Description
Book SynopsisCharles Fox has composed more than 100 motion picture and television scores, among them the themes of many iconic series, including Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Love, American Style, and Love Boat. Twice nominated for the Academy Award and a two-time Emmy winner, Fox has also written music for the concert hall and the ballet. Among the hundreds of songs he has written is the Grammy Award-winning Killing Me Softly with His Song, a number one record in just about every country in the world, by two different artists: Roberta Flack in 1973 and the Fugees, 20 years later. In this memoir, Fox recounts his development as a musician, beginning with his formal music education in Paris. From letters he wrote home between 1959 and 1961, Fox recounts his studies under the tutelage of the most renowned music composition teacher of the 20th century, Nadia Boulanger, whose influence Fox carried throughout his entire professional career. Following his return to the states, Fox describes the corner
Trade ReviewFox’s breezy writing style captures a man who seems grateful for his successes and the longevity of his career, and holds few, if any, grudges over the ups and downs of the film and music industries....Hopefully Fox’s smart and charming autobiography will send readers back to their CDs, LPs, DVDs and Nick at Nite to rediscover the work of this underrated composer. * Film Score Monthly *
Charles Fox's Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music is, quite simply, one of the finest composer autobiographies I have ever read. Fox is the Oscar-nominated, Grammy- and Emmy-winning composer of such songs as "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and "I Got a Name"; films including Goodbye Columbus, Foul Play and 9 to 5; and such iconic TV themes as Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and The Love Boat. But this is not "And Then I Wrote..." Rather, Fox frames his career with the story of his youthful studies with famed French composition teacher Nadia Boulanger, who also taught Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Quincy Jones and Michel Legrand. * The Film Music Society *
A fascinating new memoir. * Broadcast Music, Inc. *
A sparkling memoir that details one of the most interesting and successful careers in American music history. * Aol News *
Readers are taken into a world only an insider can share....Fox, a master of both drama and comedy, shares trade secrets simply by telling his story....Killing Me Softly is certainly a volume for both public and school libraries and for general readers with special interest in television and film scores. As this is a memoir and not a movie or TV textbook, one doesn’t need to know musical nor film terminology to follow Fox’s own education in how to merge compositional talent with the eccentricities of media production. After reading this memoir, most readers will find themselves appreciating not only the work of Fox but all those who labor to provide musical beds for the audio-visual arts. Simply stated, this is a book for anyone who loves music as much as Charles Fox himself. * Bookpleasures.com *
Television fans may want to pick up Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music by Charles Fox. In his memoir, Fox recounts his life from his formal music education in Paris through his career composing more than 100 movie and television scores, including the themes for 'Happy Days,' 'Love Boat,' and 'Monday Night Football.' * Pasadena Star-News *
Robert Flack's signature song wasn't always called "Killing Me Softly With His Song." Charles Fox originally called it "Killing Me Softly With His Blues." But his songwriting partner, Norman Gimbel, says the word "blues" made it sound too old fashioned. Flack first heard the song on a flight from Los Angeles to New York, where the original version was part of the programmed music on the plane. When she landed, she got Fox's phone number and told him she was going to sing his song. She later inducted him into the Songwriters Hall of Fame." Fox named his new memoir after the song. * Associated Press *
