Angelo Badalamenti
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"He's got this musical soul, and melodies are always floating around inside. I feel the mood of a scene in the music, and one thing helps he other, and they both just start climbing." --David Lynch on his relationship with Badalamenti ("People" Magazine, September 10, 1990)
"He'd say, 'Try and come up with something that's beautiful and dark. Then it should build to a climax that just tears your heart out.' So I'm looking at him strangely, but as he's talking my eyes start going somewhere, and I start hearing melodies." --Badalamenti describing working relationship with Lynch ("People" Magazine, September 10, 1990)
Biography
Best known for his collaborations with David Lynch, most notably the dreamy, haunting music for the director's cult TV soap opera, "Twin Peaks" (1990-91). After completing his classical training, Badalamenti worked as a Borscht Belt pianist in the 1950s, as a jingle writer and as an arranger-songwriter for performers as diverse as Mel Tillis and Shirley Bassey. As Andy Badale he wrote the songs for the 1973 film "Gordon's War" and the score for "Law and Disorder" (1974).
Although he continued composing, Badalamenti saw his career take off when he was hired as Isabella Rossellini's vocal coach and subsequently wrote the atmospheric score for Lynch's "Blue Velvet" (1986). He has continued a long association with the director, including scoring TV commercials and films like "Lost Highway" (1997). Badalamenti's non-Lynch credits include "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (1989), but he seems most at home with darker fare like the noirish "Tough Guys Don't Dance" (1987) and "The Comfort of Strangers" (1990), the black comedy "Parents" (1989) and the phantasmagoric "The City of Lost Children" (1995).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Music (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Music (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1973
First film credit as Andy Badale, writing songs for Ossie Davis's "Gordon's War"
1974
Wrote first film score, "Law and Disorder"
1986
First collaboration with David Lynch, "Blue Velvet"
1990
Created album of music with David Lynch for singer Julee Cruise
1990
TV composing debut for series, "Twin Peaks", created by Lynch
1990
Collaborated with Lynch on theatrical production, "Industrial Symphony No. 1" presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
1990
Composed music for David Lynch's commercials for Calvin Klein's perfume, Obsession
1992
Scored Lynch's feature "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me"
1995
Provided the haunting original score for "The City of Lost Children"
1997
Reteamed with Lynch for "Lost Highway"
2001
Provided the eerily effective score for Lynch's "Mulholland Dr."
Videos
Movie Clip
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"He's got this musical soul, and melodies are always floating around inside. I feel the mood of a scene in the music, and one thing helps he other, and they both just start climbing." --David Lynch on his relationship with Badalamenti ("People" Magazine, September 10, 1990)
"He'd say, 'Try and come up with something that's beautiful and dark. Then it should build to a climax that just tears your heart out.' So I'm looking at him strangely, but as he's talking my eyes start going somewhere, and I start hearing melodies." --Badalamenti describing working relationship with Lynch ("People" Magazine, September 10, 1990)
Badalamenti has master's degrees in French horn, composition and piano. He has also won at least eight ASCAP awards. The composer has arranged pieces for recording artists such as Liza Minnelli, George Benson, Melba Moore and the Pet Shop Boys.
