Trevor Rabin

Trevor Charles Rabin (born January 13, 1954) is a South African musician, songwriter, and film composer.

Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a variety of artists.

Rabin was born on 13 January 1954 in Johannesburg, South Africa, into a family of musicians.

His mother, Joy, was a painter, ballet dancer, actress, and classical pianist, and his father, Godfrey, was a lawyer, musician, conductor, and the lead violinist in the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

The two met during their service in the South African army entertainment division.

His paternal great-grandfather was a Lithuanian Jew who was a cantor, and his grandfather, Gershon Rabinowitz, was a kosher butcher who arrived in South Africa in the late nineteenth century.

His uncle Morrie Rabin was a piano teacher.

Rabin's brother Derek is three years his elder.

Rabin described his family as "extremely anti-apartheid".

Rabin's mother converted to Judaism, and the family observed Jewish holidays and celebrations.

Lawyer and judge Sydney Kentridge and journalist and activist Donald Woods are his cousins.

Rabin attended Parktown Boys' High School in Johannesburg and took up the piano at age six.

He recalled, "Pushed by my parents, I had two lessons a week and practised an hour a day for twelve years, whether I liked it or not, as did my brother and sister."

At twelve, he started to teach himself the guitar using piano exercise books and never had a formal lesson in the instrument.

In 1972, he joined the rock band Rabbitt, which enjoyed considerable success in South Africa, and released his first solo album, Beginnings.

In 1972, Rabin bought his Fender Stratocaster.

In 1972, Rabin reunited with his bandmates in Conglomeration to form the rock band Rabbitt with drummer Neil Cloud, bassist Ronnie Robot, and singer, keyboardist, and guitarist Duncan Faure.

Their first single, released in 1972, was a cover of "Locomotive Breath" by Jethro Tull.

A year later he played in The Other before forming Conglomeration, and later joining Freedom's Children for a one-year stint until 1973.

He wrote their song "State of Fear" and toured the country extensively with a same-titled tour.

For several months Rabin studied arrangement, orchestration, and conducting from Walter Mony, a professor at the University of Johannesburg in preparation to be a conductor, but he decided to pursue a career in rock music.

At sixteen, Rabin was discovered by a local record producer and became a session musician, playing a variety of styles including jazz, fusion, country, classical, conga, and kwela.

He cites Arnold Schoenberg, Tchaikovsky, Hank Marvin, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix as early influences.

At nineteen, Rabin took a mandatory year of military conscription in the South African Army by serving in its entertainment division, arranging its big band, performing in a rock group, and did outside session work at Gallo Studios.

He said, "I used to go into what was called the garrison. I would just go there, find a little corner and literally sit for hours practising the guitar ... although I would always play the piano."

A re-recorded version of the track appeared on their debut album, Boys Will Be Boys, released in 1975 on Jo'Burg Records.

Rabin won an award for his orchestral arrangements on the album in 1975.

The band won a SARI (South African Recording Industry) Award for Best Contemporary Music Artist in 1976.

Rabbitt's second album, A Croak and a Grunt in the Night, was released in 1977.

Later that year Rabin received a SARI Award for his production work on the album and Rabbitt received their second award for Best Contemporary Music Artist.

In 1978, Rabin moved to London to further his career, working as a solo artist and a producer for various artists including Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1981, Rabin gained prominence as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes from 1983 to 1995.

His first album with the group, 1983's 90125, which was developed mostly from his own demos, remains their best-selling album, helped by the US number one single "Owner of a Lonely Heart".

After Big Generator (1987) and Union (1991), Rabin produced Talk (1994) and left the group after its tour.

During his time in Yes, Rabin acquired American citizenship.

Rabin became a prolific film composer and has since scored over forty feature films, most notably his frequent collaborations with producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

He has won numerous awards, including eleven BMI Awards.

He took a short break from scoring to record his fifth solo album, Jacaranda (2012), and in 2016 to tour and record with Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman.

In 2017, Rabin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes.

Rabin is also behind the theme song for the NBA on TNT and MLB on TBS.