Walter Afanasieff Music producer, composer and songwriter Date of Birth: 10.02.1958 Country: USA

Biography of Walter Afanasieff

Walter Afanasieff is a renowned music producer, composer, and songwriter. He is a two-time Grammy award winner and is widely known for his long-time collaboration with singer Mariah Carey. Afanasieff has been writing songs and producing for Carey since 1990. In 1999, he won a Grammy award for "Song of the Year" for "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. He also won a second Grammy in the category of "Non-Classical Music" in 2000.

Afanasieff has written and produced music for numerous famous artists, including Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Destiny's Child, Kenny G, Michael Bolton, Darren Hayes from Savage Garden, Andrea Bocelli, Barbra Streisand, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Josh Groban, and Tina Arena.

Interestingly, in his school yearbook, Walter wrote that his goal was to "write and play better than Keith Emerson" from Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

Walter was born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasieff on February 10, 1958, in São Paulo, Brazil. His father was originally from Leningrad, Soviet Union, and his mother was born in Harbin, China, where many White Russian emigrants settled in the 1920s. His parents met in Brazil in the early 1950s.

Afanasieff began his career as a jazz musician in 1980, playing keyboards with violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. He then formed the band "The Warriors" with guitarist Joaquin Lievano and drummer Narada Michael Walden, who was also a composer and one of the leading music producers of the 80s. This experience proved to be valuable for Afanasieff's career as a producer. Walden hired Afanasieff as a producer, arranger, and utilized his keyboard talent on a wide range of projects, including the recording of Whitney Houston's debut album, which was released in 1985 and remains her best-selling album to date.

During the same period, Walter and Walden started writing pop compositions together. Alongside his mentor, Afanasieff wrote the soundtrack for the James Bond film "Licence to Kill," performed by Gladys Knight.

One of Afanasieff's biggest hits as a producer was the worldwide hit "My Heart Will Go On" performed by Celine Dion, the main theme of the blockbuster film "Titanic" in 1997. This song became the best-selling single of 1998 worldwide. Afanasieff also served as a producer and arranger for several other successful film soundtracks, including Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" (1991), "Aladdin" (1992) with the song "A Whole New World," and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996) with the song "Someday." He also produced and arranged "Go the Distance," an Academy Award-nominated song by Michael Bolton from the film "Hercules."

Walter actively participated in most of his releases, primarily playing keyboards or synthesizers. He played a significant role in creating many of Mariah Carey's most successful songs, including "Hero," which he co-wrote, produced, and played all the musical tracks during the recording. "Hero" was released as the second single from Carey's album "Music Box." It reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 25, 1993, and held its position for four weeks. "Hero" has become Carey's signature song, often closing her concerts.

Carey and Afanasieff also co-wrote "One Sweet Day," a duet between Carey and Boyz II Men, which broke all records for topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 16 weeks. The song was nominated for Grammy Awards in 1996 for "Song of the Year" and "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals," and received the ASCAP Award for "Song of the Year" from The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.