Daniel Jacob (born October 8, 1956)[1] is an American composer, songwriter and guitarist.[2] His credits include composing the score for the television series Phineas and Ferb,[2] and co-producing the music for the series Sofia The First. He is a three-time Emmy-nominated composer. He also wrote the theme songs for Lilo & Stitch: The Series, The Emperor's New School, Kim Possible, Sonny With A Chance, and Jackie Chan Adventures. As a featured guitarist, Jacob has performed on Shrek, the Bette Midler HBO concert Diva Las Vegas, and on Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin's "Heaven Help Us".

Danny Jacob
Birth nameDaniel Jacob
Born (1956-10-08) October 8, 1956 (age 68)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Composer
  • songwriter
  • guitarist
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • keyboards
  • vocals
Years active1984–present
SpouseMarylata Elton

Career

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Jacob started playing guitar at 13 years old, honing his skills in acoustic, electric, R&B, and jazz playing styles.[3] At 16 years old he formed his own bands, performing in local bars and clubs in Los Angeles.[3] Jacob has played and toured with recording artists: Bette Midler, George Michael, and Tower of Power,[4] and said he has been inspired by Hans Zimmer, John Powell, and Harry Gregson-Williams.[2] During DreamWorks' founding years, Zimmer and Jacob worked together on the soundtracks for The Road to El Dorado and Antz. This led to his work as a featured guitarist with score composers Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell on Shrek. Jacob arranged and co-produced the musical DVD sequence "Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party" along with Eddie Murphy's cover of "I'm a Believer" from the soundtrack album. He also composed the instrumental score for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus presents Zing Zang Zoom in 2009.

He began working on various Disney TV Animation series, producing and writing theme songs for Lilo & Stitch: The Series and The Emperor's New School. Ultimately, he was brought on to revamp the theme song for Phineas and Ferb before being hired as the show's composer and song producer. He continued to work with creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh on their next series, Milo Murphy's Law, two Phineas and Ferb feature films (Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension and Phineas and Ferb: Candace Against the Universe) and various specials, and again with Povenmire on the new series Hamster & Gretel. He co-composed the score for the Amazon Kids+ series ARPO: Robot Babysitter with his son, Aaron.

Personal life

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He was married to Grammy-nominated film music producer Marylata Elton.[5] They have one child: composer, musician, and filmmaker Aaron Daniel Jacob.

In 2011, Jacob and Marylata established an endowment for the Teenage Drama Workshop at California State University, Northridge.[5] He is a native of San Fernando Valley, California.

Discography

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Year Artist Title Notes
1984 Matthew Wilder Bouncin' Off the Walls guitarist[6]
1987 Tuesday Knight Tuesday Knight guitarist
1988 Sheena Easton The Lover in Me guitarist
1990 George Michael Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 guitarist
1993 Elton John Duets guitarist[7]
1995 Sheena Easton My Cherie guitarist[8]
Carlene Carter Little Acts of Treason guitarist[9]
Bette Midler Bette of Roses guitarist[10]
1996 George Michael Older guitarist[11]
1997 Sheena Easton Freedom producer/arranger/guitarist
2009 various Phineas and Ferb composer/performer
2010 various Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs To You composer/performer
2010 various Phineas and Ferb Holiday Favorites composer
2011 various Phineas and Ferb: Across the 1st and 2nd Dimensions composer/performer
2011 various Phineas and Ferb-ulous: The Ultimate Album composer/performer
2013 various Phineas and Ferb: Rockin' and Rollin composer/performer
2014 various Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars (Music From The TV Series) composer
2014 Laura Dickinson One For My Baby - To Frank Sinatra With Love guitarist/arranger[12]
2015 various Phineas and Ferb: Last Day of Summer composer
2020 various Phineas and Ferb: Candace Against the Universe composer
2022 various Hamster & Gretel composer

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Notes
1998 Antz arranger: I Can See Clearly Now[13]
2000 The Road to El Dorado arranger: El Dorado[13]
Almost Famous guitar coach[13]
2001 Shrek musician: guitars[13]
2006 Brother Bear 2 arranger: "Welcome to This Day"
2011 Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension composer/singing voice of Ferb[14]
2013 Planes producer: Love Machine
2014 Planes: Fire & Rescue co-writer: Runaway Romance[15]
2020 Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe composer

Television

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Year Title Notes
2006–08 The Emperor's New School theme music composer/songwriter
2007–15 Phineas and Ferb composer/songwriter/performer/singing voice of Ferb
2008–13 Sid the Science Kid songwriter
2009–11 Sonny with a Chance composer
2013 Sofia the First co-music producer
2016–19 Milo Murphy's Law composer
2018–19 Beyblade Burst Turbo composer
2021, 2024–present Monsters at Work songwriter ("I'm Not Gonna Sing You a Song")
2022–2024 Alice's Wonderland Bakery song producer
2022–present Hamster & Gretel composer/song producer

Internet

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Year Title Notes
2021–22 ARPO: Robot Babysitter co-composer (with Aaron Daniel Jacob)[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Daniel Jacob, Born 10/08/1956 in California | CaliforniaBirthIndex.org". californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  2. ^ a b c Larsen, Peter (August 3, 2011). "Meet the man behind the music on Phineas and Ferb". The Orange County Register. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Fehr, Brooke (May 21, 2012). "Interview: Phineas and Ferb Composer Danny Jacob Sits Down to Talk with DisZine". DisZine. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  4. ^ "Danny Jacob Alumni Guitar". Rhythm and Business. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  5. ^ a b "California State University Northridge's Nordhoff Hall Is Transformed By Theater Magic As Teenage Drama Workshop Presents Its 54th Season Of Shows". US Fed News Service. July 14, 2011. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016 – via HighBeam. As a "thank you" for the skills she learned while with TADW, Jacob and her husband Danny Jacob, composer and song producer for Disney's "Phineas and Ferb," have made a generous gift to establish an endowment to support the workshop.
  6. ^ "Matthew Wilder Bouncin' off the Walls". All Music. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  7. ^ "Elton John Duets". All Music. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  8. ^ "Sheena Easton My Cherie". All Music. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  9. ^ "Little Acts of Treason". Carlene Carter. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  10. ^ "Bette Midler Bette of Roses". All Music. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  11. ^ "George Michael Older". All Music. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  12. ^ "One for My Baby: To Frank Sinatra with Love". All Music. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  13. ^ a b c d "Danny Jacob". Hollywood.com.
  14. ^ "Phineas & Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension". DISDB. Archived from the original on 2016-09-04. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  15. ^ Betts, Stephen L. (June 17, 2014). "Brad Paisley Looks to Firefighter Father for New Song". Rolling Stone.
  16. ^ "Danny Jacob". IMDb. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
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