Michael Boddicker

Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953), is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. Three times N.A.R.A.S. Most Valuable Player "Synthesizer" and MVP Emeritus, he was awarded a Grammy as a songwriter for "Imagination" from Flashdance in 1984. In recognition of his achievements, contributions and furtherance of electronic music in the recording industry he was presented with an honorary doctorate of music from Coe College in 1991. He has given seminars at such noticeable entities as FIDM, Coe, The International Computer Music Conference and San Jose State University. He was the winner of Keyboard Magazine's Reader's Poll Award - "Best Studio Synthesist" 1986 & 1987 and "Best Session Player" 1988.

Early life and career
Boddicker grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His parents operated a music store there. His ancestors (Johan & Elisabeth (Jacobi) Boddicker) emigrated in 1861 from the village of Brilon, Province of Westphalia. He is a distant cousin of the Major League Baseball player, Mike Boddicker, who is also originally from Cedar Rapids.

He attended The University of Iowa where he studied electronic music, poetry and 20th-century composition. He later went on to The University of Wisconsin for jazz improvisation and UCLA for continued studies in music composition. He quickly found work as a session musician, and by 1977 appeared playing synthesizer, vocoder, accordion and keyboards on albums by many notables such as Quincy Jones, Randy Newman, The Manhattan Transfer and The Bee Gees.

One of Boddicker's earliest soundtrack collaborations of note was a score for a short experimental claymation film made by Gumby creator Art Clokey entitled "Mandala" (released in 1977). Soon after that he entered the mainstream with work on such films as Saturday Night Fever, Battlestar Galactica and The Wiz.

Boddicker officially changed his name to Michael Lehmann Boddicker when he married singer/conductor/actress Edie Lehmann in 1995. They have raised four children together in Los Angeles, CA.

Film music
Among his film score credits as a composer are the cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), the score for The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1986) and additional music for Bulletproof (1996),"Bullet Proof" - Additional Music By Michael Boddicker, " "The Magic Egg" -Omni Max Computer Animated Film Original Film Score by Michael Boddicker, "Get Crazy" - Original Music by Michael Boddicker/Soundtrack LP, "Whitewater Summer" Original Film Score by Michael Boddicker, "FX2 " Additional Music By Michael Boddicker and "Starfire" Additional Music by Michael Boddicker. His contributions as a composer can also be heard in "Battlestar Galactica" (the film) additional music by Michael Boddicker, BattleStar Galactica Theme Produced and Arranged by Michael Boddicker, "Free Jack" additional music by Michael Boddicker "Spiritual Network: The Big Eye & Mind Meld", Michael Jackson's "Black or White" (music video) and "HIStory" (music video) video produced by and additional music underscore and "THE FLY" eleven cues to augment or replace the original score.

Artists that have recorded his songs and compositions include Lani Hall ("Go For The Heart"), Earth, Wind and Fire ("Opening Raise Tour"), Patti Austin ("Oh, No Margarita"), Michael Jackson ("Captain EO & HIStory Unveiling"), Isao Tomita's & YMO's Hideki Matsutake ("Automatic Collect", "Automatic Correct & Plan"), Kitaro ("The Silk Road"), Laura Branigan (Imagination) and David Hasselhoff.

As a session musician he played synthesizer on, among others, Michael Jackson's This Is It, HIStory, Thriller, Bad, "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", Off the Wall, Dangerous, Black or White, and We Are the World; Earth, Wind & Fire's Let's Groove; Lionel Richie's Hello, You Are, Running with the Night; Dazz Band's Let It Whip; Randy Newman's The Natural and Short People; Kenny Loggins' Footloose; Barbra Streisand's Somewhere; Cheap Trick's Surrender; The Jacksons' Shake Your Body; Pointer Sisters' He's So Shy; and Diana Ross's Missing You.

Commercial and advertising projects
Boddicker has composed music for the following corporations and product lines: Honda, ARCO, SEGA, Levi's Jeans, He-Man, Carabine, Chiquita Bananas, Red Carpet, Spee-Dee Pit Stop, The California Lottery and Miller Beer. Additionally, "Blue Cross - Moses" with Don Piestrup.

