Jack A. Feldman is an American lyricist, who has written songs for television, film, and Broadway. His most notable work is his collaboration with Alan Menken on the film, Newsies, which later became a hit musical on Broadway.
Born in New York City, Feldman grew up on Long Island and became familiar with the theatre district in the city. In 1979, he wrote the lyrics to the show, The Madwoman of Central Park West, which led to contributing to shows, like Coming Attractions, Howard Crabtree's Whoop-Dee-Doo, and Barry Manilow's Copacabana based the same song he co-wrote with Manilow as well as the TV movie of the same name. He was also a music coordinator for Isn't it Romantic and Beyond Therapy.
Feldman also wrote songs for Sesame Street, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, and the films: Life with Mickey ("Life with Mikey Theme"), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York ("My Christmas Tree"), and Don Bluth's Thumbelina, where he collaborated with Manilow once more. Some of his songwriting credits include "Dancin' Fool", "I Made It Through the Rain", "Let Freedom Ring", "Let Me Be Your Wings", "Mambo", "Who Needs to Dream", "Island of Sirens", "Sweet Heaven" (I'm in Love Again), "Bermuda Triangle", "We Still Have Time", "In Your Eyes", "Lola", and "Because It's Christmas" (For All The Children)".
Newsies[]
After contributing songs to Disney in the late 1980s, Feldman was tasked along with Alan Menken to write songs for Newsies, a true story about scrappy newsboys who formed a union and changed the industry. The movie bombed at the box office and with critics and both songwriters where awarded a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song, "High Times, Hard Times". The movie was largely forgotten until small groups of fans began posting songs on Youtube and performing unauthorized versions of the production. Disney took notice and decided to revive the story to collect royalty fees.
Menken and Feldman returned to write new songs and rework others. When Feldman wrote the original songs for the movie, he remembers writing them quickly. "We had to write the songs for the movie so fast because they had to be pre-recorded, so I have always wanted to have the chance to get my hands on them again and make changes here and there."
The premiere performance took place in 2011 at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey back and was a hit. The musical was immediately given a 12-week trial run on Broadway, then extended another three months. Disney finally decided to let it have an open-ended run. This newfound success awarded Feldman and Menken a Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music And/Or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre in 2012.
Disney Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Oliver & Company | Lyrics: "Perfect Isn't Easy" |
| 1989 | Polly | Songwriter: "By Your Side" |
| 1992 | Newsies | Lyrics: "Carrying the Banner" "Santa Fe" "My Lovey-dovey Baby" "The World Will Know" "Seize the Day" "King of New York" "High Times, Hard Times "Seize the Day" |
| 1992 | The Little Mermaid | Lyrics for the episode "Whale of a Tale": "Just a Little Love" "You Got to be You" |
| 1995 | A Goofy Movie | Lyrics: "After Today" "On the Open Road" "Nobody Else But You" |
| 1998 | The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | Lyrics: "We Are One" "One of Us" "Love Will Find a Way" |
| 2000 | Alley Cats Strike | Songwriter: "Anywhere You Are" |
| 2000 | 102 Dalmatians | Lyrics: "Cruella De Vil 2000" |
| 2017 | Disney's Newsies: The Broadway Musical! | Lyrics (Live Presentation) |
Gallery[]
