Mark Governor is an American composer, producer, and songwriter known for fusing pop, rock, and orchestral music. He has contributed to over 20 films, including scoring Pet Sematary Two, Mindwarp, Masque of the Red Death, Notes From Underground, and extras for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies. His music has been featured in over 250 television shows including Friends, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Modern Family, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Daily Show and Shameless. For theater, he has written the rock musical shAme, and co-wrote the Latin dance musical Possession with Marc Sambola.
Early life Governor was born in Boston and grew up in Needham, Massachusetts. He studied music at the University of Massachusetts Boston, worked at the university radio station, WUMB-FM, and graduated in 1978.
Career Governor moved to Los Angeles, CA in 1980 and studied film scoring at UCLA with Walter Scharf. In the early 1980s began scoring documentaries about old Hollywood including Ticket to Hollywood, The Divine Garbo, Hollywood Ghost Stories. In 1988, he began working for producer Roger Corman and scored five films for his New Horizon Studios, including Hollywood Boulevard II, Masque of the Red Death and Overexposed.
His first major studio film was scoring Pet Sematary II (1992) for director Mary Lambert. He then scored the independent films Notes From Underground and Santa Fe, both of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. This led to a collaboration with Iggy Pop on the score for The Brave, directed by Johnny Depp.
Governor simultaneously worked as a songwriter, artist and record producer, releasing his first compilation of original songs in 1995 for Sonoton Records. He has released over 12 albums in genres ranging from punk, grunge, EDM, pop, alternative. His album Notes From The Edge featured string quartet and vocal arrangements of rock and alternative classics. The track Stadium Rave Governor co-wrote with Glenn Nishida for their 1998 album Clubmix developed a cult following after being featured on the SpongeBob SquarePants episode, "Jellyfish Jam."
In 2008 he co-founded the Los Angeles Rock Opera Company with director-choreographer Janet Roston and co-directed it from 2008 to 2016.
He wrote the rock musical, shAme an adaptation of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. From 2019 to 2022 ShAme was developed for Broadway with director Kathleen Marshall. It has had productions in Boston, Los Angeles and Berlin.
Discography Film Music Highlights Film Year of ReleaseGovernor's CreditOne Last Time2025ComposerDownsizing2017Soundtrack cuesCrash Pad2017Composer - additional musicThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Extended Edition)2015 Composer and Music Supervisor for DVD Extras DocumentariesThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Extended Edition)2014 Composer and Music Supervisor for DVD Extras DocumentariesThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Extended Edition)2013 Composer and Music Supervisor for DVD Extras DocumentariesNebraska2013Soundtrack cuesThe SpongeBob Squarepants Movie2004Soundtrack - "Stadium Rave"Blindness1998Composer The Players Club1998 Arranger and ConductorThe Brave1997 Composer, additional music; Arranger and ConductorSanta Fe1997 ComposerI Married a Strange Person 1997ComposerUncle Sam1996 ComposerNotes from Underground1995Composer Till the End of the Night1995ComposerPet Sematary Two1992 ComposerMindwarp1991 ComposerThe Divine Garbo (TV Movie)1990ComposerHollywood Boulevard II1990 ComposerMasque of the Red Death1989 Composer
Discography Album TitleYear of ReleaseArtistGovernor's RoleLabelUncle Sam2026Original soundtrackComposer - ProducerKlaatu RecordsPet Semetary Two2019Original soundtrackComposer - ProducerTerror Vision. Land RecordsDime2014Jan KingProducer - SongwriterCitysound MusicConfessions of Lily Rogue2010Dhana TaproggeProducerFly Me To The Moon Notes From The Edge2008Notes From The EdgeArtist - ProducerCitysound MusicDance Pop Remixes2010Mark GovernorProducer - SongwriterSonotonModern Rock Explosion2006Mark GovernorProducer - SongwriterSonotonNation of One2004David ReaProducer - ArrangerCitysound MusicOffbeat Eclectic Ensembles2003Mark GovernorProducer - SongwriterSonotonA Whore's Diary 2003Mark GovernorProducer - ComposerCitysound MusicPop Sensation2000Mark GovernorProducer - SongwriterSonotonCheaper Than Therapy1999Mark GovernorProducer - SongwriterCitysound MusicClubmix1998Mark GovernorProducer - SongwriterSonotonThe Scarlet Letter1998Original SoundtrackProducer - SongwriterCitysound MusicAlternative Rock Unplugged1997Mark GovernorProducer - SongwriterSonotonRap Street1995Mark GovernorProducer - SongwriterSonotonAlternative Rock Box1995Mark GovernorProducer - Songwriter SonotonBeach Balls1988Original SoundtrackProducer - Songwriter Metal Blade
References
External links Website: https://markgovernor.com/
Mark Governor - Youtube channel Mark Governor interview on “Sound of the Movies” with Michael Hollands (Youtube) Mark Governor interview on "Your Town TV" (Youtube)