Trailers include:
 * The Negotiator - Composed by Michael Boddicker
 * Saving Private Ryan - Composed by Michael Boddicker
 * Les Misérables - Composed by Michael Boddicker
 * Waterworld - Arranged and Adapted, Additional Composition by Michael Boddicker
 * Frankenstein - Arranged and Adapted, Additional Composition by Michael Boddicker
 * Cliffhanger - Arranged and Adapted by Michael Boddicker
 * Forever Young - Arranged and Adapted by Michael Boddicker
 * And the Band Played On - Composed by Michael Boddicker
 * Map of the Human Heart - Composed by Michael Boddicker
 * The Bodyguard - Composed by Michael Boddicker
 * Mr. Wonderful - Composed by Michael Boddicker
 * Lost in Yonkers - Composed by Michael Boddicker
 * The Pelican Brief - Composed by Michael Boddicker

Boddicker has contributed sound design to the campaigns of: Chevrolet, Honda, McDonald's, Blue Cross, Perrier, Ford, Paul Mason, Mitsubishi, Carl's Jr., Michelob, Kellogg's, Puppy Chow, Chevron, Anheuser Busch, Nabisco, Diahatsu, GMAC, Georgia Pacific, Delco, Six Flags, Ralph's, Coldwell Banker, Florida Lottery, Sunny Delight, O'Douls Ale, Vons, In-And-Out, Air France, Aloha Air, Miller Beer, American Express, Kenwood, Southern California Gas, and Cadillac Dealers of Southern California.

Motion picture credits
Composed by Sting and David Hartley
 * "The Emperor's New Groove"

Composed By: Maurice Jarre
 * "Jacobs Ladder"
 * "Ghost"
 * "No Way Out" - (Principal Synthesist)
 * "Mosquito Coast" - (Session Leader/Principal Synthesist)
 * "Solar Babies" - (Session Leader/Principal Synthesist)
 * "Enemy Mine" - (Principal Synthesist)
 * "Witness"
 * "Fatal Attraction"
 * "Distant Thunder"
 * "Gaby"
 * "Cocktail"
 * "Gorillas in the Mist"
 * "Dead Poets Society"
 * "Prancer"
 * "Art of Cinema"

Composed By: Basil Poledouris
 * "White Fang"
 * "Flight Of The Intruder"
 * "Wired"
 * "RoboCop 3"
 * "Free Willy" & "Free Willy II"
 * "Quigley Down Under"
 * "On Deadly Ground"
 * "Under Siege II"

Composed By: James Horner
 * "Where The River Runs Black"
 * "Commando"
 * "Vibes"
 * "Red Heat"
 * "Captain EO"

Composed By: David Foster
 * "Secret Of My Success"
 * "Stealing Home"
 * "Mismatched"

Composed By: Bill Conti
 * "The Right Stuff" - (Principal Synthesist) Academy Award For Best Musical Score
 * "Karate Kid II" - (Principal Synthesist)
 * "I Love New York"
 * "The Boss' Wife"
 * "Broadcast News"
 * 'Maybe Baby"
 * "Baby Boom"
 * "Karate Kid III"
 * "Lock Up"
 * "The Fourth War"

Composed By: Lee Holdridge
 * "16 Days Of Glory" - (Featured Soloist)

Composed By: J. A. C. Redford
 * "Extremities"
 * "Oliver & Co."

Composed By: Tom Newman
 * "Desperately Seeking Susan"
 * "Light Of Day"
 * "Revenge Of The Nerds"
 * "Less Than Zero"
 * "Welcome Home Roxie Carmichael"
 * "Men Don't Leave"

Composed By: Jim Depasquale
 * "Armed And Dangerous"
 * "Half And Half"

Composed By: Miles Goodman
 * "Little Shop Of Horrors"
 * "Teen Wolf"
 * "Just One Night"
 * "Blind Justice"
 * "Like Father Like Son"
 * "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"

Composed By: John Williams
 * "Close Encounters Of The 3rd Kind"
 * "The River"
 * "Jaws II"

Composed By: Randy Kerber
 * "Date With An Angel"

Composed by: Marvin Hamlish
 * "Three Men And A Baby"
 * "Little Nikita"

Composed By: Jonathan Sheffer
 * "In A Shallow Grave"

Composed By: Randy Newman
 * "Avalon"
 * "Parenthood"
 * "The Natural"

Composed By: David McHugh
 * "Dream Team"
 * "Montana"

Composed By:Georges Delerue
 * "Her Alibi" (Song Produced By Michael Boddicker And Frank
 * Fitzpatrick. The London Session, Vol. 1)

Composed By: Randy Edelman
 * "Come See The Paradise"

Composed By: James Newton Howard
 * "Flatliners"
 * "All American Hero"

Composed By: Trevor Jones
 * "Arachnophobia"
 * "Free Jack"
 * "Goonies" - Cyndi Lauper's "The Goonies "R" Good Enough"
 * "The Color Purple" - Theme Song
 * "Country"
 * "Af Officer And A Gentleman"
 * "The Toy"
 * "Back To The Future"
 * "Above The Law"
 * "Shadow On The Sun"
 * 'The Great Outdoors"
 * "The Gods Must Be Crazy II"
 * "Twins"
 * "Everybody's All American"
 * "Heartbreak Hotel"
 * "Witching Hour"
 * "Arthur On The Rocks"
 * "Hard To Kill"

Other film projects

 * "Goonies" - Cyndi Lauper's "The Goonies "R" Good Enough"
 * "The Color Purple" - Theme Song
 * "Country"
 * "Af Officer And A Gentleman"
 * "The Toy"
 * "Back To The Future"
 * "Above The Law"
 * "Shadow On The Sun"
 * 'The Great Outdoors"
 * "The Gods Must Be Crazy II"
 * "Twins"
 * "Everybody's All American"
 * "Heartbreak Hotel"
 * "Witching Hour"
 * "Arthur On The Rocks"
 * "Hard To Kill"

Songs for Performer
With The Dazz Band
 * "Let It Whip"

With Carl Carlton
 * "She's A Bad Mama Jama"

With Michael Jackson
 * "HIStory"
 * Thriller (Grammy Award Winner)
 * Off The Wall
 * Bad
 * "They Don't Care"
 * "Black Or White"
 * "Earth Song"
 * "This Is It"

With Chicago
 * "17" LP
 * "18" LP

With Kenny Rogers
 * "Tough Guys"

With Whitney Houston
 * "Greatest Love Of All" (Grammy Award Winner)

With Lionel Richie
 * "Dancing On The Ceiling" LP (Grammy Award Winner)
 * "Can't Slow Down" LP
 * "You Are The Sun" LP

With Barbra Streisand
 * "Somewhere" (Grammy Award Winner),
 * "Superman"
 * "Till I Loved You" LP
 * ("Love Light" "One More Time [You & Me]"
 * ("Always")
 * "Someone I Used To Love"

With Diana Ross
 * "Missing You" LP
 * "Muscles" LP

With USA For Africa
 * "We Are The World" (Grammy Award Winner)

With Julio Iglesias
 * "Everytime I Fall"
 * "Love Is On Our Side Again"
 * "Hold On To You"
 * "To All The Girls I Loved Before"

With Pia Zadora
 * "On This Day"
 * "What Do You Do"
 * "Sometimes Miracles"

With Angela Bofill
 * "Delicious" (Double Record)

With Randy Newman
 * "Short People"/"Little Criminals" LP
 * "Land Of Dreams"
 * "Four Eyes" LP
 * "I Love L.A."/"Trouble In Paradise" LP
 * "The Natural"

With Roberta Flack
 * "OOH OOH OH OH (Here We Come)"

With Quincy Jones
 * "I'll Be Good To You"
 * "Birdland"
 * "The Places You Find Love"
 * "Back On The Block"

With Englebert Humperdinck
 * "Radio Dancing"
 * "Lady Lolita"
 * "One & One Makes Three"
 * "Alone In The Night"
 * "How Do I Stop Loving You"

With June Pointer
 * "Put Your Dream (Where Your Heart Is)"

With Neil Diamond
 * "Baby Can I Hold You"
 * "This Time"
 * "Courtin' Disaster"
 * "If I Could See You Again"
 * "Baby It's Gonna Be"
 * "Heart Light"

With Patti LaBelle
 * "A Matter Of Trust"
 * "Need A Little Faith"

With Jeffrey Osborne and Dionne Warwick
 * "Take Good Care"

With Janet Jackson
 * "Rhythm Nation" Long Form Video

With Celine Dion &"I'm Loving Every Moment"
 * "Love By Any Other Name"
 * "I Feel Too Much"

With Rickie Lee Jones
 * "Rickie Lee Jones" LP
 * "Pirates" LP
 * "Girl At Her Volcano" LP
 * "The Magazine" LP
 * "Flying Cowboys" LP

With Bob Seger
 * "Love Will Find A Way"

With Olivia Newton-John
 * "Totally Hot" LP
 * “ Physical” LP

With Michael Rogers
 * "I Got Love"
 * "Rock Me Baby"
 * "Soul Survivors"
 * "Stop Stealing My Heart"
 * "Let's Have A Good Time"
 * "Same Old Song"

With David Hasselhoff
 * "Looking For Freedom"
 * "Je T'Aime"
 * "Lonely Is The Night"
 * "Sheltered Heart"

With Quincy Jones
 * Roots (A&M, 1977)

With Lalo Schifrin
 * No One Home (Tabu, 1979)

As a performer on television

 * "St. Elsewhere" - Series
 * "Bronx Zoo" - Series
 * "Our House" - Series
 * "Simon & Simon" - Series
 * "Wilton Northrop Report" - Series
 * "Amerika" - Mini Series
 * "Space" - Mini Series
 * "Roots" - Mini Series
 * "I Saw What You Did" - T.V. Movie
 * "Murder Of Mary Phagan" - T.V. Movie
 * "Down Payment On Murder" - T.V. Movie
 * "Hit & Run" - T.V. Movie
 * "Long Journey Home" - T.V. Movie
 * NBC Olympics Coverage
 * "The Equalizer"-Series
 * "Annie McGuire"-Series
 * "Falcon Crest"-Series
 * "War Story"- HBO Special