His recording of "Gonna Fly Now (Theme from "Rocky (1976))" reached #1 in July 1977.
Majored in piano and composition at Louisiana State University and
earned a master's degree at Juilliard School of Music in New York.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6451 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 10, 1989.
On April 22, 2008, before a packed house at the LSU Union Theatre at Louisiana State University, Conti was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Has 2 daughters Rachela and Nicola Shelby and 6 grandchildren.
There's a higher place that I have no illusions about reaching. There's a sophistication and aesthetic about composers who only write only for the music's sake.
In the back of your mind, when you say you want to write music for the movies, you're saying that you want a big house, a big car and a boat. If you just wanted to write music, you could live in Kansas and do it.