# Randy Edelman
**Randy Edelman** (born 1947 in [Paterson, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/paterson-new-jersey)) is an American composer and songwriter whose career spans pop songwriting, television scoring, and more than 100 film and television scores, including *The Last of the Mohicans* (1992), *Gettysburg* (1993), *Dragonheart* (1996), and *The Mask* (1994)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006055/bio/) • [2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html). His themes have become fixtures of American sports broadcasts, and his songs have been recorded by artists from [Barry Manilow](https://www.edgepedia.org/barry-manilow) to Nelly[2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947, Paterson, New Jersey; raised in Teaneck, New Jersey[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006055/bio/) • [2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html) |
| Education | 1969 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, majoring in piano and composition; Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the university in June 2004[2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html) |
| Signature song | "Weekend in New England," a Top Ten hit for Barry Manilow in 1976[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/randy-edelman-mn0000092579/biography) |
| Signature scores | *The Last of the Mohicans* (with Trevor Jones), *Gettysburg*, *Dragonheart*, *The Mask*, *Ghostbusters II*, *Twins*, *Kindergarten Cop*[2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html) • [4](https://www.bmi.com/advice/20041202randy_edelman_randy_edelman_master_of_the_movie_music_melody) |
| Major awards | Emmy (1996, NBC Olympics coverage); BMI Richard Kirk Award for Outstanding Career Achievement (2003); Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for *The Last of the Mohicans*[4](https://www.bmi.com/advice/20041202randy_edelman_randy_edelman_master_of_the_movie_music_melody) • [5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/edelman-randy-1947) |
| Output | Over 100 scores for film and television[2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html) |
| Family | Married to singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon since June 3, 1976; one child[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006055/bio/) |
## Early life and songwriting career
Edelman grew up in [Teaneck, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/teaneck-new-jersey), where he studied piano from an early age and gave local recitals[2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html). After high school he enrolled at the Cincinnati Music Conservatory (the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music), majoring in piano and composition, and freelanced as an arranger for [James Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-brown)'s King Records while writing music for regional theater[2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html). AllMusic's biography adds that he briefly studied medicine at the [University of Cincinnati](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-cincinnati) before quitting to pursue music[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/randy-edelman-mn0000092579/biography).
In 1971 he moved to New York as a staff writer at CBS's April/Blackwood Music while playing piano in Broadway pit orchestras[2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html) • [4](https://www.bmi.com/advice/20041202randy_edelman_randy_edelman_master_of_the_movie_music_melody). He issued his self-titled debut pop album in 1972, followed that year by his first film score, *Outside In*, and settled in Los Angeles, where he became the regular opening act for the Carpenters, who covered his "Piano Picker" on their *A Song for You* album[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/randy-edelman-mn0000092579/biography). Solo records such as *Laughter & Tears* (1973) and *Prime Cuts* (1975) found a devoted following in Britain, where his hits "Concrete and Clay" and "Uptown, Uptempo Woman" led to appearances on *Top of the Pops* and concerts at the [London Palladium](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-palladium) and Drury Lane[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/randy-edelman-mn0000092579/biography) • [2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html).
His songs were recorded widely: Barry Manilow took "Weekend in New England" to the Top Ten in 1976, and other interpreters included [Olivia Newton-John](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-newton-john), Patti LaBelle, the Carpenters, the 5th [Dimension](https://www.edgepedia.org/dimension), Blood, Sweat & Tears, Kool & the Gang, Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA, Bing Crosby, and [Dionne Warwick](https://www.edgepedia.org/dionne-warwick)[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/randy-edelman-mn0000092579/biography) • [6](https://www.randyedelman.com/songs.html).
## Television and film scoring
Edelman's move into screen music came through television. Actor-turned-producer [Henry Winkler](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-winkler) invited him to score the medical drama *Ryan's Four* (1983), and although that series was short-lived, Winkler's next production, *MacGyver* (1985), was not; its catchy theme became one of his best-known television works[4](https://www.bmi.com/advice/20041202randy_edelman_randy_edelman_master_of_the_movie_music_melody). His first major film work was the [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://www.edgepedia.org/arnold-schwarzenegger) and [Danny DeVito](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-devito) comedy *Twins* (1988)[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/randy-edelman-mn0000092579/biography).
A run of comedies followed, including *Ghostbusters II* (1989), *Kindergarten Cop* (1990), *My Cousin Vinny* (1992), *The Mask* (1994), and later *Billy Madison*, *While You Were Sleeping*, *27 Dresses*, and *Shanghai Noon*[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/randy-edelman-mn0000092579/biography) • [7](https://www.randyedelman.com/about.html). Director [Rob Cohen](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-cohen), his collaborator on films from *Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story* (1993) to *Dragonheart* (1996) and *xXx* (2002), described him as "in the great tradition of melody writers"[4](https://www.bmi.com/advice/20041202randy_edelman_randy_edelman_master_of_the_movie_music_melody). His dramatic work includes *Gettysburg* (1993), *Come See the Paradise* (1990), and *Dragonheart*, whose main theme, like that of *Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story*, was heavily used in movie trailers in the late 1990s[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006055/bio/). In 2008 Sony Masterworks released his orchestral score to *Ghostbusters II* on album for the first time[7](https://www.randyedelman.com/about.html).
