Chances are you can find many Utahns who've never heard the music of Miles Davis. And you could probably find a fair share who've never listened to Debussy, Merle Haggard or Bon Jovi.
But just about everyone's heard a little something by Chance Thomas.They've just never heard his name before.
"I do country music, pop, classical, jazz, religious music," he says. "But you wouldn't know it's me. Nobody goes out and buys a CD of television and radio commercials."
Thomas, a Music Man for All Seasons, is the uncredited composer for spots by R.C. Willey (country), NuSkin (breeze), Anthony's Clothing (jazz) and many public service segments by the LDS Church. In short, he's a hired gun. And he's just one of a growing breed of songwriters and musicians who say "You want bossa nova? Reggae? Rimsky-Korsakov? Point me to a keyboard."
"The truth is the unsung composers who do media music have selected an area that will never be well-promoted," says Arlen Card, a musician who has composed music for commercials and feature films. "It's an image thing. Promoters rule the world, and in our business the product - not the performer - is being showcased.
"Still, I like what I do. I like my private life. And I get all I need from my work, though I suppose it wouldn't hurt any of our feelings to get a little more recognition."
The sentiments are universal in the profession. The problem is often perception. Because Eric Clapton is such a great guitarist, for instance, many people think he could do commercials, work in classical music and crank out choral music if he simply chose to do it. But that's not the case. Being supple and flexible is a gift - just like a quick left hand on the guitar - though the public doesn't think in such terms.
"People see me in terms of jack-of-all-trades, master of none," says Thomas. "What can you do?"
Like Card, Thomas has decided the best revenge is living well, which he does.
A Utah native, Thomas started out wanting to be a rock idol. When he met his wife, Pamela, in Oklahoma, in fact, the two of them set out to be the new Sonny and Cher.
"We were at Warner Bros., looking at the president of the company over his big, crystal desk," says Thomas, "and he looked us in the eye and said, `You guys are great!' We never heard back from him. That's when we decided we'd had enough `almosts.' I was tired of pouring so much money into music. I wanted to get something back."
The twosome hooked up with a cruise ship line and toured the seas for 2 1/2 years - 127 cruises in all. When the high life on the high seas began to grow old, they returned to Utah. Chance took a job as Gov. Norm Bangerter's official "mansion pianist" and began taking in free-lance work doing jingles and background music. That led to "byChance" Productions, a nice home over-looking the valley and an impressive resume that boasts of music in 200 broadcast markets - including the 24-hour CNN Airport Network.
"What I like," he says, "is getting a project that's a bit of a stretch for me. It's been said the mind craves a challenge and works best on something new and different. That's certainly the case with me."
For now, Thomas is keeping a lot of his ideas for the future to himself. Whatever they are, you can bet we'll all be hearing them.
We just might not know it's Chance Thomas putting them together.