User:John Capek

John Capek
Composer, arranger, keyboardist, producer, born Prague, Czechoslovakia, Chemical Engineering Diploma (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology). The son of a concert pianist and his wife who survived Auschwitz, John moved to Melbourne, Australia at three. He studied piano as a child and later influenced by Little Richard, Ray Charles and Chuck Berry co-founded Carson, which became one of Australia's premier blues bands. Capek then played in the bands King Harvest, Flite and with Aussie superstars Doug Parkinson and Renee Geyer. He then immigrated to Canada in 1973.

In Toronto Capek played keyboards and arranged songs for Marc Jordan, Ian Thomas, Dan Hill and Dianne Brooks, and produced hit recordings for Hill, Ken Tobias, The Good Brothers, Downchild and Amy Sky. He formed a songwriting partnership with Jordan and moved to Los Angeles, placing songs with Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Diana Ross, Manhattan Transfer, Isaac Hayes and many others. As a session musician he recorded with legendary producers Humberto Gatica and John Boylan. As John Capek & The Family of Man, he released his debut recording, Indaba (Mesa Blue Moon).

Returning to Toronto in 1995 John continued writing for Stewart, Cher, Amanda Marshall, Bonnie Raitt and others and recently scored the television series "Grandpa's Garden" and "Letters to God".

Appointments Former director of the Songwriters Association of Canada and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and founding faculty member of the songwriting program at the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Songwriting An exceptionally prolific pop songwriter, Capek stands apart from his peers through his use of complex harmonies mostly associated with Tin Pan Alley. His biggest success has been "Rhythm of My Heart," with Rod Stewart Other Capek hits include "Take Me Home," with Joe Cocker and featured in the film Blown Away, "Promises," with Amanda Marshall ,  "Love So High," with Cher and "Deep Water" on Bonnie Raitt's current album. His songs have also been recorded by superstars in the Czech Republic, and used in films such as Cocktail,The Silencer  and Perfect Storm.

It has been estimated that either as a songwriter, producer, arranger or performer John appears on at least 100 million recordings sold so far, and his work is being publicly performed somewhere on the planet at any point in time.