Ken Sutherland (born 1939) is a composer, lyricist, playwright and artist who has written songs and scores for a number of movies, including the award-winning Savannah Smiles.
[citation needed] Through a chance meeting on a flight to Houston from Los Angeles, Sutherland met actor/writer Mark Miller who was trying to get an original screenplay funded and produced.
[3] One of the songs in the film – "Pretty Girl" performed by country recording artist Red Steagall – is, according to Sutherland, often requested by brides for the Father/Daughter dance at their wedding reception.
Films scored by Sutherland include Papa Was A Preacher (1985) for legendary producer Martin Jurow with Grammy-winner Sandy Patti performing the closing credits song, “The Door Is Open, The Light Is On..” Other film scores composed and conducted by Sutherland are Shadows on the Wall (1986) with Wilford Brimley, Dark Before Dawn (1988) with Doug McClure, and Big Bad John (1990) with Ned Beatty, Jack Elam and Jimmy Dean.
In 1985, Sutherland wrote and produced the song, “Here Is My Love, Pass It Along,” which he recorded with a number of artists who were either born or bred in Texas, including: Steven Stills, Billy Preston, Jerry Jeff Walker, B. J. Thomas, Shelley Duvall, Alex Harvey, Charley Pride, Mary Wilson, the Gatlin Brothers and Sami Jo Cole to name just a few.
[citation needed] Moving to Dallas in 1995, Sutherland launched into the creation, development and production of a new musical based on the life of unconventional early Renaissance master Fra Filippo Lippi.
Sutherland has also written the score for a feature-length documentary called Dancing With Torah for producer/director Robert O. Curry with the support of the Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust Museum.