Early life and education

Joseph Renzetti - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

Joe Renzetti studied composing and orchestrating under Nicholas Flagello, NYC, Manhattan School of Music. He studied guitar with Dennis Sandole, Joe Sgro,
Sal Benigo, Lenny Payton, and Frank Tacconelli a disciple of the Eddie Lang school.

Career

In the early 60s, as a result of Dick Clark and American Bandstand

American Bandstand

American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...

, originating from Philly, Cameo-Parkway records came into existence. Renzetti became Cameo Records

Cameo-Parkway Records

Cameo-Parkway Records was the parent company of Cameo Records and Parkway Records, which were major American Philadelphia-based record labels from 1956 and 1958 to 1967...

' house guitarist, and played on the hits "Let's Twist Again

Let's Twist Again

"Let's Twist Again" is a song written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell, and released as a single by Chubby Checker. One of the biggest hit singles of 1961, it reached number two in the UK and number eight on the U.S. Billboard pop chart. It refers to the Twist dance craze and his 1960 and 1961...

", " Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time"", "South Street", The "Limbo Rock", "Palisades Park

Palisades Park (song)

"Palisades Park" is a song written by Chuck Barris and recorded by Freddy Cannon. A tribute to New Jersey's Palisades Amusement Park, the song is an up-tempo tune led by a distinctive organ part. It also incorporates amusement park sound effects....

, and "Tallahassee Lassie".

Fascinated by the advances in recording technology, and the profession of arranging for records, in 1963 Renzetti moved to New York. There, he arranged the top-ten records "Sunny

Sunny (song)

"Sunny" is the name of a song written by Bobby Hebb. It is one of the most covered popular songs, with hundreds of versions released. BMI rates "Sunny" number 25 in its "Top 100 songs of the century."...

", by Bobby Hebb

Bobby Hebb

Bobby Hebb was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his writing and recording of "Sunny".-Biography:...

, "Ninety Eight Point Six", by Keith, "Apple, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie", by Jay & the Techniques

Jay & The Techniques

Jay & the Techniques was an inter-racial pop group, which was formed in Allentown, Pennsylvania during the mid 1960s. A group whose sound and songs were more pop than soul, Jay & the Techniques earned some points for the playful, joyous "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie," which was their lone Top 10...

,
and "Mandy

Mandy (song)

"Mandy", originally titled "Brandy", is a song jointly written and composed by Scott English and Richard Kerr."Brandy" had been a hit in 1971 for Scott English in the UK and in 1972 for Bunny Walters in New Zealand...

", by Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...

.

In 1973 Renzetti moved to Hollywood, and was called to arrange the music for film The Buddy Holly Story

The Buddy Holly Story

The film was adapted by Robert Gittler from Buddy Holly: His Life and Music, the biography of Holly by John Goldrosen. It was directed by Steve Rash.-Plot:...

. This iconic movie garnered Joe Renzetti an Academy Award for Best Adaptation Score

Academy Award for Best Original Score

The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...

. Although the music was that of Holly's, Renzetti taught the actors to play their instruments, sing the songs from scratch, and act as a performing group. When they were ready as a group, they were filmed in live performances, this had never been done on film before.

Renzetti also scored; Fatso

Fatso (film)

Fatso is a 1980 American comedy film written and directed by Anne Bancroft and starring Bancroft herself, Dom DeLuise, Ron Carey and Candice Azzara.- Plot :...

, Elvis, Vice Squad

Vice Squad (film)

Vice Squad is a 1982 action/drama film, starring Wings Hauser, Season Hubley, and Gary Swanson, directed by Gary Sherman. The original music score was composed by Joe Renzetti and Keith Rubenstein...

, Poltergeist III

Poltergeist III

Poltergeist III is a 1988 American horror film. It is the third and final film of the Poltergeist film series...

, an episode of Tales from the Crypt

Tales from the Crypt (TV series)

Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...

, Child's Play, and Wired Angel. Renzetti scored the TV series Missing Persons

Missing Persons (TV series)

Missing Persons is an American television show set in Chicago. The show is about a fictitious missing persons unit. Each episode usually following the investigation into three or more cases....

.
Joe Renzetti scores films, TV, composes works for Orchestra, chamber groups, and solo artists.

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List of selected works

• "Waltz" for Blues-Harmonica and Orchestra.
• "Echo" for Classical Guitar Quartet.
• "On a Chord By Kessel." for Classical Guitar Quartet.
• "Holiday Furioso" Scherzo for Orchestra.
• "String Quartet in F." - "American"
• "First Chair" A Concerto for Orchestra.
• "The 1912 Overture" for Jazz Piano solo and Orchestra.
• "Concerto for Three Guitars and Orchestra"

@ http://joerenzetti.net/Concert.htm

Awards

• 1978: Academy Award for Best Adaptation Score
  Academy Award for Original Music Score
  The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
  
  , The Buddy Holly Story
  The Buddy Holly Story
  The film was adapted by Robert Gittler from Buddy Holly: His Life and Music, the biography of Holly by John Goldrosen. It was directed by Steve Rash.-Plot:...
  
  
• Gold Record for - "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb
• Gold Record for - "Mandy" by Barry Manilow
• Razzie Awards - Worst Musical Score for: "Under the Rainbow" (1981)