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Gary Stockdale
Stockdale in 2010
Background information
Born (1952-11-15) November 15, 1952 (age 71)
Glendale, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
Websitegarystockdale.com

Gary William Stockdale is a U.S. composer, arranger. music director, conductor, singer-songwriter, musician (keyboard, guitar), and vocalist with over 400 published composing credits.[1] He was mentored in film-scoring by Henry Mancini and contributed music to films scored by Lalo Schifrin. Stockdale is particularly renowned for his work collaborating with comedy-magic duo Penn & Teller, for which he received two Emmy Award nominations and a BMI Award, and for composing songs and scores for many other TV shows including Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular, Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, Sabrina the Teenage Witch,SpongeBob SquarePants, and To Tell the Truth, as well as for numerous films including Two Billion Hearts (with Schifrin), Dance of the Damned, and The Aristocrats. Stockdale is also known for his large volume of vocal work.

Early life and education

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Stockdale's mother Barbara Ann Stockdale (née Millaird),[2] a Burbank, CA native,[3] was a jazz singer who recorded with musicians from Nat King Cole’s band[4] until she gave up professional singing to raise a family.[3] His father John Edward Stockdale, a Chicago native, served in the US Army Air Corps in World War II as a B-25 pilot, then moved to Los Angeles to attend Loyola Law School and become a lawyer.[5]

Stockdale was born and raised in Glendale, CA, in the Los Angeles area, where he started piano lessons at the age of 4 and sang in church choirs.[6] Aiming to become an actor, after high school he attended the Robert C. Board College of Theatre in Glendale until it went defunct in 1971.[7] He then attended Los Angeles City College from 1971 to 1975.[7] Starting in the Theater Department, where his classmates included Diana Canova[8] (later Corinne Tate on Soap) and Debbie Gravitte[8] (who later won a Tony Award for her performance in Jerome Robbins' Broadway), he found himself playing piano, composing songs, and serving as music director for department shows.[3] He then switched to the Music Department, studying composition and piano performance.

Stockdale later enrolled in Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theatre Workshop.[4] In 1980 he attended the Dick Grove School of Music,[9] where he studied Film Scoring with jazz guitar virtuoso and TV composer Mundell Lowe.[10] Stockdale learned about the craft of film music composition, and got advice on the music business, under the wing of four-time Oscar-winning composer Henry Mancini.[3] Around this time he also took private orchestration lessons from Dr. Albert Harris.[4]

Film music

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Stockdale began his film-music composing career scoring director/producer Roger Corman’s first “art” film (entered in the 1989 Los Angeles Film Festival), Dance of the Damned,[1] and another Corman film Stripped To Kill 2.[1][11]

Stockdale met six-time Oscar-nominated composer Lalo Schifrin through his association with Henry Mancini.[3] He co-wrote, with Schifrin, the score for Two Billion Hearts,[12][11] and has worked with Schifrin on scores, often also playing electric keyboards, for many other films including Sam Peckinpah’s last film The Osterman Weekend,[13][14] Doctor Detroit[11], Sudden Impact,[15] F/X2,[3] and Black Moon Rising.[16][11][17]

He also wrote the scores for the Andy Sidaris films Picasso Trigger,[18][19] Hard Ticket To Hawaii,[20] and Savage Beach.[21] Stockdale did the vocal arrangements for Money for Nothing,[22] and scored Arizona Heat,[1][19] Olympus Force,[23] Forbidden City,[24] Demonstone,[25] and the US documentary film The Aristocrats[1][26] that featured 100 world-renowned comedians including Robin Williams, George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bill Maher all telling their version of the “World’s Dirtiest Joke”.

Stockdale provided lead vocals in the films Lucy In The Sky[7] and Two Billion Hearts (on the main title theme)[27], and chorus vocals on The Prince of Egypt (for which he was the main U.S. vocal contractor[4]), Star Wars: Rogue One,[4] Star Trek: Beyond,[4] The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,[4] Avatar,[6] Watchmen,[4] 10,[4] S.O.B.,[4] Planes,[4] Antz,[4] The Matrix Reloaded,[4] and The Polar Express.[4] He also played keyboard in The Mean Season,[28] The Dead Pool,[29] andTokyo Blackout.[30]

