Neal Fox's Page

Neal Fox is one of the most passionate and persistent songwriters you will ever meet. He never gives up no matter what obstacles are thrown at him, no matter how the rules of the game change. And now he’s self-released a sixth pop-rock CD, which is being compared to Bowie, McCartney and Waits.

A pop musician trained in classical and jazz, Fox began his career playing gigs in NYC clubs and Catskill Mountain resorts. Starting at age 20, he landed a series of record deals on Polydor, Columbia and RCA. His releases include “The Colors are Still There,” “See You on Sunday,” “A Painting,” the charted single, “But I Could Reach the Wisdom of Solomon, and the Top 10 Dance Club hit, “In the Jungle.”

While the labels were having their rough times (lots of firings and staff turnover) the artists were suffering too. Change of staff meant new people who didn’t know you and didn’t care since they didn’t sign you. So in order to survive, Fox got into the jingle biz and became quite successful.

He moved to California, formed a new partnership, Patterson, Walz & Fox, and composed music for hundreds of commercials, promos for the major networks, and TV themes. Fox’s personal contributions were writing and producing music for Eye to Eye with Connie Chung, Bryant Gumbel’s Public Eye, CBS Saturday Morning, and the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. For this he received his share of Clio and Telly awards, which he says with a smile, made convenient doorstops. He co-scored two of the Killer Tomato movies with Patterson, and was the voice of “FT” (Fuzzy Tomato). He’s still waiting for George Clooney to invite him to dinner.

Then Fox took on several new challenges. He wrote two full-length musicals, co-created a series of multi-ethnic children’s books (narrated by actor Robert Guillaume), and released five CDs on his own label, Wire Duck Records.

Fox missed being on stage but wanted to do something unique. He taught himself animation and videography and created a one-man multimedia show, Pigeonholes. Each song is a self-contained story with live performance interacting with the screen. It got audience raves in San Diego and Hollywood.

A few years later, Dan Rather—and his theme—exited CBS leaving a dent in Fox’s wallet. With his sense of humor still intact, he saw another opportunity: a one-man show called, Thank You, Dan Rather, which he showcased in Ft. Lauderdale just months after relocating to Florida in 2007. One critic cheerfully commented that Fox must be “a lot of fun at parties.”

Immediately after that, Fox finished recording his latest CD and is now working on a new solo act. Long interested in subjects like human rights, freedom and peace, his lyrics reflect his views. Now It’s Personal is a gritty, edgy, honest view of the world. Not always pretty, but hopeful.