John Cale
Drawing on his background in avant-garde classical music, John Cale played viola and bass for The Velvet Underground, in the late 1960s. His solo debut, "Vintage Violence," was released in 1970 and was followed by many more solo albums. In 1974, Jonathan Demme enlisted Cale to write the score for Caged Heat. Demme and Cale's collaboration peaked in the 1980s, with the scores of Who Am I This Time? and Something Wild (co-written by Laurie Anderson). Along with other projects, Cale continues to compose movie scores. Most notably, he has worked twice with director Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho). For more, see I.R.S. Corner, and The John Cale Home Page.
(Work with Demme: Caged Heat, Who Am I This Time?, Something Wild)

Bruce Langhorne
A noted guitarist, Bruce Langhorne worked with many prominent folk musicians, in the 1960s (including Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez). In the 1970s, Bruce Langhorne composed the scores for two films directed by Peter Fonda (The Hired Hand, and Idaho Transfer). While working on Fighting Mad, Fonda introduced Langhorne to Jonathan Demme who then asked him to compose the score for the film. Five years later, Langhorne and Demme reunited on Melvin and Howard. Although he hasn't worked extensively in film composing, Langhorne also contributed an excellent score to Bob Rafelson's underrated film from 1976, Stay Hungry. Since Melvin and Howard, Langhorne has worked on a few film scores and many other projects, outside the movie industry. For more, see The Bruce Langhorne Discography, an interview from 1966, and an interview from 2000.
(Work with Demme: Fighting Mad, Melvin and Howard)

David Byrne
David Byrne's relationship with Jonathan Demme began in the early 80s, after Demme saw a live performance of Byrne's band, The Talking Heads. Soon after, Demme decided to document the concert for theatrical release. The resulting film, Stop Making Sense was an enormous success. Demme next enlisted Byrne to compose the score for Married to the Mob. Although Byrne was the chief composer on only these two Demme films, he has also contributed songs to Something Wild and Philadelphia. Byrne also composed some of the score for Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor for which he received an Oscar nomination. Today, Byrne works on solo albums and various art projects. For more, see Talking Heads.Net.
(Work with Demme: Stop Making Sense, Married to the Mob)

Laurie Anderson
A performance-artist-turned-musician, Laurie Anderson has been an important member of the New York art world for the last several decades. Associated with Lou Reed for many years, Anderson partnered with Lou Reed's fellow Velvet Underground alumnus, John Cale, to record the score for Something Wild, in 1986. She worked with Demme again the next year, creating the score for Swimming to Cambodia. In addition to her non-film recordings, Anderson has contributed music to Julian Schnabel's Before Night Falls and the second Spalding Gray monologue film, Monster in a Box, directed by Nick Broomfield. For more, see Laurie Anderson's official site.
(Work with Demme: Something Wild, Swimming to Cambodia)

Howard Shore
One of the most prolific composers of film music in the world, Howard Shore has contributed to a diverse group of films. He began his film career in his native Canada, eventually coming to proiminence through his work with David Cronenberg. He has written the scores for almost all of Cronenberg's films, from The Brood (1979) to Spider (2002). Due to the reputation of these films, Shore is often sought to work on dark, disturbing films. Demme first worked with Shore on the dark and disturbing The Silence of the Lambs then, again, on Philadelphia (he also scored the Demme-produced that thing you do!). Shore recently won an Academy Award for his work on Lord of the Rings and he continues to work on a wide variety of projects, including the films of David Fincher (Seven, The Game, Panic Room). For more, see Movie Music UK, and The Howard Shore Fan Page.
(Work with Demme: The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia)

Rachel Portman
A musical prodigy, Rachel Portman began a successful career as a composer for television, in her early 20s. In less than a decade, she broke through to feature films with Mike Leigh's Life is Sweet. In the decade since, Portman has worked with many high-profile filmmakers, including Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club, Smoke), Alan Parker (The Road to Wellville) and Lasse Hallstrom (The Cider House Rules, Chocolat). In 1997, Portman became the first woman to win an Academy Award, for film composing, when she was awarded for Emma. A strong admirer of Portman's work, Demme hired her to compose the score for Beloved. Their collaboration continues in Demme's most recent film, The Truth About Charlie. For more, see Cinemusic Online, and The Rachel Portman Fan Page.
(Work with Demme: Beloved, The Truth About Charlie)