Beth Anderson

***Beth Anderson*** (1954, Lexington, Kentucky, USA) is an American singer and voice actress from Lexington, Kentucky.

Anderson's first notable release was the song "Dance Dance Dance" which appeared in the 1983 film Scarface as well as on its soundtrack. "Dance Dance Dance" became iconic in the following years due to its use in the scene where Octavio the Clown is gunned down. The song also appeared on the US 7" version of Debbie Harry's single "Rush Rush", another song from the Scarface soundtrack. "Dance Dance Dance" was also featured in the 2006 video game Scarface: The World Is Yours.

Anderson performed main vocals for Limahl's No. 1 hit "The NeverEnding Story", the theme song for the 1984 eponymous film, though she was not credited as a featured artist. Her lyrics were recorded in America separately from Limahl's and accordingly she did not appear in the music video. One of Limahl's back-up singers, Mandy Newton, lip-synced Anderson's lyrics for the music video. Limahl and Anderson only performed the song together on a few occasions, including on the TV series Solid Gold and American Bandstand.

Anderson also performed the songs "Just Imagine (Way Beyond Fear)" for the 1984 film Thief of Hearts and "Angel Baby" for the 1989 film She's Out of Control.

Anderson has also worked as a voice actress. She has voiced characters in the animated films The Brave Little Toaster, The Swan Princess, Daisy-Head Mayzie, An All Dogs Christmas Carol and the 1999 Disney film Tarzan.

Beth Anderson's early work was considered post-Cagian, non-academic; but, more recently, her music has become more lyrical while retaining the cut-up quality of the minimalists. Many of her compositions have been recorded by various artists on different labels.

Her work has received numerous awards and grants including a Copland Fund grant to make a CD on New World, a National Endowment for the Arts grant for career development in music composition, a National Public Radio Satellite Program Development Fund grant for the development of a text-sound radio series entitled POETRY IS MUSIC, several Meet The Composer grants from the New York State Council on the Arts, a Foundation For the Contemporary Performance Arts grant, a National Federation of Music Clubs' Award of Merit for contributions to women in music, a P.S. One/Institute for Art and Urban Resources residency, a ZBS Media grant to support a residency/tape production, an Elizabeth Mills Crothers Award, a Biggerstaff Grant, and an Alumni Fellowship to support her graduate work at Mills College. She has been commisioned by Collegium Musicum Carinthia, the Minnesota Synfonia, the Staten Island Symphony, the Cabrillo Music Festival, the San Francisco Conservatory's New Music Ensemble, the University of the Redlands' New Music Ensemble, the Montclair College Dance Festival, Daniel McCusker & Dancers, and many others.

She served as resident composer at the Chamber Music Conference of the East/Composers' Forum in Bennington, Vermont and was chosen as contemporary competition composer for the 2002 Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition in Kharkov, Ukraine.

Ms. Anderson's publishers include Recital Music, Antes/Bella Musica, and E.M.I/Joshua Corporation/General Music. Several catalogs include her music. The most complete catalog of her work is probably the New York Women Composers, Inc., catalog.

Ms. Anderson is included in many reference works, including The New Grove Dictionary Of American Music, Het Tweede Thema, The New Grove Dictionary Of Opera, The Popular Guide To Women In Music, Contemporary Composers, and The Pandora Guide To Women Composers-British And American. An extensive interview with her is included in the archives of the American Composers Oral History Project at Yale University.