Television music

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Stockdale was composer and Music Director of the "Crimes Against Nature" Band for the Emmy-nominated TV variety show Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular on the FX TV channel, the documentary comedy series Penn & Teller: Bullshit![31] on the Showtime channel, The Unpleasant World of Penn & Teller,[32] and Penn & Teller's Home Invasions ABC prime-time special and Don’t Try This at Home NBC special.[33] Penn Jillette has said “Working in television, you really need a composer who can work in many styles ... Stockdale can do anything.”[3]

Other TV shows that Stockdale scored and/or arranged music for include Sabrina the Teenage Witch,[1] To Tell the Truth,[1] SpongeBob SquarePants,[1] Team Knight Rider,[1][34] They Came from Outer Space,[1] Hayley Wagner: Star,[1] Johnnytime,[1] 20 Years of Comedy on HBO,[1] The Hunt for Amazing Treasures,[1] The Steven Banks Show,[1] Comedy Central’s Last Laugh,[1][35] Cowboy U,[1][35] A Home for the Holidays (CBS),[1][35] The Independent Spirit Awards,[35] The Best Defense,[36] and the Love, American Style 1999 special,[37] as well as for numerous commercials.[3]

Stockdale was contracted for his first television vocal session by Henry Mancini's daughter Monica, in the chorus for The Carpenters "Music, Music, Music" TV special on ABC.[38] Stockdale's singing can also be heard on The Simpsons[7] and Family Guy;[4] backing up Adele singing Skyfall on the 2013 Oscars,[4] Mary J. Blige singing Mighty River on the 2018 Oscars,[7] and Camila Cabello singing Living Proof on The Ellen Show in 2019;[7] in Disney's Nancy Kerrigan Special: Dreams on Ice (1995);[39] and in featured solos on Cop Rock,[4][40] B Positive,[7] Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,[4] and In-and-Out Burger commercials.[6]

Theatre music

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Stockdale co-wrote, with Spencer Green, the irreverent adult musical spoof Bukowsical! loosely based on the life of German-American writer Charles Bukowski. The show's songs have been called "uncommonly terrific for the genre";[41] and the show has been praised for "the eclectic bounce of Stockdale's music and his and Green's lyrics" in the Los Angeles Times,[42] with further praise for Stockdale found in Backstage,[43] Variety,[44] and more. The show earned the New York International Fringe Festival Award for Outstanding Musical,[45] and has been performed in various theater companies all over the U.S.[44][46][47][48][49]

He also composed the "creepy music [that] evokes both carnival and silent horror tunes"[50] for Play Dead, an off-Broadway stage play by Teller and Todd Robbins. Stockdale's music has been featured in Penn & Teller’s Broadway show The Refrigerator Tour [51] and the off-Broadway show Penn & Teller Rot in Hell[52] at the Beacon Theatre in New York City,[33][53] and in Penn & Teller's show at the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio resort in Las Vegas since 2001.[33][54]

He wrote music for Billy the Mime's show America Lovesexdeath[55] at The Flea Theater in New York City and incidental music for a production of Bus Stop[56] at the Pasadena Playhouse. Stockdale has provided vocal direction, musical supervision, and vocal arrangements for the Los Angeles Shakespeare festival.[57]

Stockdale composed the music, teaming up again with Spencer Green on the lyrics, for Bumpersticker: the Musical,[58] a show in the Hollywood Fringe Festival, with each song inspired by a slogan seen on a bumper sticker during a traffic jam. The show was noted for its examples of "how well the music & lyrics work together to make the writers' point"[59] and was named by HuffPost as one of the top ten 2016 Los Angeles Theatre Productions.[60]

Other music

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Stockdale has sung with Justin Timberlake,[61] Aaron Neville,[62] David Crosby,[63][4] and Johnny Mathis,[64] and was the original keyboard player in the Brian Setzer Orchestra.[65][4] His voice can be heard on Neil Young’s album Living with War.[66] The accomplished songwriting partnership of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill has called Stockdale “... one of the greatest singers on the planet.”[7]

Stockdale has released two albums of his original songs, and his songs have hit the charts recorded by such artists as Angela Bofill and Little Big Stuff Music! founder David Guthrie.[4][67] His albums have been said to "exude a warm, folk-flavored sincerity ... his voice conveys a melodic sincerity that, when combined with his arranging skills, enables a song to build to a satisfying finale ... A born storyteller and wizened voice of reason, Stockdale ... [delivers] knowing, inspiring messages."[68]

