Jeff Franzel
Encyclopedia
Jeff Franzel is a songwriter
and musician
who has composed for a number of artists, including 'N Sync
, Taylor Dayne
, The Temptations
, Shawn Colvin
, and Clay Aiken
. He has collaborated with lyricists such as Alex Forbes, Ty Lacy, Jess Cates, Monty Powell, Anna Wilson, Lindy Robbins, Darrell Brown, Tom Kimmel
and Shelly Peiken
. Franzel's songs have been featured on more than 20 platinum albums in the U.S. and other countries. He also performs in a Jazz Quartet in his hometown, New York City.
. He accompanied such artists as Frank Sinatra
, Sammy Davis Jr., and Mel Torme
. After an invaluable piece of advice he received from Les, he focused his energy on composing. Since then Franzel has written for numerous artists while still retaining his reputation as a top-notch performing musician.
" was recorded by Taylor Dayne
and eventually peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
. He continued to write hit songs throughout his career and has established a name for himself as a respected songwriter. Among his various recorded works are "You've Got a Way" (top 10 Adult Contemporary) and "Love Was Never Meant To Die"(peaked at #1 on Christian charts) both written with and recorded by Kathy Troccoli, "Never Saw Blue Like That" (Shawn Colvin
, appeared in Runaway Bride
and Dawson's Creek
), "When You Know" (Shawn Colvin
, appeared in Serendipity
), "I Survived You" (Clay Aiken
), "Hoops of Fire" (The Temptations
), "The Only Gift" and "I Don't Wanna Spend One More Christmas Without You" ('NSync).
, and VanVelzen. Chuck Wicks (RCA Records) recently recorded his song "Starting Now", which was produced by Monty Powell and Dann Huff
. It was co-written by Chuck Wicks and Anna Wilson, and the album debuted at #7 on the country charts. "When You Know", written with Tom Kimmel
, is the title track to Dianne Reeves' new CD. He has also written top-10 songs in Australia, Brazil, UK, Poland, The Czech Republic, The Philippines and The Netherlands. Franzel's song "La tua semplicita" was recently recorded by Placido Domingo and Josh Groban and was released worldwide in February 2009. Pope John Paul 2's lyrics were adapted to the melody. PushPlay recently recorded two of Franzel's songs and have signed an exclusive deal with WalMart. The record was released in May 2009.
and Deborah Cox
. He will be appearing at the Park City Jazz festival in August with Anna Wilson and will be performing at Steinway Hall this coming September with his jazz quartet. Franzel is currently a Steinway artist.
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...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
who has composed for a number of artists, including 'N Sync
'N Sync
N Sync was an American boy band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich, *NSYNC consisted of JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick...
, Taylor Dayne
Taylor Dayne
Taylor Dayne was born Leslie Wunderman on March 7, 1962 before later adopting her current stage name. She is an American pop vocalist, songwriter, and dance artist. Overall, she has had eighteen individual hit songs reach the top ten in Billboard magazine...
, The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
, Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
, and Clay Aiken
Clay Aiken
Clayton Holmes "Clay" Aiken is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and author who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released...
. He has collaborated with lyricists such as Alex Forbes, Ty Lacy, Jess Cates, Monty Powell, Anna Wilson, Lindy Robbins, Darrell Brown, Tom Kimmel
Tom Kimmel
Tom Kimmel , is an American singer-songwriter and poet.Tom Kimmel grew up largely in small towns in south Alabama...
and Shelly Peiken
Shelly Peiken
Shelly Peiken is a multi-platinum Grammy nominated songwriter who is best known for her #1 hits "What a Girl Wants" and "Come on Over Baby ".Shelly and Meredith Brooks earned a Grammy nomination for Brooks's hit song "Bitch"....
. Franzel's songs have been featured on more than 20 platinum albums in the U.S. and other countries. He also performs in a Jazz Quartet in his hometown, New York City.
Background
Franzel began his career as a jazz pianist and toured with many groups including The Hues Corporation and the big band legend Les Brown (bandleader)Les Brown (bandleader)
Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
. He accompanied such artists as Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Sammy Davis Jr., and Mel Torme
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
. After an invaluable piece of advice he received from Les, he focused his energy on composing. Since then Franzel has written for numerous artists while still retaining his reputation as a top-notch performing musician.
