Biographie
She first gained recognition among music fans when Bette Midler's rendition of Amanda's song "The Rose" topped charts worldwide in 1979. Beyond Midler, her compositions have been covered by a diverse range of artists including Amy Poehler and Jack Black, Barry Manilow, Judy Collins, Barbara Cook, LeAnn Rimes, Anne Murray, Harry Belafonte, Betty Buckley, Stephanie Mills, The Manhattan Transfer, Donny Osmond, Kurt Cobain, Nana Mouskouri, Conway Twitty, the Chipmunks, and the Baby Dinosaurs in "The Land Before Time." She co-wrote all songs for sixteen Universal animated films alongside longtime collaborator Michele Brourman. Her Golden Globes performance of "The Rose" (which won her the award) demonstrated to audiences worldwide that the finest renditions of McBroom’s songs are by McBroom herself, earning her applause in venues from Carnegie Hall to Angel Place Recital Hall in Sydney, Australia. Her passion for musical theater—having starred in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and European productions of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, on Broadway in Seesaw, and in productions of Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, and Mame—inspired her to create a musical based on her songs. Heartbeats premiered in 1989 in Los Angeles and has since been produced in over 15 regional theaters across the U.S. The original cast recording was released in 1994 on Varese Sarabande Records and is represented by the Rodgers and Hammerstein Music Library. Amanda’s most recent musical, A Woman of Will, debuted off-Broadway in 2005. She recently celebrated the release of VOICES, her sixth album on Gecko, the label she founded in 1985. Other Gecko albums include Dreaming, Midnight Matinee, A Waiting Heart, Portraits, and Chanson. Additionally, she has recorded Live From Rainbow and Stars (DRG), Heartbeats (Varese Sarabande), and A Woman of Will (LML Music). Her first two pioneering vinyl records, Growing Up In Hollywood Town and West of OZ, were recorded direct-to-disc for Sheffield Labs, establishing McBroom as a favorite among audiophiles.