Stockdale co-wrote, with Stephen Geyer, the song "Who Knows You Better"[1] for Angela Bofill. He has arranged many records for jazz artist Keiko Matsui, and other Japanese musicians.[69][70][71][72] His music is also featured in a not-yet-released video game.[73]

Stockdale has played in various Los Angeles area bands such as The Jenerators, which included actor members like Bill Mumy[74] (Will Robinson on the 1960s series Lost in Space) and the late Miguel Ferrer[74] (NCIS Assistant Director Owen Granger on NCIS: Los Angeles and Dr. Garret Macy on NBC’s Crossing Jordan). He has been a soloist and music director for The Tribe,[75] a revolving group of Los Angeles musicians and singers that includes Larry Antonino of Pablo Cruise, Grant Geissman, Carly Smithson, Ken Stacey, Rosemary Butler, Steve Ferrone, Marc Mann, and The Honeys.

Personal life

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Participants in the "Skeptically Yours" podcast, recorded at The Amazing Meeting for skeptics in 2013. Left to right: Stockdale, podcaster Heather Henderson, magician James Randi, comedian Emery Emery, and psychology professor Ray Hyman.

Stockdale has been married since 1993 to Danelle "Dani" Hoffman Stockdale,[3] an early childhood educator and education consultant[76] as well as founder and past Principal Administrator of The Portable Classroom.[77] Their home in Glassell Park, Los Angeles, California, U.S. includes a professional music recording studio.[78][33] They have two daughters, Savannah and Fiona.[79] Savannah Stockdale is an Electronic Dance Music Artist who composes and performs as HVDES.[80]

He is an advocate for skepticism, having appeared on the "Skeptically Yours" podcast[81] recorded at James Randi’s The Amazing Meeting, and promoting skepticism in his songs, most notably "You Don't Know"[82] (see 2018 Video clip below).

Stockdale has been on the faculty at Los Angeles College of Music in Pasadena, CA, teaching Vocal Performance,[7] since 2016.

Awards

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Discography

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  • 1987, Hard Ticket To Hawaii – Gary Stockdale, Label: Enjoy The Ride Records, ID: ETR117[20]
  • 2000, Electronic Age Vol. 2 – Gary Stockdale, Label: Killer Tracks, ID: KT129[85]
  • 2002, Penn & Teller Present: Music To Look At Boxes By – Gary Stockdale on tracks "Liftoff Of Love / Ripoff Of Love" and "The Penn & Teller Theme", Label: MOFO, UPC: 091827167823[86]
  • 2010, Bukowsical! Original Cast Recording – Gary Stockdale & Spencer Green, Label: Kritzerland Records, ID: KR 20017-4[87]
  • 2011, Sure of Mice Elf – Gary Stockdale, Label: Cd Baby, UPC: 0789875017022[88]
  • 2017, Keep Letting Go – Gary Stockdale, Label: Global Recording Art, UPC: 646413136228[89]

