MIKE POST

What this episode covers

Mike Post is the most successful television music producer in history. He has 2 pieces of music playing every minute of each day that he will earn royalties on for 75 years after his death. Mike shares with us his unique philosphy on music, business and passion. We interviewed him in his Kahala beach front vacation home on a beautiful Hawaiian day. Mike shared how he got started as a teenager and the string of opportunities and challenges that led him ultimately to success. He gives advice on how to do the same for our lives and the interview is ‘intense’. I first had a meeting with Mike prior to this interview. A friend of mine and I met with him to discuss a music project and business. He initially alloted 30 minutes but ended up staying for an hour and ran off to his golf tee time. Although we had been given a lot of information the one thing that I could not stop thinking about was how excited and how much passion Mike had for what he does. Here’s a guy in his 60’s, well beyond financial independence. He flies in a private jet and mingles with the Hollywood elite and he was still so excited about music. He literally eats, sleeps and bleeds music. I left that meeting thinking to myself that if I can live a life with just 10% of the passion and excitement that Mike Post has for what he does I’ll live an extremely successful life. Thank you for inspiring me Mike, I hope to share your message with the world. Some questions asked: How did you get your start in music? How did you learn your business skills? What were the major milestones in your success? What’s the most important thing a musician needs to be successful? What’s the most common mistakes you see musicians make professionally? What is the most important thing to teach your children? What community or non profit organizations are you a part of? How does your community involvement increase your business success? Any advice for young entrepreneurs? How do you develop up and coming musicians? BIO: Moreland, Jennifer. “Mike Post.” The Museum of Broadcast Communications NA. 04 09 2005 http ://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/P/htmlP/postmike/postmike.htm. Mike Post, one of the most successful composers in television history, has written music for television since the 1970s. He has won five Grammy awards for his theme songs and, by his own count, has scored over 6,000 hours of television and film. Post has produced the signature melodies for programs such as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue. His distinct themes often have intense, industrial rock music cross-cut with smooth jazz sounds. These compositions are noted for their unique blending of styles as well as for the dramatic manner in which they complement a show’s narrative. Post is regarded as the youngest musician ever to be appointed as musical director for a television program, assuming that role in 1969, at age 24, on The Andy Williams Show. Prior to that appointment, Post worked primarily as a session musician for a number of major artists including Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and Sonny and Cher–he played guitar on “I Got You Babe” in 1965. He was also a successful producer and arranger, winning a Grammy at age 22 for Best Instrumental Arrangement on Mason Williams’ “Classical Gas.” Post began his career in Los Angeles with the country-rock band First Edition, featuring Kenny Rogers. In the late 1960s he joined forces with Pete Carpenter, trombonist, arranger, and a veteran of television theme scoring, and began to write music for television. Post and Carpenter began working for producer Stephen J. Cannell and first wrote the theme for Cannell’s cop show Toma in 1973. The Rockford Files theme, however,