Proffer Spotlight

GODS & MONSTERS (Lionsgate Films)

Spencer served as a Co-Executive Producer and Supervising Music Producer on Gods and Monsters, which garnered three Academy Award and three Golden Globe nominations. The film won one Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (Bill Condon {Dreamgirls/Chicago) and one Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress (Lynn Redgrave). The film’s lead actor, Sir Ian McKellen, also received numerous industry awards and nominations and much critical acclaim for his role in the film. Gods and Monsters won the National Board of Review’s highest honor as well as the Independent Spirit® Awards for Best Picture of the year, Best Actor (McKellen) and Best Supporting Actress (Redgrave).

IT AIN’T NOTHIN’ BUT THE BLUES (Hit Broadway Show)

Spencer served as a co-producer of the four-time Tony-nominated hit Broadway musical It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues. Once again Spencer broke new ground on the recording front, producing the Original Cast Album in an unprecedented fashion: He added  guest artists  to the final recording who are true legends in the world of blues and gospel (B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Jonny Lang and gospel powerhouse Andrae Crouch). The Morling/MCA CD also led the pack in that it was the first enhanced CD-ROM featuring an educational and entertaining narrative by Whoopi Goldberg and Taj Mahal. The narrative traces the history of the blues, and is punctuated by historical photos and sketches from the Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institute (which are also featured in the stage production). The show played to sold-out audiences at Lincoln Center and the Ambassador Theater on Broadway, followed by a smash, sold out two-month run at the prestigious Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. The show opened in its third New York incarnation in August 2000 to rave reviews, and broke house records during its month-long run at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

SHAKE, RATTLE & ROLL (CBS Television)

Spencer and the CBS Television Network created a landmark miniseries titled Shake, Rattle & Roll, which was broadcast prominently during the November 1999 “sweeps” ratings period and aired repeatedly on VH1. Spencer served as Executive Producer, along with Mike Medavoy (chairman of Phoenix Pictures) and the project’s director and primary screenwriter, Mike Robe. Additionally, Spencer produced, arranged and mixed all the original recordings, which featured major musical personalities who not only lent their musical performances but also acted and performed in the miniseries as musical legends of the period. Participating were such stars as B.B. King, K-Ci & JoJo, Chanté Moore, Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge (of blink-182), Terence Trent D’Arby, Dicky Barrett (lead singer of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones), Dan Wilson (leader of Semisonic), country heartthrob Gary Allan and Broadway sensation Billy Porter (Smokey Joe’s Café). The New York Times called this project “...the most ambitious music-oriented miniseries to date...” The project also contained original songs written by such heavyweights as Bob Dylan, Carole King, Lamont Dozier, Leiber-Stoller and Graham Nash. The soundtrack album was released on MCA Records.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER (HBO)

Spencer and his Morling Manor Music Corporation staff produced the original music for HBO’s highly acclaimed, award-winning multicultural series Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child, and composed many of the songs. Major stars lent their vocal talents to these animated programs, including Marc Anthony, Jon Secada, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, En Vogue, Salt-N-Pepa, Whoopi Goldberg, Cyndi Lauper, Ruth Brown, Rosie Perez, Sharon Stone, Calista Flockhart and Sinbad.

SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH (ABC TELEVISION)

Spencer acted as Music Consultant for the hit ABC television series Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, and was the Supervising Producer of the soundtrack album on Geffen Records. The album has been certified gold, and is well on its way to platinum. It features top-selling teen acts Backstreet Boys (who also appeared on the show), N*Sync, Britney Spears, Spice Girls, Sugar Ray, Ben Folds Five and the show’s star, Melissa Joan Hart, singing the Blondie classic “One Way Or Another.

JAILBAIT (MTV Networks)

Spencer handled all musical aspects of the network’s second original movie—Jailbait! It was one of the highest-rated original cable movies in recent history (3.5). Morling is a partner with MTV and MCA Records on the original soundtrack album, of which Spencer is Supervising Producer. The music Spencer placed in the movie and on the soundtrack album includes performances from an array of successful selling acts. Six of these artists had records out at that time, each of which sold in excess of 3 million units each: Sugar Ray, blink-182, Bush, Smash Mouth, Creed and Rob Zombie. The film was an irreverent, no-holds-barred look at how differently modern teenagers and so-called adults approach sex and its consequences. The film was helmed by director Allan Moyle (Pump Up the Volume).

TWILIGHT OF THE GOLDS (Showtime Network)

Spencer received a Cable Ace Nomination for Best Original Composition Written for a Motion Picture for "Keys to the World," from the film Twilight of the Golds, (starring Faye Dunaway, Brendan Fraser and Garry Marshall). Spencer also co-produced and arranged the song.

PHENOMENON (Touchstone Pictures)

In 1997, “Change the World,” performed by Eric Clapton and produced by Babyface (from the hit John Travolta film Phenomenon), won the Grammy for Song Of The Year. Spencer served as Music Consultant on that film.  Artists on the soundtrack album included Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Jewel, Aaron Neville and Brian Ferry.

ROBBIE ROBERTSON: GOING HOME Special (The Disney Channel)

Spencer executive produced a documentary biopic on the life and music of The Band founder Robbie Robertson, which received two 1995 Primetime Emmy© nominations. It features never before seen Bob Dylan Basement Tape footage and a closing concert at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where Eric Clapton inducts Robbie and The Band, then jams with them.

The film is an inside look at the evolution of the American music scene through the life and works of Robbie Robertson. We see Robbie as a seminal member of The Band, electrifying Dylan through his partnership with Martin Scorsese via a multitude of Marty’s films for which Robbie scored and produced the music. A lunch with Scorsese and Robertson had them go back to chronicle their close brotherhood, from Woodstock, through The Last Waltz, to moving in together—then talking in detail about about their collaborations in a myriad of Scorsese classics from Raging Bull and Color Of Money, forward. 

QUIET RIOT (Pasha/CBS Records) 

Spencer produced and mixed the most successful selling debut rock record in music history to reach #1 at that time, Metal Health by Quiet Riot (7 million units). It also spawned the first MTV video to bring an album cover to life which Spencer also produced. Metal Health is considered the groundbreaking album that brought hard rock to the masses around the world. 

BILLY THORPE: CHILDREN OF THE SUN (Polydor/Capricorn Records)

Children Of The Sun is one of the most popular space rock songs and albums of all time. This song/album sold nearly 1,000,000 copies around the world and is still considered a classic. Spencer co-wrote and produced the song in his 20s—

He was always taken with outer space, exploration, and knowledge about what lies beyond.

In 1978, Children Of The Sun went to #1 at rock radio and propelled laser light shows in planetariums across North America. It started with the production of a laser choreography, computer animation version of the album at Hayden/Griffith Park Planetarium and wound up being showcased in every planetarium in America and Canada for 6 months. Fans were given $1.00 discount on the album when they went to the observatories and $1.00 off on the laser light shows when they purchased the album at retail.

PASHA MUSIC ORGANIZATION (CBS Records)

For 14 years, Spencer was the CEO of the Pasha Music Organization. The company was a leader in producing multidimensional recording artists, performers with multi layed marketing campaigns selling millions of records worldwide.

TINA TURNER: THE ACID QUEEN (United Artists Records)

A groundbreaking album where Spencer not only produced but played guitar with Tina performing English rock to open a new demographic for her. 

For a comprehensive look at select additional Proffer projects and activities pre-2001, go to Spencer's previous company site: www.morlingmanor.com.