Video clips

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Songview Search". BMI. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  2. ^ "Barbara Anne Millaird". Ancestry.com. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Brown, Jacqui (September 24, 2005). "Stockdale scores again". Los Angeles Times - Burbank Leader.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Stories & Insights Staff (August 17, 2023). "Meet Gary Stockdale". CanvasRebel.
  5. ^ "John Stockdale Obituary". Legacy.com. February 23, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c Cutler, Peter (July 17, 2023). "Fiddlers Crossing Concerts welcomes back Gary Stockdale". Tehachapi News.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Gary Stockdale". Los Angeles College of Music. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Noted LACC Theatre Alumni". Los Angeles City College. 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  9. ^ Bush, Sharon Raiford (December 6, 2015). "Versatility Is Key To Surviving Music Business, Says L.A. Composer". CBS News.
  10. ^ "Dick Grove". Variety. February 4, 1999.
  11. ^ a b c d Meeker, David (2019). Jazz on the screen: a jazz and blues filmography (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. LCCN 2023871300.
  12. ^ "Two Billion Hearts". International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Institute. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  13. ^ Dalkin, Gary S. (January 2000). "Lalo SCHIFRIN: The Osterman Weekend". Film Music on the Web.
  14. ^ "The Osterman Weekend". American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  15. ^ "Lalo Schifrin / Jerry Fielding – Sudden Impact And The Best Of Dirty Harry". Discogs. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  16. ^ "Black Moon Rising". American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  17. ^ Muir, John Kenneth (2015). The Films of John Carpenter. Jefferson, NC, US: McFarland & Company. p. 225. ISBN 9780786493487.
  18. ^ "Picasso Trigger - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Francillion, Vincent J. (2000). Film Composers Directory. Los Angeles, CA, US: Lone Eagle. p. 99. ISBN 9781580650380.
  20. ^ a b "Gary Stockdale – Hard Ticket To Hawaii". Discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  21. ^ "Film Review: Savage Beach (1989)". Talking Pulp. January 28, 2021.
  22. ^ "Money for Nothing". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  23. ^ Johnson, Tom; Miller, ‎Mark A. (2009). The Christopher Lee Filmography: All Theatrical Releases, 1948-2003. Jefferson, NC, US: McFarland & Company. p. 356. ISBN 9780786446919.
  24. ^ Stieber, Dale Ann (2013). Envisioning Dance on Film and Video. Oxfordshire, UK: Taylor & Francis. p. 295. ISBN 9781135376512.
  25. ^ Murray, Scott (1996). Australia on the Small Screen, 1970-1995: The Complete Guide to Tele-features and Mini-series. England, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 42. ISBN 9780195539493.
  26. ^ Monush, Barry; Willis, John (2006). Screen World Film Annual. Vol. 57. Milwaukee, WI, US: Hal Leonard. p. 99. ISBN 9781557837066.
  27. ^ Duelo de Filmes (November 24, 2022). "Two Billion Hearts / Todos os Corações do Mundo (1995) - Gary Stockdale - Two Billion Hearts". YouTube.
  28. ^ "Lalo Schifrin – The Mean Season (Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Discogs. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  29. ^ "Lalo Schifrin – The Dead Pool (The Original Score)". Discogs. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  30. ^ "Maurice Jarre – Tokyo Blackout". Discogs. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  31. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2009). The Year in Television, 2008. Jefferson, NC, US: McFarland & Company. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-7864-4391-8.
  32. ^ "Gary Stockdale". Soundtrack.Net. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  33. ^ a b c d "Penn & Teller Composer Upgrades Studio to Digital Gear". Mix (magazine). December 9, 2003.
  34. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2013). Television Introductions: Narrated TV Program Openings Since 1949. Lanham, MD, US: Scarecrow Press. p. 128. ISBN 9780810892507.
  35. ^ a b c d "LACC Theatre Acting Alumni". Los Angeles City College. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  36. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2024). Experimental Television, Test Films, Pilots and Trial Series, 1925 through 1995: Seven Decades of Small Screen Almosts. Jefferson, NC, US: McFarland & Company. p. 47. ISBN 978-0786440962.
  37. ^ "Love American Style". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  38. ^ Carpenter, Richard (January 23, 2019). "Carpenters - Music, Music, Music 1980". YouTube.
  39. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2013). Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936–2012 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, NC, US: McFarland & Company. p. 272. ISBN 9781476612409.
  40. ^ "Cop Rock/Pilot". TV IV. April 4, 2021.
  41. ^ Murray, Matthew (August 14, 2007). "Off Broadway Reviews: Bukowsical!". Talkin' Broadway.
  42. ^ Nichols, David C. (March 24, 2006). "'Bukowsical!' is seeking support". Los Angeles Times.
  43. ^ Backstage staff (November 4, 2019). "Bukowsical!". Backstage.
  44. ^ a b Morgan, Terry (March 19, 2006). "Bukowsical!". Variety.
  45. ^ a b Gioia, Michael (May 30, 2013). "Regional Premiere of Bukowsical, About Life of Novelist Charles Bukowski, Begins May 30 in St. Louis". Playbill.
