After becoming a skilled jazz and classical pianist while still in his teens, he went on to study composition at the Manhattan School of Music.

During this time he became a successful jingle writer working on a number of high profile advertisements as well as arranging music for the Tonight Show Band. 

One interest that never left him was the melding of popular music with that of classical music. He tried a couple of classical/disco meldings but none raised any interest - until recording the disco classic, A Fifth of Beethoven - it went straight to the top of the charts in 1976 and sold over two million copies.

Soon after it's success, it was also used on the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, relaunching the single to further success.

Further classical disco albums followed, but none could reflect the prior success of A Fifth of Beethoven. Recently he has scored episodes of Seth McFarlane's The Family Guy.