Walter Afanasieff
Encyclopedia
Walter Afanasieff is a multiple Grammy-award-winning record producer
and songwriter
. He is best known for his long association with Mariah Carey
, for whom he was producer and co-writer for several years, beginning in 1990. He won the 1999 Grammy Award in the Record of the Year category for producing “My Heart Will Go On
” by Celine Dion
, and the 2000 Grammy Award for Non-Classical Producer of the Year.
Afanasieff has written and produced music for many other leading artists, including Michael Jackson
, Lionel Richie
, Luther Vandross
, Destiny's Child
, Kenny G
, Michael Bolton
, Darren Hayes
(Savage Garden
), Andrea Bocelli
, Johnny Mathis
, Kenny Loggins
, Barbra Streisand
, Christina Aguilera
, Ricky Martin
, Marc Anthony
, Mika
, Babyface, Josh Groban
, Jordin Sparks
, Tina Arena
, Lara Fabian
and Leona Lewis
.
, SP
, Brazil
to Russian
parents Nikita and Tatiana. His father is from Leningrad in the Soviet Union and his mother is from Harbin, China. His parents met in Brazil in the early 1950s.
Starting out as a working jazz musician in 1980, Afanasieff initially played keyboards with the jazz/fusion violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. Later, he formed The Warriors with another former Ponty sideman, guitarist Joaquin Lievano, and with leading 1980s music producer/songwriter and drummer Narada Michael Walden
, and these experiences gave him the background and confidence to take an active role as a producer.
Walden hired Afanasieff as a staff producer/arranger and began using him as a keyboardist on a large number of recording projects, including Whitney Houston's self-titled debut album
released in 1985, which went on to become the artist’s best-selling studio album to date. It was also during this time that Afanasieff and Walden began writing pop songs together. Together with his mentor Narada, Afanasieff’s first major production was the title track of the James Bond
movie Licence to Kill
, sung by Gladys Knight and co-written by Afanasieff and Walden.
One of Afanasieff’s biggest hits as a producer was the smash hit "My Heart Will Go On
," the theme tune to the 1997 film Titanic
, sung by Celine Dion. The song became the world’s best-selling single of 1998. Afanasieff produced and arranged other successful motion picture soundtracks, including Disney's Beauty and the Beast
(the Celine Dion/Peabo Bryson
title-track duet), Aladdin
(“A Whole New World
”) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame
(“Some Day”). Afanasieff was also the producer and arranger for “Go the Distance,” the Oscar-nominated Michael Bolton song from the animated film Hercules
.
Afanasieff performs on most of his recordings (mainly keyboards, synthesizers and drum programming).
Afanasieff spent a significant part of his career creating music with Mariah Carey
, and had a role in many of Carey’s most successful songs, including “Hero
,” which he produced, co-wrote, and on which he played all of the music tracks. “Hero” was released as the second single from Carey’s album Music Box, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100
chart on December 25, 1993. It remained at the top of the chart for four weeks. Hero has become one of Carey’s signature songs, and Carey closes many of her concerts with it. Carey and Afanasieff also wrote One Sweet Day
, a duet between Carey and Boyz II Men
, which holds the record for the longest run at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (16 weeks total). The song was nominated for the 1996 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, and received the ASCAP Song of the Year Award for 1996.
in his high school
yearbook
, Afanasieff wrote that his goal was to "write and play better than Keith Emerson
" of Emerson, Lake & Palmer
.
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...
and songwriter
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...
. He is best known for his long association with Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, for whom he was producer and co-writer for several years, beginning in 1990. He won the 1999 Grammy Award in the Record of the Year category for producing “My Heart Will Go On
My Heart Will Go On
"My Heart Will Go On" is the theme song/love theme of the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. With music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings, and production by Simon Franglen, James Horner and Walter Afanasieff ,, it was recorded by Céline Dion...
” by Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, and the 2000 Grammy Award for Non-Classical Producer of the Year.
Afanasieff has written and produced music for many other leading artists, including Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
, Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
, Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
, Kenny G
Kenny G
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick , better known by his stage name Kenny G, is an American, adult contemporary and smooth jazz saxophonist. His fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success in 1986...
, Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...
, Darren Hayes
Darren Hayes
Darren Stanley Hayes is a UK-based Australian singer-songwriter. Hayes was the front man and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden, whose 1997 album Savage Garden peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in United Kingdom and No. 3 in United States...
(Savage Garden
Savage Garden
Savage Garden were an Australian pop rock performance and songwriting duo. Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones formed the group in Brisbane, Queensland in 1994...
), Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
, Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
, Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins
During the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...
, Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
, Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...
, Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony is an American singer-songwriter, actor and producer. Anthony is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. The two-time Grammy and three-time Latin Grammy–winner has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. He is best known for his Latin salsa numbers and ballads...
, Mika
Mika (singer)
Mika is a British singer-songwriter.After recording his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday EP, Mika released his first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion, on Island Records in 2007. Life in Cartoon Motion sold more than 5.6 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit...
, Babyface, Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
, Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...
, Tina Arena
Tina Arena
Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. She has won several awards, most notably 6 ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist...
