header

David Mansfield

Mansfield, who was raised in New Jersey, started his musical career with the band Quaky Duck, which lead to playing with His Barnyard Friends, a band consisting of two sons of Tony Bennett. Bob Dylan asked Mansfield to tour with him on his 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour; he remained a band member through their 1978 world tour. After the Revue ended in 1976, Mansfield and two other members of Dylan’s band, T-Bone Burnett and Steven Soles, formed The Alpha Band. The band released three albums: The Alpha Band in 1977, Spark In The Dark in 1977, and The Statue Makers of Hollywood in 1978. In 1986, Mansfield was an initial member of Bruce Hornsby and the Range, playing the title instrument on the hit “Mandolin Rain.”

Mansfield has continued to work as a session musician for Dylan, Burnett, Johnny Cash, Roger McGuinn, Sam Phillips, Spinal Tap, Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, and many others. He composed the music for the notable 1980 film Heaven’s Gate, and has gone on to write scores for a number of other films, a notable and robust soundtrack album for Songcatcher. He also composed the wonderful and evocative music for the soundtrack to The Ballad of Little Jo, written and directed by Maggie Greenwald, whom he married in 1994. David has recently scored The Guitar, which premieres at 2008 Sundance Film Festival.