Newborn was born in
New York City. He has scored or written songs for films such as
Sixteen Candles,
Weird Science, ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Mallrats, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Into the Night, for which he wrote music for B. B. King.
He frequently worked with director John Hughes. He also stepped in as musical director and producer for The Blues Brothers''. Newborn's many film credits also include a small acting role in
Xanadu, in which he appears as a 1940s bandleader. Newborn may be best known for composing the soundtrack for
The Naked Gun series of police satires starring
Leslie Nielsen. Newborn's brassy big band/blues theme song for the franchise first appeared on the TV series that inspired the films, 1982's
Police Squad!. Newborn has also worked in concerts and commercials, on
Broadway and in the recording industry as a performer, arranger, composer and conductor. He is also an adjunct faculty member at
New York University, from which he received his bachelor's degree in 1972. Influenced by an eclectic variety of composers, such as
Johann Sebastian Bach,
James Brown and
the Beatles, as a guitarist Newborn led and played in several musical groups before signing on as the musical director for the vocal group
the Manhattan Transfer. Newborn has contributed to albums by many artists such as
Ray Charles,
Diana Ross,
Billy Joel and
the Pointer Sisters.
As a songwriter Newborn wrote two songs performed by B.B. King for the
Into the Night soundtrack: "
My Lucille" and "
Into the Night." Two songs co-written by Newborn appeared on the
Into the Night soundtrack album, but not in the film: "Don't Make Me Sorry," co-written by
Joe Esposito and performed by
Patti LaBelle, and "Keep It Light," co-written by Reginald "Sonny" Burke and performed by
Thelma Houston. Newborn co-wrote "
Clap Your Hands" for the Manhattan Transfer and "Get It On and Have a Party" for
Pattie Brooks on the
Doctor Detroit soundtrack. Both "Geek Boogie" from
Sixteen Candles and "Weird Romance" from
Weird Science were credited to
Ira and the Geeks. He co-wrote "I Guess I'm Just Screwed" for
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear with
David Zucker and
Robert LoCash. With
Peter Segal, he co-wrote "The Food Song" for the
Naked Gun : The Final Insult soundtrack. ==Filmography==