Joel Sill

Joel Sill was born in Santa Monica, California in 1946 to Lester Sill, a record label executive, and his wife Harriet, along with his brothers Greg Sill and Lonnie Sill,[1] both music supervisors. He also had a half brother, Chuck Kaye, a music publishing executive. Sill graduated in 1964 from Grant High School, and received an AA from Pierce College in 1974.

Sill's wife, Kimberly Sill, started and runs Shelter Hope Pet Shop, a humane pet shop. She has adopted over 10,000 dogs to new homes.[2] She also directed the documentary Saved in America, co-produced with Sill.[3]

Sill's first job in the music industry was for The Big Three Music Publishing Company aka Robbins, Feist and Miller which he joined in 1967. From 1968 to 1969, Sill worked for Irving Almo Music (A&M Records publishing company) and in 1969 went on to work for Dunhill Records producing his first soundtrack for the film Easy Rider. In 1972, Sill was hired by Clive Davis of Columbia Records as a producer. In 1975, Sill returned to work for Irving Almo Music where he stayed until he was offered a position at Paramount Pictures in 1980 as the Vice President of Music, overseeing and designing music for films including An Officer and a Gentleman and Flashdance. Theme songs from both films - "Up Where We Belong"[4] and "Flashdance... What a Feeling"[5] went on to win Academy Awards for Best Original Song.

In 1984, Sill became Vice President of Music for Warner Bros Films for all filmed entertainment. At Warner's, Sill oversaw the music for films such as Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,The Killing Fields, Blade Runner, Purple Rain, The Color Purple, and first introduced Madonna's music to film in Vision Quest with Crazy for You.[6] In 1987, Sill partnered with director Taylor Hackford in the New Visions Music Group, where he supervised music for Mannequin, which included a #1 hit with "Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now" as well as La Bamba, which produced the #1 single “La Bamba", the 5x multi-platinum soundtrack album by Los Lobos.[7]

In 1989, and for the next 10 years, Sill partnered with his half brother, Chuck Kaye, who was previously the Chairman of Warner Chappell Music, to form Windswept Pacific a joint venture with Pacific Music of Fuji Sankei Communications. They purchased the Big 7 music publishing catalog from Morris Levy which included the music from over 100 gold records.[8] During this time, Sill supervised the music for The Fabulous Baker Boys,The Firm, Twister, Forrest Gump (8 x multiplatinum), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Contact, Castaway and Munich.[9]

In 2002, Nigel Sinclair hired Sill and Bill Curbishley, former manager of The Who and Jimi Hendrix to start Intermedia Films Music Group. They had offices in Los Angeles and London and produced the soundtracks for K19: The Widowmaker, Adaptation, and Mariah Carey's Wise Girls.[10] From 2004 to 2012, Sill formed a joint venture with Cherry Lane/BMG Music. Cherry Lane was founded in 1960 by renowned producer/arranger Milt Okun, who oversaw an extensive catalog of songs from Elvis Presley, John Denver, Quincy Jones and Ashford & Simpson, Black Eyed Peas and John Legend.[11]

During the mid-70's Sill became a published underwater photographer represented by Jacques Cousteau’s Living Sea Corporation. He remains an active scuba diver, photographer, and advocate for the oceans. Currently he is working as an Ambassador for AltaSea,[12] an ocean preservation and education non-profit in San Pedro, California.

• 2019 Legacy Award - Winner - The Guild of Music Supervisors Awards[13][14]
• 1992 Film Independent Spirit Award - Nominee - Best Film Music - Hangin' with the Homeboys[15]

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