He was a director, producer, screenwriter and songwriter/composer born in Lawrence, Long Island, New York.
Working with many superstars of the time such as Bing Crosby, Marlon Brando and Steven Spielberg he worked on films that include Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, Eddie and the Cruisers, Gremlins, If I Ever See You Again and Invitation to the Wedding.
Known for his compositions for the movie industry he sold over 80 million records and carries a record for being the only recipient of all the major awards in the industry in the same year for the theme song for the movie “You Light Up My Life”. He also composed the soundtracks for The Lords of Flatbush, Headin’ for Broadway and Jeremy and the music and lyrics for the West End musical Metropolis and the Broadway production In My Life.
In the field of advertising he won 21 Clio Awards for his work on adverts for companies such as Pepsi, American Airlines and Maxwell House and his work is now housed in the Smithsonian Institute.
As a songwriter he has written and produced works for Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Johnny Mathis. Kenny Rogers, LeAnn Rimes, Debby Boone, Roberta Flack to name but a few and as a conductor he has led the London Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic, the St. Paul’s Boys Choir and the New York Philharmonic.
In 2009 he was indicted on 91 counts of rape/sexual assault but committed suicide at his New York apartment in 2011 before the trial was held.
Debby Boone recordings
You Light Up My Life (Joe Brooks)
Sources:
- http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/whoswho/biography/15610.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Brooks_(songwriter)#Personal_life
- http://theoscarsite.com/whoswho6/brooks_jo.htm
- http://entertainment.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=269145
- http://imdb.com/name/nm0112072/