AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Harold Faltermeyer

Artist:Harold Faltermeyer
Song:Axel F
Album:Beverly Hills Cop: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack




This instrumental from the hit film Beverly Hills Cop was a top five hit in 1984, It was the only big hit for German synthesizer whiz Harold Faltermeyer. He worked on some other 80s films and then he returned to Germany. He was born Oct. 5, 1952 in Munich, Germany. He was a child prodigy classical pianist. He was a producer for Deutsche Grammophon when in 1978 Georgio Moroder brought him to Los Angeles to arrange the score for the film Midnight Express. He continued to work with Moroder producing Donna Summer among others. After Faltermeyer got positive reviews for his keyboards for the 1984 film Thief Of Hearts, Paramount hired him to compose the score for Beverly Hills Cop. Axel F is the only Faltermeyer instrumental to appear on the soundtrack album and surprisingly it reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The rest of the album contains songs that appeared in the film but most of Faltermeyer's score was never released. He did co-write and produce with Keith Forsey the Glenn Frey hit The Heat Is On. But most of the other songs were licensed from outside record companies. The soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop was a huge seller at the time and it is available as a budget CD. The same thing happened with Faltermeyer's music for Top Gun and Fletch. Most of his music was not released. The exception to this was his music for the 1987 film The Running Man. Faltermeyer's music is on the soundtrack album. He also recorded a solo album for MCA in 1987. They tacked on Axel F against his wishes. After he composed the score for the 1989 film Tango & Cash, Faltermeyer returned to Germany to raise his family. He worked on German films and produced artists. He returned to Hollywood to score the 2010 Kevin Smith film Cop Out. That looks to be a one time return as he still is active in Germany. Here's the video for Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer.