Harold Wheeler (musician)

Harold Wheeler (musician)
William Harold Wheeler Jr. (born July 14, 1943), is an American orchestrator, composer, conductor, arranger, record producer, and music director. He has received numerous Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations for orchestration, and won the 2003 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations for Hairspray.
Career
Wheeler first worked in the 1960s as the musical director (MD) for Burt Bacharach making him the first African-American MD of a major pop act. He also was doing arranging for Tony Orlando and Nina Simone during that time. He was named Music Conductor for the 76th Academy Awards, becoming only the second African-American conductor in the academy's history. He also was a music arranger on the 79th Academy Awards. Wheeler was one of two conductors (the others being fellow composers John Williams and Paul Shaffer) during the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Wheeler was the musical director on the ABC Network show, Dancing with the Stars for the show's first 17 seasons. In January 2014, it was announced that former American Idol bandleader Ray Chew would take over as musical director for the show's 18th season.
Awards
In 2008, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAACP Theatre Awards In 2019, he received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater.
Personal
Harold was born in St Louis, Missouri. He attended Howard University, where he met his future wife—television, Broadway, and movie performer Hattie Winston.
Stage
Promises, Promises (1968) – Musical Director, dance arrangements
Coco (1969) – Dance arrangements
Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death (1971) – Musical direction and supervision
Two Gentlemen of Verona (1971) – Musical Supervisor
Don't Play Us Cheap! (1972) – Musical Supervisor
Love For Love (1974) – featuring songs by
The Wiz (1975) – music orchestrated by
Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music (1981) – Musical Director
Dreamgirls (1981) – Musical Supervisor, music orchestrated by
Little Me (1982) – music orchestrated by
The Tap Dance Kid (1983) – Musical Supervisor, music arranged by, vocal arrangements by
The Wiz (1984) – music orchestrated by
The Three Musketeers (1984) – additional orchestrations by
Leader of the Pack (1985) – opening dance sequence composed and orchestrated by
Grind (1985) – additional orchestrations by
Dreamgirls (1987) – Musical Supervisor, music orchestrated by
Carrie (1988) – Musical Supervisor, music orchestrated by
Tommy Tune Tonite! (1992) – arrangements and/or orchestrations by
The Life (1997) – music orchestrated by
Side Show (1997) – music orchestrated by
Little Me (1998) – music orchestrated by
Swing! (1999) – music orchestrated by
The Full Monty (2000) – music orchestrated by
Hairspray (2002) – music orchestrated by
Never Gonna Dance (2003) – music orchestrated by
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005) – music orchestrated by
Lennon (2005) – music orchestrated by
Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway (2011) – arrangements and orchestrations by
Side Show (2014) – music orchestrated by
Ain't Too Proud (2019) – music orchestrated by
Partial discography
Nina Simone – Here Comes the Sun (1971) – Arranger, conductor & producer
Bruce Springsteen – Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) – Piano on "Blinded By the Light" and "Spirit In The Night"
Grind (1985) – Additional orchestrations
The Harold Wheeler Consort – Black Cream (1975) RCA BGL1-0849 – Producer, arranger, piano/keyboards/organ/Moog, composer credit for tracks "Black Cream" and "Color Me Soul"
Meco – Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk (1977) – arranger & producer
The Wiz (1978) – soundtrack
Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991) – original music
Mississippi Rising (2005) – Arranger and conductor
As sideman
With Bernard Purdie
Purdie Good! (Prestige, 1971)
Stand by Me (Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get) (Mega, 1971)
References
External links
thehistorymakers.com/biography
All Music Guide
Harold Wheeler Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2021)
1943 births
Living people
African-American conductors (music)
American male conductors (music)
American male composers
21st-century American composers
Record producers from Missouri
American music arrangers
Musicians from St. Louis
Classical musicians from Missouri
Special Tony Award recipients
21st-century American conductors (music)
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American people