Silvestri grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey and attended Teaneck High School. He went to Berklee College of Music for 2 years and is of Italian descent.
Silvestri started his film/television composing career in 1972 at age 21, composing the score for the low-budget action film The Doberman Gang.
From 1977 to 1983, Silvestri served as the main composer for the TV show CHiPs, writing music for 109 of the show's 139 episodes.
Silvestri met director Robert Zemeckis when the two worked together on Zemeckis's 1984 film Romancing the Stone. Since then, Silvestri has composed the music for all of Zemeckis's movies, including the Back to the Future trilogy (1985, 1989, 1990), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Death Becomes Her (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000), The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007), A Christmas Carol (2009), and Flight (2012).
Silvestri is also known for his work on Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990), both of which are considered preeminent examples of action/science fiction film scores. Since 2001, Silvestri has also collaborated regularly with director Stephen Sommers, scoring the films The Mummy Returns in 2001, Van Helsing in 2004, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009. His most recent work includes Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011, The Avengers in 2012 and The Croods in 2013.
Silvestri has also composed music for television shows, including T.J. Hooker (one episode), Starsky & Hutch (three episodes), Tales From The Crypt (seven episodes) and Manimal (five episodes).
In 2013, the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps used portions of the theme from The Abyss as the ballad in their 2013 Drum Corps International World Championship-winning show "E=MC2".
On 31 January 2014, it was announced that a stage musical adaptation of Back to the Future was in production. The show, which is being co-written by original writers Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, is expected to be performed in 2015, on the 30th anniversary year of the film. Silvestri will team up with Glen Ballard to compose a new score, with the addition of original songs from the film, including "The Power of Love", "Johnny B. Goode", "Earth Angel" and "Mr. Sandman".
Silvestri owns a vineyard, Silvestri Vineyards, located in Carmel Valley, California.
Silvestri has received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Original Score for Forrest Gump (1994) and one for Best Original Song for "Believe" on The Polar Express soundtrack. He also received two Golden Globe nominations: Best Score for Forrest Gump and Best Song for The Polar Express.
He has also received four Grammy Award nominations, winning two awards – Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, for "Believe" from The Polar Express in 2004 and Best Instrumental Composition, for "Cast Away End Credits" from Cast Away in 2002. His other nomination was for Best Soundtrack Album, for Back to the Future. During the 2005 Grammys, Josh Groban performed "Believe."
He has won the Saturn Award for Best Music three times, for his scores for Predator (1987), Back to the Future Part III (1989/90) and Van Helsing (2004).
On September 23, 2011, he was awarded with the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award by the City of Vienna at the yearly film music gala concert Hollywood in Vienna.
Why Don't You Do Right?
Alan Silvestri Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You let other women make a fool of you
Why don't you do right like some other men do?
Get out of here, get me some money too
You're sittin' down wonderin' what it's all about
You ain't got no money that will put you out
Why don't you do right like some other men do?
If you had prepared twenty years ago
You wouldn't be wanderin' now from door to door
Why don't you do right like some other men do?
Get out of here, get me some money too
Why don't you do right like some other men do?
The lyrics of Alan Silvestri's "Why Don't You Do Right?" talk about the singer's disgruntlement with her partner. The opening line is a reminder that the partner once had a lot of money but lost it all. The next line is a direct attack on the partner, accusing him of being foolish and allowing other women to take advantage of him. The chorus then comes in, which is a question posed by the singer to her partner, asking why he can't be like other men and do right by her by earning some money for the both of them.
The second verse repeats the same frustration, now accusing the partner of not understanding why he is not making ends meet. The singer then again repeats her demand, asking the partner to behave like any other man who is responsible and earns money. Finally, the last verse carries a bittersweet message that if the partner had prepared well for his future 20 years ago, he wouldn't be wandering around penniless, knocking on doors looking for his next meal. The lyrics express the singer’s disappointment with her partner and the desire for him to step up and take care of her the way any responsible man should.
Line by Line Meaning
You had plenty money in nineteen twenty-two
You were prosperous in the past
You let other women make a fool of you
Your lack of willpower allowed other women to take advantage of you
Why don't you do right like some other men do?
Why don't you take responsibility for your own actions like other men?
Get out of here, get me some money too
Leave and bring me some money as well
You're sittin' down wonderin' what it's all about
You're confused about life and its meaning
You ain't got no money that will put you out
You don't have enough money to support yourself
If you had prepared twenty years ago
If you had planned for your future two decades ago
You wouldn't be wanderin' now from door to door
You wouldn't be wandering aimlessly from place to place
Why don't you do right like some other men do?
Why don't you take responsibility for your own actions like other men?
Get out of here, get me some money too
Leave and bring me some money as well
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind