969 7 This led to further commissions including The Ruling Class 1972 with Peter O Toole Night Watch 1973 with Elizabeth Taylor and A Touch of Class 1973 with Glenda Jackson and George Segal for which Cameron was nominated for an Academy Award 5 His other film scores included The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer 1970 and the cult horror film Psychomania 1973 among many others He also collaborated with Keith Mansfield on albums of library music 2 In the early 1970s Cameron formed CCS a jazz rock big band that included Cameron Mickie Most Alexis Korner and Herbie Flowers they scored four UK hits a mainly instrumental version of Led Zeppelin s Whole Lotta Love UK number 13 a version of which was also used as the theme music for Top of the Pops from 1970 to 1981 the Donovan songs Walkin UK number 7 and Tap Turns on the Water UK number 5 and Brother UK number 25 both written by Cameron and Korner 5 Cameron had further success as pop arranger with UK soul funk band Hot Chocolate working on all their hit singles including Emma Heaven Is in the Back Seat of My Cadillac You Sexy Thing and Every 1 s a Winner Similarly he worked as arranger with Heatwave on three albums including the singles Boogie Nights Always and Forever The Groove Line and Gangsters of the Groove 5 He is also credited for the score on the 1974 UK hit single Central Park Arrest by vocal trio Thunderthighs working alongside Steve Rowland record producer and songwriter Lynsey de Paul 8 In the late 1970s Cameron was approached by Alain Boublil and Claude Michel Schonberg to arrange and conduct a concept album based on Victor Hugo s Les Miserables Initially staged in Paris France by Robert Hossein it was then produced in the UK by Cameron Mackintosh and the Royal Shakespeare Company directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird Les Miserables became one of the most successful musicals of all time winning Cameron the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations and a National Broadway Theatre Award 5 He also orchestrated the 1991 London Palladium revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Honk and Spend Spend Spend Cameron s numerous TV credits include The Protectors television series the Emmy Award winning TV miniseries Jack the Ripper starring Michael Caine Disney s Little House on the Prairie To End All Wars and The Path to 9 11 for which Cameron was nominated for an Emmy Award 5 Cameron has also worked with artists such as Jose Carreras and the Choir of New College Oxford and Swedish baritone Carry Persson 5 He produced and arranged Lux Aeterna a choral setting of Elgar s Nimrod and conducted his own composition Missa Celtica recorded with the English Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of New College Oxford 9 The song Paper Habits by Jet Life Currensy s rap group sampled Cameron s Liquid Sunshine and is from the group s collaboration album Jet World Order 2011 Filmography editKes 1969 Every Home Should Have One 1970 The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer 1970 The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie 1972 Made 1972 The Ruling Class 1972 Night Watch 1973 A Touch of Class 1973 Psychomania 1973 Charley One Eye 1973 Scalawag 1973 Moments 1974 Who 1974 Out of Season 1975 Whiffs 1975 I Will I Will for Now 1976 Guardian of the Wilderness 1976 Pure as a Lily 1976 The Great Scout amp Cathouse Thursday 1976 Nasty Habits 1977 Spectre 1977 The Thief of Baghdad 1978 Lost and Found 1979 The London Connection 1979 Sunburn 1979 The Mirror Crack d 1980 Jimmy the Kid 1982 Witness for the Prosecution 1982 The Jigsaw Man 1984 The Secret Garden 1987 Jack the Ripper 1988 Frankenstein 1992 To End All Wars 2001 After 2006 Selected discography editThe Protectors CD Networkonair Original incidental music from the series released in 2009 Folk Funk and Beyond the arrangements of John Cameron Ace Records CDTOP 1631 2023 References edit John Cameron IMDb com Retrieved 14 May 2014 a b c d Johnnie Johnstone Just Say Yes Shindig 119 September 2021 pp 56 61 Tripos Examination Results The Times 11 June 1965 John Cameron on Harold McNair JazzWax com Retrieved 15 September 2022 a b c d e f g h BIOGRAPHY John Cameron Johncameronmusic com Archived from the original on 13 July 2011 Retrieved 14 May 2014 CREDIT LIST John Cameron Johncameronmusic com Retrieved 14 May 2014 Kes IMDb com Retrieved 14 May 2014 Thunderthighs Central Park Arrest Discogs com 20 June 1974 Retrieved 20 May 2023 John Cameron Zorro com Retrieved 16 April 2022External links editJohn Cameron official website CCS John Cameron at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Cameron musician amp oldid 1200946488, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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