Bruce Fisher
Encyclopedia
Bruce Fisher is an American songwriter
, record producer
, playwright
and guitarist
best known for his collaborations with Billy Preston
.
Fisher's best-known songs include "You Are So Beautiful
", "Will It Go Round In Circles", and "Nothing from Nothing
", all co-written with Preston before 1973. With his first LP release, Red Hot in 1977, he worked with Roy Ayers
, Keni Burke
(with whom he wrote the title song), Charles Earland
, Mtume
and the Brecker Brothers
in 1977. He also played and performed with The Blackbyrds
, James Gadson
, David Williams
, Leon Ware
, Carolyn Willis, Wah Wah Watson, Ernie Watts
, the late Richard Tee
and Bernard Purdie
throughout the 70s and 80s. He also played guitar with Sunfire, and co-wrote and produced songs for the group 3 For 3 in 1990.
nominee Keith David
, directed by Tony nominee Obba Babatunde
, with musical direction by Harold Wheeler
and costume design
by Academy Award winner Ruth E. Carter
.
Fisher has also seen the release of several songs on Leigh Jones' debut album, "Music In My Soul".
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
best known for his collaborations with Billy Preston
Billy Preston
William Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
.
Career
Born January 8, 1951, in Washington D.C., Fisher was raised in Chicago, Illinois, by his grandmother. He moved to Los Angeles, California, in the early 70's, where he currently resides.Fisher's best-known songs include "You Are So Beautiful
You Are So Beautiful
"You Are So Beautiful" is a song written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher and Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys. It was first recorded by Preston and made popular in a version by Joe Cocker....
", "Will It Go Round In Circles", and "Nothing from Nothing
Nothing from Nothing (Billy Preston song)
"Nothing From Nothing" was a song written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher. It was performed by keyboardist/vocalist Billy Preston for his 1974 album The Kids and Me...
", all co-written with Preston before 1973. With his first LP release, Red Hot in 1977, he worked with Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .- Biography :Ayers...
, Keni Burke
Keni Burke
Kenneth M. Burke , better known as Keni Burke, is an American R&B, soul, funk, and jazz singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist who began his career as a member of the 1970s soul outfit, the Five Stairsteps.-Five Stairsteps:As a member of the Five Stairsteps, Burke wrote the...
(with whom he wrote the title song), Charles Earland
Charles Earland
Charles Earland was an American jazz composer, organist, and saxophonist in the soul jazz idiom.-Biography:...
, Mtume
Mtume
Mtume was a funk and soul group that had several R&B hits in the 1980s. Its founder, percussionist James Mtume, previously played with Miles Davis in the 1970s. Other members of the group included Reggie Lucas and Tawatha Agee.-History:...
and the Brecker Brothers
Brecker Brothers
The Brecker Brothers was the musical duo of Michael and Randy Brecker , who recorded commercially successful jazz fusion albums together in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. They had a notable hit single with "East River" in 1979...
in 1977. He also played and performed with The Blackbyrds
The Blackbyrds
The Blackbyrds were an American rhythm and blues and jazz-funk fusion group, formed in Washington, D.C. in 1973.-History:The group was inspired by trumpeter Donald Byrd and featured some of his Howard University students: Kevin Toney , Keith Killgo , Joe Hall , Allan C. Barnes , and Barney Perry...
, James Gadson
James Gadson
James Gadson is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B music....
, David Williams
David Williams
-Musicians:* David Williams , Aboriginal musician and artist* David Williams , Welsh bassist* David Williams , Welsh guitarist and bassist in Son of Dork...
, Leon Ware
Leon Ware
Leon Ware is a soul music singer, songwriter and producer. Best known for crafting the hit album, I Want You, originally recorded for Ware, until friend and Motown icon Marvin Gaye was assigned to the album in 1976...
, Carolyn Willis, Wah Wah Watson, Ernie Watts
Ernie Watts
Ernest James "Ernie" Watts is an American jazz and rhythm and blues musician. He plays saxophone and flute. He might be best known for his work with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and his Grammy Awards as an instrumentalist...
, the late Richard Tee
Richard Tee
Richard Tee was a pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger.Tee graduated from the High School of Music and Art and attended the Manhattan School of Music. Though better known as a studio and session musician, Tee led a jazz ensemble, the Richard Tee Committee, and was a founding member of the...
and Bernard Purdie
Bernard Purdie
Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie is an American session drummer, and is considered an influential and innovative exponent of funk...
throughout the 70s and 80s. He also played guitar with Sunfire, and co-wrote and produced songs for the group 3 For 3 in 1990.
Recent activity
In recent years, as a Managing Member at Speak of the Devil LLC, Theatre Production, Fisher has been producing a play that he wrote entitled "Hear No Evil", starring Tony AwardTony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominee Keith David
Keith David
Keith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
, directed by Tony nominee Obba Babatunde
Obba Babatunde
Obba Babatundé is an American actor of stage and screen, known for his Emmy-nominated performance in the television movie Miss Evers' Boys, a NAACP Image Award-nominated performance in the TV movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and a Tony Award-nominated role for his performance as C.C...
, with musical direction by Harold Wheeler
Harold Wheeler
Harold Wheeler is an orchestrator, composer, conductor, arranger, record producer, and music director. He has received numerous Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations for orchestration, and won the 2003 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations for Hairspray.-Biography:Wheeler was named...
and costume design
Costume design
Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
by Academy Award winner Ruth E. Carter
Ruth E. Carter
Ruth E. Carter is an African-American costume designer. She is best known for her work on the films Malcolm X and Amistad, for each of which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design...
.
Fisher has also seen the release of several songs on Leigh Jones' debut album, "Music In My Soul".
Singles
- At The End Of A Love Affair (United ArtistsUnited ArtistsUnited Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
1976) - In My Life b/w Starlight Starbright (Mercury RecordsMercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
1977) - Red Hot b/w Money's Funny (Mercury Records 1977)
As writer or co-writer
- Music Is My Life (co-writer "Will It Go Round In Circles" &M Records 1972)
- Body Heat w/ Quincy JonesQuincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
(Mercury Records 1973) - Music In My Soul (selected tracks) by Leigh Jones (Peak RecordsPeak RecordsPeak Records is a record label that was co-founded by The Rippingtons leader and guitarist Russ Freeman & Andi Howard in 1994.The early years, Peak founded as a production for Russ' group The Rippingtons in GRP Records...
2008)