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Mark Snow

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Mark Snow was an American composer for film and television, born in 1946 in Brooklyn as Martin Fulterman. His grandfather came from Poland. He studied at the High School of Music and Art and at Juilliard, where with Michael Kamen he formed the band Emil and the Detectives, later the New York Rock and Roll Ensemble. An attempt to become a record producer failed. In 1974 he moved to Los Angeles, began composing and changed his name to Mark Snow.

Music and breakthrough

His best-known work is the theme tune of the science fiction series The X-Files, for which he wrote the music from 1993 to 2001 and again from 2015 to 2018. He got the commission partly because he lived close to its creator Chris Carter. The theme cost him effort, because Carter rejected louder ideas. The melody took shape when Snow accidentally put his hand on the keyboard while an echo effect was switched on. The ethereal sound became the model for the rest. The theme was also released as a single, went to number one in France and reached number two in England. Snow also wrote the music for Smallville, Blue Bloods, Ghost Whisperer, Hart to Hart, Millennium, One Tree Hill, the new Twilight Zone from 2002 and Starsky and Hutch, and for two cinema films of The X-Files.

Influence

Snow showed how synthesizers and a simple motif can create tension. He died in 2025.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the theme of The X-Files and notice the echo of the keyboard and the high, whistling melodic line. Can you hear how little it takes to create mystery?

Discography

Studio albums

See also

Categories: Artists