Cindy Valentine

Cindy Valentine
"Le Derrière" (2013)
Background information
Birth name	Valentine Cinzia Leone
Also known as	Cindy Valentine Valentine Leone
Born	(1975-08-22) August 22, 1975 Italy
Origin	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Dance-pop, rock
Occupation(s)	Singer, actor, composer, producer
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, percussion
Years active	1984–present
Labels	Sony, Polygram, Arista, Atlantic, BMG, RCA, A&M, Polydor, CBS Columbia Records
Associated acts	Tony Green Jellybean Benitez Charles Fox Michael Damian
Website	www.valentineproductions.com

Cindy Valentine (Valentine Cinzia Leone) is an Italian born composer, producer and performing artist, raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada who is now a U.S. citizen, residing primarily in New York, New York. Valentine hit the Billboard Dance/Club charts in 1987 and 1989 with "Secret Rendez-Vous" and "Pick Up the Pieces (To My Heart)", both songs co-written by Tony Green and Cindy Valentine.^[1] Valentine also co-wrote the songs, "Finest Hour" and "Never Gonna Be the Same Again" for the 1989 Halloween classic, Teen Witch and played the part of Shana the Rock Star in the film. As a composer and performer, additional soundtrack credits include: Repossessed (1990), Mannequin Two: On the Move (1991), and Another 9 1/2 Weeks (1997).

Early life

Valentine studied music at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto at the age of 7, Valentine entered a singing contest, winning first place and a month of opera training at the Il conservatorio Di Milano, Italy under Claudio Villa.^[2]Juno Award-winning composer and producer, Tony Green was present at one of the Milan recording sessions and took note of Valentine's talent. Green had already been to the top of the charts for his Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single, "Come to Me", performed by France Joli.^[3] Valentine signed with Green as her producer under the CBS Columbia Records label in 1984.^[4] Valentine Leone took the stage name Cindy Valentine, curiously missing the Leone surname she shares with the family patriarch, famed Spaghetti Western director Sergio Leone.^[2]

Career

During her six years as a lead vocalist with CBS, PolyGram and Arista Records, Valentine remained engaged with the creative process. A formally trained pianist, Valentine also contributed percussion, keyboards, and backup vocals,^[5] in addition to song writing on her records.^[2] After, "Secret Rendez-vous" and "Pickup The Pieces (To My Heart)" made the Billboard charts,^[6] Alisha (RCA), Lori Ruso (Capitol) and European singer C. C. Catch (Polygram) recorded songs composed by Valentine.^{[7][8][9][10]} A guest appearance on Jellybean Benitez's Spillin' The Beans (Atlantic Records, 1990) was Valentine's last appearance on a major record label before moving her career toward soundtrack and film.^[11]

In addition to various acting roles,^[2] Valentine's early soundtrack credits include Teen Witch (1989), co-composing two signature songs in the film with Larry Weir, Teen Witch has become a cable television and midnight-theater Halloween favorite. Valentine co-wrote the title song for Repossessed (1990) with Charles Fox (known for his work on the television series Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley), and her hit single "Pickup The Pieces (To My Heart)" appears in the film Mannequin Two: On the Move (1991). For much of the 1990s into 2003, Valentine worked behind the scenes in film and television, as a composer and musician. Composer Dominic Messinger and Valentine teamed in 1997, with credited works for the sequel to Mickey Rourke's Another 9 1/2 Weeks,^[12] and the television series As the World Turns and Sirens.

• Broadcast Music, Inc.s author's database credits Valentine with 107 (ASCAP) published works as of October 30, 2012.^[13]
• Valentine is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Grammy Awards as of 2009.^[14]
• In 2013, Valentine made several worst dressed lists at the red carpet appearance of the 55th annual Grammys in a rock-star styled ringleader's outfit.^[15][16]
• In many recent instances, Valentine is credited as Valentine Leone.

Since 2000, Valentine has involved herself with horror, documentary and art genre films, such as the critically acclaimed 4Chosen: The Documentary (2008)^[17] and is credited as Producer on Ruth (2000) and co-executive producer on Souvenir Views (2003). She is an occasional television host on Time Warner's, New York City, local interest show, On the Beat, and hosted the documentary film Lisa Loeb Songwriting: Just Like You (2008), about a song-writing workshop, featuring Lisa Loeb and a girl's fourth-grade class, composing a new song.^[18] Valentine appears as Luisa in the comedy The Great Chameleon (2012), starring Stacy Keach and Robert Davi.^[19]

Discography

Rock and Roll Heart Attack

Valentine's first album in 1984, Rock & Roll Heart Attack, had three singles released from the album, "Victim", "Make It Through the Night" and "Big Kiss". The majority of the songs on the album were written by Valentine's manager, Tony Green. Valentine co-wrote the songs "Lust" and "Make it Through The Night", and was the solo composer of the song "Using Me".

• Michael Damian played the part of the love-interest in the music video for the song "Victim", with Valentine singing and playing the lead role.

