John Cacavas Biography

Fast Facts

• Served in the U․S․ Army after graduation, where he was an arranger with the U․S․ Army Band
• Was given Northwestern University's Distinguished Alumni Award and shares two Freedoms Foundation Awards with Charles Osgood for their songs "The Golden Door" and "Gallant Men․"
• Attended Northern State University and graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Music and Composition
• Worked as an assistant conductor at CBS under Alfredo Antonini and Morton Gould before becoming Director of Publications at Chappell & Co․ Inc
• Became interested in music from a young age and formed his first band when he was 13 years old
• Moved to Beverly Hills in 1973 to work as a full-time composer for television and film
• Best known as a composer and conductor who is best known for the title theme of the third and fifth seasons of the TV series "Kojak․"
• Met long-time collaborator, lyricist Charles Osgood, with whom he composed the oratorio "The Conversion of Paul," while serving in the U․S․ Army
• In addition to "Kojak," he composed scores for a number of TV series like "Hawaii Five-0," "Columbo," and "Matlock․"
• Is the author of three books on music: "Orchestration and Music Arranging," "The Art of Writing Music," and "It's Not All Do-Re-Mi․"