Ian Freebairn-Smith, the Grammy-winning arranger for Barbra Streisand’s 1976 A star is born hit “Evergreen” and composer of music for television series such as Cagney and Lacey And Magnum, P.I.died October 7 in Folsom, California. He was 93 years old.
His death was announced by his family.
Born March 4, 1932, in Seattle to Thomas Freebairn-Smith, a Welsh radio host who became the first executive secretary of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and his wife Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Peers, Freebairn-Smith moved with his family to California when he was 3 years old. He grew up in Sherman Oaks and Studio City.
Beginning his career as a singer, Freebairn-Smith eventually composed music for numerous episodes of television series in the 1980s. Among them were episodes of Magnum PI, Cagney and Lacey, Airwolf And Fame. He co-wrote the theme song for the 1982-83 series with Jimmy Webb. Seven wives for seven brothers.
For the cinema, he composed the music for the anti-war film The Strawberry Declaration (1970) with Bruce Davison, Kim Darby and Bud Cort. He was the conductor and musical arranger for the 1978 Burt Reynolds film. The end and performed the same functions for the years 1979 The puppet filmincluding the breakout song “Rainbow Connection,” which made the Pop Top 25.
Freebairn-Smith won the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement for Backing Vocalist for his orchestration and arrangement of 1976’s “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born),” composed and performed by Streisand with lyrics by Paul Williams. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in March 1977 and also reached number one in Canada. THE A star is born the soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 for six weeks.
Earlier in his career, Freebairn-Smith was a session singer with mostly anonymous vocal groups such as Singers Incorporated and The Ron Hicklin Singers. Classic television series to which he contributed vocals include Flipper, Batman And Gilligan’s Island. With the Hicklin Band, he recorded vocals for “Suicide Is Painless,” the theme song for Robert Altman’s 1970 film. CRUSH. The Johnny Mandel-Mike Altman composition was later used without vocals for the 1972-83 television series.
He continued to sing throughout his career, contributing uncredited bass vocals to The day the Earth stood still (2008) and Matrix revolutions (2003).
He also worked as an arranger for singers such as Stephen Bishop – including the 1976 hit “On and On” – Liza Minnelli, Frankie Avalon, Phil Ochs, Andy Williams, Jeff Beck and many others. In a Facebook post today, Bishop wrote, “We are losing too many legends. Wonderful person and incredible talent. Always a pleasure to work with.”
Freebairn-Smith has also hosted radio shows for various Los Angeles radio stations, including KCSN. He has collaborated on dozens of commercial jingles for Chevron, Continental Airlines, United Airlines, Pacific Bell, among others.
He is survived by his brother, Rod Freebairn-Smith; daughters Leslie, Alison, Jenifer and Vanessa; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. His second wife, violinist Shari Zippert, died in 2024. His first marriage was to his high school sweetheart Billie Jean Mercer.
