Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American musician, best known for composing music for television and movies and leading the rock band Oingo Boingo as singer-songwriter from 1976 until its breakup in 1995. He is a frequent collaborator with long-time friend Tim Burton and has scored most of his films (the exceptions being Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd). He has been nominated for four Academy Awards and won a Grammy Award for Tim Burton's Batman and an Emmy Award for his Desperate Housewives theme. Elfman was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 2002 BMI Film and TV Awards. ...show more

Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American musician, best known for composing music for television and movies and leading the rock band Oingo Boingo as singer-songwriter from 1976 until its breakup in 1995. He is a frequent collaborator with long-time friend Tim Burton and has scored most of his films (the exceptions being Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd). He has been nominated for four Academy Awards and won a Grammy Award for Tim Burton's Batman and an Emmy Award for his Desperate Housewives theme. Elfman was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 2002 BMI Film and TV Awards.

The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music. Elfman is famous for creating The Simpsons main title theme, and his role as Jack Skellington's singing voice in The Nightmare Before Christmas. He also sang for the character Bonejangles in the movie Corpse Bride. Elfman was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Blossom Elfman (née Bernstein), a writer and teacher, and Milton Elfman, a community in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles.

He spent much of his time in the local movie theatre, adoring the music of such film composers as Bernard Herrmann and Franz Waxman. Stating that he hung out with the "band nerds" in high school, he started a ska band. After dropping out of high school, he followed his brother Richard to France, where he performed with Le Grand Magic Circus, an avant-garde musical theater group. Violin in tow, Elfman next journeyed to Africa where he traveled through Ghana, Mali, and Upper Volta, absorbing new musical styles, including the Ghanaian highlife genre which would eventually influence his own music. ...show less