Ian Freebairn-Smith, the Grammy-winning arranger of Barbra Streisand’s 1976 A Star is Born hit “Evergreen” and composer of scores for such TV series as well Cagney & Lacey and Magnum, PIdied October 7 in Folsom, CA. He was 93.
His death was announced by his family.
Born on March 4, 1932, in Seattle to Thomas Freebairn-Smith, a Welsh radio announcer who became the first executive secretary of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and wife Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Peers, Freebairn-Smith moved with his family to California by age 3. He’d grow up in Sherman Oaks and Studio City.
Beginning his career as a singer, Freebairn-Smith eventually composed scores for numerous episodes of TV series in the 1980s. Among them were episodes of Magnum PI, Cagney and Lacey, Airwolf and Fame. He co-wrote with Jimmy Webb the theme song for the 1982-83 series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
For film, he composed the score for the anti-war movie The Strawberry Statement (1970) starring Bruce Davison, Kim Darby and Bud Cort. He was the conductor and music arranger for the 1978 Burt Reynolds film The End and performed the same duties for 1979’s The Muppet Movieincluding the breakout song “Rainbow Connection,” which made the pop Top 25.
Freebairn-Smith won the Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist Grammy Award for his orchestration and arrangement of 1976’s “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born),” composed and performed by Streisand with lyrics by Paul Williams. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in March 1977 and also hit No. 1 in Canada. The A Star Is Born soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 for six weeks.
Earlier in his career, Freebairn-Smith was a session vocalist with such mostly-anonymous vocal groups as Singers Incorporated and The Ron Hicklin Singers. Among the classic TV series he contributed vocals to were Pinball, Batman and Gilligan’s Island. With the Hicklin group, he recorded the vocals for “Suicide Is Painless,” the theme song for the 1970 Robert Altman film MES. The Johnny Mandel-Mike Altman composition was later used without vocals for the 1972-83 TV series.
He continued singing throughout his career, contributing uncredited bass vocals for The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).
He also worked as an arranger for such vocalists as Stephen Bishop — including the 1976 hit “On and On” — Liza Minnelli, Frankie Avalon, Phil Ochs, Andy Williams, Jeff Beck and many others. In a Facebook post today, Bishop wrote: “We are losing too many legends. A wonderful person and an incredible talent. He was always a pleasure to work with.”
Freebairn-Smith also hosted radio shows for various Los Angeles radio stations, including KCSN. He collaborated on dozens of commercial jingles for Chevron, Continental Airlines, United Airlines, Pacific Bell, among others.
He is survived by his brother, Rod Freebairn-Smith; daughters Leslie, Alison, Jennifer and Vanessa; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. His second wife, violinist Shari Zippert, died in 2024. His first marriage was to high school sweetheart Billie Jean Mercer.
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