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In the 60’s we cruised though the weekends with influential surfing hits from the Californian band, The Marketts. Songs like ‘Surfer’s Stomp’, ‘Outer Limits’ and ‘Batman’ were hitting the charts as skateboards rolling along a pipeline of sidewalks. Michael Zane Gordon, leader of The Marketts, composed most of the band’s hit recordings, also writing the award winning tune ‘Apologize’, which was to be recorded by Ed Ames. The hit song ‘Surfer’s Stomp’ was co-produced by Gordon and Joe Saraceno - just one of the worldwide unforgettable hits from the Songwriter/Composer Michael Z. Gordon.
Gordon’s credits continued to roll from the 60’s era of surfing hits to writing and producing both music and movies through four decades. The new millennium arrived with achievements cresting new waves of accolades from the highly acclaimed film productions ‘Narc’, and the 2006 comedy television series ‘Mafiosa’.
In the early years of his career Michael Z. Gordon was associated with Warner Brothers Publishing, releasing the award winning song ‘Outer Limits’, and the #1 Australian hit ‘Love Machine’, along with a string of hit-parade songs co-written with the Academy Award winning composer Jimmy Griffin.
‘Apologize’ was co-written with Jimmy Griffin—rising through the charts to the Top 40 Hit Parade in the 60’s. Released by RCA Records, ‘Apologize’ became a BMI Award Winning Song. With the lyrics ‘In the fury of the moment, When the words of wrath rang out, When my mind was filled with questions and my head was filled with doubt...’, Michael Z. Gordon’s lyrics are a testament to the timeless emotions of his music. Composing songs for artists such as Cher, The Standells, and Gary Lewis, and Brian Hyland, the songwriter’s music was to be celebrated around the world.
In 1962 the stomping handclap rhythm of ‘Lets Go’ became a top selling song for The Routers—with Michael Z. Gordon as lead vocalist and guitar, Randy Viers on drums and Scott Engel on bass. As a teenager with no prior music background or the study of rhythm and beat, Gordon taught himself how to play the piano and the guitar from a small booklet he found in a bookstore. He shared his passion for music with the world—a passion that continues to produce music scores for film productions to this day. In addition to recording the theme song for the original ‘Batman’ movie with The Marketts, Gordon adds to his long list of music credits with the latest soundtrack, ‘You’re Killing me’, from the Mafia drama series ‘Mafioso: The Father, the Son’.
Michael Z. Gordon’s talent links Memory Lane, from the past into the future. The man and his music are riding a wave of successes through decades of composing, writing, and producing, delivering an amazing body of work that continues to grow each year. Gordon’s collection of accomplishments are achievements most artists can only dream about. Michael Z. Gordon has an incredible passion for music—a passion that burst into life the moment fingertips rolled across the keyboard and slid over guitar strings with lyrics that speak from a lover’s heart—as in the love song ‘I Keep On Talking’.
With almost 200 songs to his credit, Michael Z. Gordon continues to live his passion for music and production with his latest movie release in 2007, ‘The Salvation of Barry’. Not only are there production credits for this enthralling documentary but a dramatic music score from the composer. ‘The Salvation of Barry’ stars Barry Shurchin. It is the true story of Shurchin and God playing a cosmic game of Hide-and-Seek.
Gordon’s most up-to-date writing project was created several years ago, with the script now going into the development stages. “The Captive” is based on the true story of a young actress who is kidnapped and held in a cabin near Big Bear California. “The Captive” is a chiller-thriller. The detective assigned to the case uncovers alarming similarities to the film the actress recently starred in and the hunt is on to track the assailant down before it’s too late.
Michael Z. Gordon’s latest film production, ‘A Killing on Brighton Beach’, has already won two awards. With the movie production, ‘Hangman’, in post-production, and the thriller ‘Heart Stopper’ in pre-production, the talent of Michael Z. Gordon is sure to be inherited by his sons Aaron and Sean Gordon who already know their way around a movie studio. Sean has appeared in the Mafia drama series ‘Mafioso: The Father, the Son’, also written by the award winning producer.
Currently being scheduled for release by Lion’s Gate Entertainment is the urban horror/comedy film, ‘Holla’. Having enough talent to span a lifetime of productions, Michael Z. Gordon’s production company has a slate of films produced by the Music Composer, Musician, Producer, and Scriptwriter – films to be acclaimed for generations to come. God was definitely not playing a cosmic game of Hide-and-Seek with this producer. A gift of enormous talent to span a lifetime of hit productions, whether they be music or film.
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pamela[.]rollingseas.com.au 