Pop hits
Franzel scored big in 1989 when his song "Don't Rush MeDon't Rush Me
"Don't Rush Me" is a song written by Alexandra Forbes and Jeff Franzel and performed by Taylor Dayne. It was released in the late summer of 1988 as the fourth single from Dayne's debut album Tell It to My Heart.-Reception and charts:...
" was recorded by Taylor Dayne
Taylor Dayne
Taylor Dayne was born Leslie Wunderman on March 7, 1962 before later adopting her current stage name. She is an American pop vocalist, songwriter, and dance artist. Overall, she has had eighteen individual hit songs reach the top ten in Billboard magazine...
and eventually peaked at #2 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...
. He continued to write hit songs throughout his career and has established a name for himself as a respected songwriter. Among his various recorded works are "You've Got a Way" (top 10 Adult Contemporary) and "Love Was Never Meant To Die"(peaked at #1 on Christian charts) both written with and recorded by Kathy Troccoli, "Never Saw Blue Like That" (Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
, appeared in Runaway Bride
Runaway Bride (1999 film)
Runaway Bride is a 1999 American romantic comedy film starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere and directed by Garry Marshall. The screenplay was written by Josann McGibbon, Audrey Wells and Sara Parriott.-Plot:...
and Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
), "When You Know" (Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
, appeared in Serendipity
Serendipity (film)
Serendipity is a 2001 romantic comedy, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. It was written by Marc Klein and directed by Peter Chelsom...
), "I Survived You" (Clay Aiken
Clay Aiken
Clayton Holmes "Clay" Aiken is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and author who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released...
), "Hoops of Fire" (The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
), "The Only Gift" and "I Don't Wanna Spend One More Christmas Without You" ('NSync).
Other works and recent recordings
His music has also been recorded by Hayley Westenra, Phyllis Hyman, Jennifer Brown, Russell Watson, Billy Dean, Raven Symone, Billy Gilman, Shannon Noll, Anna Wilson, Nikki Webster, Louise RedknappLouise Redknapp
Louise Elizabeth Redknapp is an English singer and media personality. She was a member of the girl group Eternal from 1992 to 1995, before becoming a solo singer . She has presented several television shows and served as a judge on the UK version of So You Think You Can Dance...
, and VanVelzen. Chuck Wicks (RCA Records) recently recorded his song "Starting Now", which was produced by Monty Powell and Dann Huff
Dann Huff
Dann Huff is an American musician, session musician, singer-songwriter and producer. For his work as a producer in the Country music genre he has won several awards including the Musician of the Year award in 2001 and 2004 at the Country Music Association Awards and the Producer of the Year award...
. It was co-written by Chuck Wicks and Anna Wilson, and the album debuted at #7 on the country charts. "When You Know", written with Tom Kimmel
Tom Kimmel
Tom Kimmel , is an American singer-songwriter and poet.Tom Kimmel grew up largely in small towns in south Alabama...
, is the title track to Dianne Reeves' new CD. He has also written top-10 songs in Australia, Brazil, UK, Poland, The Czech Republic, The Philippines and The Netherlands. Franzel's song "La tua semplicita" was recently recorded by Placido Domingo and Josh Groban and was released worldwide in February 2009. Pope John Paul 2's lyrics were adapted to the melody. PushPlay recently recorded two of Franzel's songs and have signed an exclusive deal with WalMart. The record was released in May 2009.
Other highlights
Franzel has recorded three music library CDs for FirstCom and Universal's Music Production library. His compositions have been featured on a number television programs and shows, often as background music. He is also active in performing jazz piano in the NY area and recently recorded a jazz Christmas CD with Anna Wilson, produced by Monty Powell. Jeff often produces and develops upcoming artists. In 1990, he composed music for an original musical Immigranti! -- a project performed by American teens and their Russian-American counterparts. It was seen in various locations around the U.S. He has music directed for Hayley WestenraHayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
and Deborah Cox
Deborah Cox
Deborah Cox is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. Her 1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" held the record for longest-running number one single on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart , a record held for nearly eight years. She has achieved ten number-one hits on...
. He will be appearing at the Park City Jazz festival in August with Anna Wilson and will be performing at Steinway Hall this coming September with his jazz quartet. Franzel is currently a Steinway artist.