Secret Rendez-Vous

Valentine's 1987 album was a departure from rock and roll into the dance and club music genre, Secret Rendez-Vous was released in Canada by Polygram. Valentine co-wrote on many of the songs, provided keyboards and percussion in addition to lead and backup vocals. "Secret Rendez-vous", spent two weeks on Billboard's Dance/Club chart, peaking at #43 on October 10, 1987.^[6] An additional single, "In Your Midnight Hour", was also released from the Secret Rendez-vous album in 1987.

"Pickup the Pieces (To My Heart)"

"Pick Up the Pieces (To My Heart)", was released as a single under Arista Records in 1989. "Pickup The Pieces (To My Heart)" climbed the Dance / Club charts, ending its 16-week run at #11.^[6]

• "Pickup the Pieces (To My Heart)" was featured in the 1991 film Mannequin Two: On the Move and HBO's Just Can't Get Enough (2002).

Spillin' The Beans

Valentine is a featured artist on Jellybean Benitez's album Spillin' The Beans (Atlantic Records, 1990). Valentine's lead vocals from the CD included "What's Up", "Not This Time" and "Don't Let Love Come Between Us".^[11]

Valentine's World Of Music

Blame Yourself (2008) is a digital download, 13 track LP, the freshman release for Valentine's World Of Music.

Speak Your Mind (2009) is a digital download, 13 track LP of previously unreleased titles.

"Le Derrière" (2013) is a single, featuring Cindy Valentine and rapper REW***. The song was produced by Valentine and co-written with W. Nome and E. Talavara.^[20]

"Wicked Ways" (2013), is a single, solely composed by Valentine and released Oct 1, 2013.

• "Wicked Ways" debuted at #3 for Most Added Dance/Crossover Tracks hit on DJ Times Magazine.^[21]
• #22 on DJ Times National Club Charts - December 13, 2013.^[22]
• #15 on DJ Times National Dance/Crossover Chart January 16, 2014.^[23]
• A video for "Wicked Ways" will be shot in late November 2013 and released in 2014.

Compositions released by other artists

Filmography

Acting

A music video for the 1984 single "Victim" starred Valentine with a young Michael Damian as the heart-breaker in the story. Damien would go on to play the character of Danny Romalotti on the daytime television series The Young and the Restless. Valentine would also appear in episode 39 of the CBS television series Night Heat in 1986.

The Pink Chiquitas (1987): Valentine appeared in the Sci-fi comedy film, The Pink Chiquitas, featuring Frank Stallone and Eartha Kitt. Valentine played Stella Dumbrowski, a competent teenage intern working in the weather department.^[27]

Drop Out Mother (1988): Valentine was cast as a superstar named Virgin, in the made-for-TV movie Drop-out Mother with Valerie Harper and Wayne Rogers in the starring roles.^[28]

Teen Witch (1989): Valentine appeared as Shana the Rock Star and co-wrote two signature songs for the movie, Teen Witch, with composer Larry Weir. The song "Finest Hour" would be played during plot climax and "Never Gonna Be the Same Again" would open the film and play during the plot resolution. There are two popular versions of the song, "Never Gonna Be The Same Again", Valentine's live performance on-camera version and Lori Ruso's off-camera version which opens the film.

Box office competition against Teen Witch was tremendous - Field of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner and Pet Sematary, written by Stephen King, were released on April 21, 1989, two days prior to the release of Teen Witch. Teen Witch flopped at the box office, but has since become a cult classic. The Teen Witch phenomena is fueled with regular television re-broadcasts, annual inclusion on ABC's 13 Nights of Halloween and midnight theater presentations where attendees dress in 1980s in fashion and singalong with the soundtrack.^[29]

Sunset Heat (alternate title: Midnight Heat 1992): Valentine played the part of Holly in John Nicolella's 1992 feature film, Sunset Heat, starring Michael Paré, Adam Ant and Dennis Hopper.^[30]

Skins (alternate title: Gang Boys 1994): Starring, Wings Hauser, Linda Blair and Cole Hauser, credited as Valentine Leone for her part in Dream Sex Sequence.

The Lesson (2000): a short drama, filmed in black and white, with Valentine playing the part of Angela, starring Cindy Valentine, Tracy Metro and Corbin Timbrook.

Bruco (2005): A feature-length film, written and directed by Antonio D'Alfonso, starring Frank A. Caruso, Jennifer Dale and Cindy Valentine.

The Gentleman (2007): Directed by Joe Valenti, starring Jon Doscher, Rachael Robbins and Monica Leigh, Valentine was cast as Stacy.^[31]

Lisa Loeb Songwriting: Just Like You (2008): Valentine is the segment hosts for this documentary which features Lisa Loeb spending a day with a girl's fourth grade class composing a song. Starring Cindy Valentine, Lisa Loeb and Athena Reich. Directed by Joe Valenti.^[18]

On the Beat (2009): Guest host for Time Warner's New York City local interest program On the Beat.^[32]

The Great Chameleon (2012): Directed by Goran Kalezic, Valentine plays the part of Luisa, starring Victor Altomare, Stacy Keach and Robert Davi.^[19]

Soundtrack

Film

Television

Producer

Advocacy

• Diabetes Foundation
• North Shore Animal Hospital

References

External links

• Valentine Productions
• Cindy Valentine at the Internet Movie Database