, Lara Fabian
Lara Fabian
Lara Fabian is a Belgian-Italian international singer who also holds Canadian citizenship. Multilingual, she sings in French, Italian and English....
and Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
.
Life and work
Afanasieff was born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasieff in São PauloSão Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, SP
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
to Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
parents Nikita and Tatiana. His father is from Leningrad in the Soviet Union and his mother is from Harbin, China. His parents met in Brazil in the early 1950s.
Starting out as a working jazz musician in 1980, Afanasieff initially played keyboards with the jazz/fusion violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. Later, he formed The Warriors with another former Ponty sideman, guitarist Joaquin Lievano, and with leading 1980s music producer/songwriter and drummer Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden is an American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter. He was given the name Narada by guru Sri Chinmoy in the early 1970s and his musical career spans three decades, in which he was awarded several gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards...
, and these experiences gave him the background and confidence to take an active role as a producer.
Walden hired Afanasieff as a staff producer/arranger and began using him as a keyboardist on a large number of recording projects, including Whitney Houston's self-titled debut album
Whitney Houston (album)
Whitney Houston is the debut album of American R&B and pop singer Whitney Houston, released March 14, 1985 on Arista Records. The album initially had a slow commercial response but began getting more popular since the summer of 1985...
released in 1985, which went on to become the artist’s best-selling studio album to date. It was also during this time that Afanasieff and Walden began writing pop songs together. Together with his mentor Narada, Afanasieff’s first major production was the title track of the James Bond
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
movie Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
, sung by Gladys Knight and co-written by Afanasieff and Walden.
One of Afanasieff’s biggest hits as a producer was the smash hit "My Heart Will Go On
My Heart Will Go On
"My Heart Will Go On" is the theme song/love theme of the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. With music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings, and production by Simon Franglen, James Horner and Walter Afanasieff ,, it was recorded by Céline Dion...
," the theme tune to the 1997 film Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
, sung by Celine Dion. The song became the world’s best-selling single of 1998. Afanasieff produced and arranged other successful motion picture soundtracks, including Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (soundtrack)
Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack of Disney's 1991 Academy Award-winning animated feature Beauty and the Beast...
(the Celine Dion/Peabo Bryson
Peabo Bryson
Peabo Bryson is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, born in Greenville, South Carolina...
title-track duet), Aladdin
Aladdin (soundtrack)
-Arabian Nights:"Arabian Nights", performed by The Peddler , opens the film. Initially a longer composition, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's 1990 score treatment incorporated several reprises allowing The Peddler to comment on plot developments....
(“A Whole New World
A Whole New World
"A Whole New World" is the Oscar winning featured pop single from the soundtrack to the 1992 Disney film Aladdin. It was composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Tim Rice. The song is a ballad between the primary characters Aladdin and Jasmine about the new world they are going to discover together....
”) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (soundtrack)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Disney's 1996 animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame...
(“Some Day”). Afanasieff was also the producer and arranger for “Go the Distance,” the Oscar-nominated Michael Bolton song from the animated film Hercules
Hercules (1997 film)
Hercules is a 1997 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fifth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker...
.
Afanasieff performs on most of his recordings (mainly keyboards, synthesizers and drum programming).
Afanasieff spent a significant part of his career creating music with Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, and had a role in many of Carey’s most successful songs, including “Hero
Hero (Mariah Carey song)
"Hero" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on October 19, 1993 by Columbia Records as the second single from Carey's third studio album, Music Box . Originally intended for Gloria Estefan, the song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff...
,” which he produced, co-wrote, and on which he played all of the music tracks. “Hero” was released as the second single from Carey’s album Music Box, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart on December 25, 1993. It remained at the top of the chart for four weeks. Hero has become one of Carey’s signature songs, and Carey closes many of her concerts with it. Carey and Afanasieff also wrote One Sweet Day
One Sweet Day
"One Sweet Day" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey and R&B group Boyz II Men. The song was written by Carey, Walter Afanasieff and the members of Boyz II Men: Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Nathan Morris, and Michael McCary. "One Sweet Day" was produced by Carey and Afanasieff for...
, a duet between Carey and Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men is an American R&B vocal group best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are the most successful R&B group of all time, having sold more than albums worldwide. In the 1990s, Boyz II Men found fame on Motown Records as a quartet, but original member Michael McCary...
, which holds the record for the longest run at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (16 weeks total). The song was nominated for the 1996 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, and received the ASCAP Song of the Year Award for 1996.
Awards
- 1999 Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in the Record of the YearGrammy Award for Record of the YearThe Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
category for producing "My Heart Will Go OnMy Heart Will Go On"My Heart Will Go On" is the theme song/love theme of the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. With music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings, and production by Simon Franglen, James Horner and Walter Afanasieff ,, it was recorded by Céline Dion...
" by Celine DionCeline DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record... - 2000 Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in the Producer of the Year, Non-ClassicalGrammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-ClassicalThe Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1975. The award had several minor name changes:*from 1975 to 1977, the award was known as Best Producer of the Year...
category
Other Information
Beneath the senior portraitPortrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
in his high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
yearbook
Yearbook
A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all American, Australian and Canadian high schools, most colleges and many elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks...
, Afanasieff wrote that his goal was to "write and play better than Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
" of Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
.