Tom Whitlock, who wrote the lyrics for the rock anthem “Hazard Zone” and the chart-topping love track “Take My Breath Away” for the unique Prime Gun, profitable an Oscar within the course of, has died. He was 68.
Whitlock died Saturday at a reminiscence care heart in Gallatin, Tennessee, a spokesperson on the Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Residence in Springfield, Missouri, confirmed. He had Alzheimer’s illness, buddies instructed the Springfield Information Chief.
Whitlock wrote each Prime Gun songs with Giorgio Moroder. Their relationship started when he fastened the brakes on the Italian composer’s Ferrari.
“Hazard Zone,” carried out by Kenny Loggins, was employed for the opening scene within the Tony Scott-directed, Tom Cruise-starring 1986 motion film, whereas “Take My Breath Away,” sung by Terri Nunn of Berlin, impressed the filmmakers to shoot extra scenes with Cruise and Kelly McGillis months later.
“Take My Breath Away” made it to No. 1 on the Billboard 100 in September 1986 and received the Oscar for finest authentic track, whereas “Hazard Zone” reached No. 2 on the chart. The movie’s soundtrack bought 9 million copies.
Whitlock and Moroder labored on music for such different motion pictures as Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), Over the Prime (1987) — they wrote “Meet Me Half Method,” additionally carried out by Loggins — and Rambo III (1988). In addition they got here up with the themes for the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 1990 World Cup in Italy, “Hand in Hand” and “To Be Quantity One,” respectively.
Born on Feb. 20, 1954, Thomas Ross Whitlock performed with the Ozark Mountain Daredevils as a fill-in drummer and attended Drury School in Springfield. He moved to Los Angeles in 1983 to begin a band with buddies.
Whitlock was at Davlen Sound Studios in North Hollywood serving to out a pal when he met Moroder, who had simply purchased the place.
To repair Moroder’s brakes, Whitlock “went to Pep Boys and acquired a pile of Castrol brake fluid. I had my instruments in my 1970 Volvo and I went out to the parking zone and bled out the outdated brake fluid and changed it with new,” he recalled in a 2014 interview.
Whitlock wound up with a job as an assistant on the studio. When Moroder wanted assist with lyrics, Whitlock jumped in. The composer had simply labored with Prime Gun producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer on the 1983 hit Flashdance.
Whitlock described working with Moroder: “I might usually cling with the singer for a bit to assist them study the track and heat them up after which Giorgio would are available in to nail it down and add harmonies and backgrounds,” he mentioned.
“I at all times wrote the lyrics exactly to his melody — my idea was that his selections have been intentional and that he had such an unbelievable data of hit songs that I had no enterprise overreaching. Generally he would possibly make a change whereas we have been singing and I might modify on the fly — large enjoyable!”
Survivors embody his sister, Mary.