## The Last of the Mohicans
Edelman's score for [Michael Mann](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-mann)'s *The Last of the Mohicans* (1992) was shared with Trevor Jones, and the collaboration was accidental rather than planned. Jones had been hired first, originally for an electronics-based score, but Mann's repeated re-cutting of the film forced constant rewrites; when Jones ran out of time, Edelman, who had recently scored *Come See the Paradise* and *My Cousin Vinny* for Fox, was brought in near the end to write additional music[8](https://moviemusicuk.us/2022/09/08/the-last-of-the-mohicans-trevor-jones-and-randy-edelman/). The two composers never worked together directly and, by one account, never met during production[8](https://moviemusicuk.us/2022/09/08/the-last-of-the-mohicans-trevor-jones-and-randy-edelman/).
Both received full screen credit, but because the score was assembled from more than one composer it was ruled ineligible for Oscar consideration[8](https://moviemusicuk.us/2022/09/08/the-last-of-the-mohicans-trevor-jones-and-randy-edelman/). It did earn Edelman a Golden Globe nomination (with Jones) for best original score and a British Academy Award nomination, along with a BMI Film Music Award in 1994[5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/edelman-randy-1947). Edelman himself assembled the soundtrack album when it appeared that none would be issued, and it went platinum quickly[4](https://www.bmi.com/advice/20041202randy_edelman_randy_edelman_master_of_the_movie_music_melody).
## Sports and Olympic themes
Edelman's reputation as a writer of sports themes grew less from commissioned sports music than from producers' repeated use of his anthem-style pieces from film and television scores[4](https://www.bmi.com/advice/20041202randy_edelman_randy_edelman_master_of_the_movie_music_melody). He wrote the NBC NFL Football theme and the theme for ESPN's *SportsCentury* documentary series, and his scores have opened [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl) broadcasts[2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html). The theme from *The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.* (1993), a short-lived Fox series, found new life as a sports anthem and was used in NBC's coverage of the 2002 Olympics and again at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006055/bio/).
His connection to the Olympics is direct as well: he wrote NBC's on-air Olympic theme, and he won a 1996 Emmy Award for his musical contributions to NBC's Summer Olympics coverage[4](https://www.bmi.com/advice/20041202randy_edelman_randy_edelman_master_of_the_movie_music_melody) • [2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html). He also created the music for "Dare Mighty Things," used for NASA's final Space Shuttle launch[7](https://www.randyedelman.com/about.html).
## Awards and recognition
BMI, the performing rights organization, gave Edelman a series of Film and Television Music Awards through the 1990s, for *Twins* (1989), *Ghostbusters II* (1990), *MacGyver* (1991), *Kindergarten Cop* (1992), *The Last of the Mohicans* (1994), *The Mask* (1995), *While You Were Sleeping* (1996), *Anaconda* (1998), *Six Days, Seven Nights* (1999), and *xXx* (2003), before presenting him with its highest honor, the Richard Kirk Award for Outstanding Career Achievement, in 2003[5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/edelman-randy-1947). In 2007 the International Film Music Critics Association nominated him for Best Original Score for Television for ABC's mini-series *The Ten Commandments*, and his score for *Leap Year* (2010) won the Gold Spirit Award, named for Jerry Goldsmith, for Best Comedy Score[2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html).
His songs have continued to chart decades after they were written: in 2005, Nelly's "My Place," built on Edelman's song, reached number 1 on Billboard's Rap and Hip Hop charts and number 4 on the Pop chart[2](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html).
## References
1. [Randy Edelman – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006055/bio/)
2. [Randy Edelman – About, official website](https://www.randyedelman.com/flash%20about.html)
3. [Randy Edelman – Biography, Discography & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/randy-edelman-mn0000092579/biography)
4. [Randy Edelman: Master of the Movie Music Melody, BMI (Jon Burlingame, 2004)](https://www.bmi.com/advice/20041202randy_edelman_randy_edelman_master_of_the_movie_music_melody)
5. [Edelman, Randy 1947–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/edelman-randy-1947)
6. [Randy Edelman – Music (covered songs), official website](https://www.randyedelman.com/songs.html)
7. [Randy Edelman – About, official website (current page)](https://www.randyedelman.com/about.html)
8. [The Last of the Mohicans – Trevor Jones, Randy Edelman, Movie Music UK (2022)](https://moviemusicuk.us/2022/09/08/the-last-of-the-mohicans-trevor-jones-and-randy-edelman/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Film, TV, and video-game composers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license