  46. ^ Bretz, Mark (July 20, 2022). "Bukowsical: Musical Review". Ladue News.
  47. ^ Gioia, Michael (May 30, 2013). "Regional Premiere of Bukowsical, About Life of Novelist Charles Bukowski, Begins May 30 in St. Louis". Playbill.
  48. ^ "Bukowsical! at Bleecker Street Theatre". New York Theatre Guide. October 19, 2017.
  49. ^ Staton, John (September 15, 2015). "Theater preview - Musical comedy sings tribute to cult writer Bukowski". Star-News.
  50. ^ Schwartz, Jonas (December 4, 2013). "Play Dead". TheaterMania.
  51. ^ "Penn & Teller: The Refrigerator Tour". Playbill. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  52. ^ Guernsey, Otis L.; Sweet, Jeffrey (2000). The Applause - Best Plays Theater Yearbook 1991-1992: Featuring the Ten Best Plays of the Year. Milwaukee, WI, US: Hal Leonard. p. 327. ISBN 9781557831477.
  53. ^ Dietz, Dan (2017). The Complete Book of 2000s Broadway Musicals. Lanham, MD, U.S.: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 29, 42. ISBN 9781442278004.
  54. ^ Jones, Jay (August 20, 2018). "Penn & Teller return to their namesake Las Vegas theater at the Rio". Los Angeles Times.
  55. ^ Willis, John A. (2007). John Willis' Theatre World. Vol. 64. New York City, US: Crown Publishing Group. p. 108. ISBN 9781557836502.
  56. ^ Drake, Sylvie (July 17, 1990). "STAGE REVIEW: 'Bus Stop': A Timeless Trip to Inge Country". Los Angeles Times.
  57. ^ Folger Shakespeare Library; Shakespeare Association of America (1979). "Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival". Shakespeare Quarterly. 30. Folger Shakespeare Library: 239 – via JSTOR.
  58. ^ "Bumpersticker: the Musical". Hollywood Fringe Festival. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  59. ^ Dostal, Ellen (June 16, 2016). "Review: BUMPERSTICKER: THE MUSICAL, a Sure-fire Fringe Favorite". BroadwayWorld.
  60. ^ Schreiber, Brad (December 29, 2016). "Top Ten 2016 L.A. Theatre Productions". HuffPost.
  61. ^ "Justin Timberlake Feat. Chris Stapleton – Say Something". Discogs. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  62. ^ "Aaron Neville – The Tattooed Heart". Discogs. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  63. ^ "David Crosby performs "Ohio" - The Tribe's California Saga2 Benefit, Theatre @ Ace Hotel DTLA 7.3.19". YouTube. September 13, 2020.
  64. ^ "David Foster – The Christmas Album". Discogs. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  65. ^ "The Brian Setzer Orchestra – The Brian Setzer Orchestra". Discogs. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  66. ^ "Neil Young – Living With War". Discogs. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  67. ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 32. August 15, 1981. p. 83.
  68. ^ Music Connection Magazine (October 29, 2018). "New Music Critique: Gary Stockdale". Music Connection.
  69. ^ "Keiko Matsui – The Very Best Of". Discogs. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  70. ^ "Keiko Matsui – Collection". Discogs. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  71. ^ "The Kazu Matsui Project – See You There". Discogs. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  72. ^ "Akira Jimbo – Jimbo". [Discogs]]. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  73. ^ "Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors". SegaRetro. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  74. ^ a b Ragogna, Mike (June 20, 2011). "Chatting with Less Than Jake's Vinnie Fiorello and Singer-Songwriter/Actor Bill Mumy". HuffPost.
  75. ^ "Out Now: LA Collective The Tribe's 'Neil Young Rascals,' An Album of Re-Imagined Classics". RockCellar. June 26, 2023.
  76. ^ "Unlocking the Toddler Toolbox: Essential Skills for Communication, Behavior, & Emotional Wellness with Danelle Stockdale, Early Childhood Educator". Teach Play Learn. April 25, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  77. ^ "The Portable Classroom Incorporated". Dun & Bradstreet. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  78. ^ "StockdaleSound Studios". Stockdale Sound. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  79. ^ Green, Spencer (November 27, 2010). "A Holiday Song: "All I Want For Christmas Is a Job"". HuffPost.
  80. ^ "Human Error by HVDES". Bandcamp. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  81. ^ "6th Annual IIG Awards". Center for Inquiry. June 22, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  82. ^ "Gary Stockdale - You Don't Know from "Keep Letting Go"". ReverbNation. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  83. ^ a b "Gary Stockdale Awards & Nomination". Television Academy Emmys. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  84. ^ "George S. Clinton Receives Top BMI Film/TV Honor". BMI News. May 17, 2007.
  85. ^ "Gary Stockdale – Electronic Age - Volume 2". Discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  86. ^ "Mike "Jonesy" Jones* – Penn & Teller Present: Music To Look At Boxes By (The Home Version)". Discogs. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  87. ^ Kimmel, Bruce (2010). "Bukowsical! Original Cast Recording". Kritzerland Records.
  88. ^ "Gary Stockdale > Sure of Mice Elf". Oldies. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  89. ^ "Stockdale, Garry: Keep Letting Go". Tower Records. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  90. ^ Yankovic, Al. "Players". "Weird Al" Yankovic. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
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