Goodwin studied music at California State University, Northridge, graduating in 1981. While still a student, he wrote his first film score, for 1978’s Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Upon graduation, drummer and bandleader Louie Bellson (who had frequently led workshops at Northridge) hired him for his big band and began inviting him to write arrangements. In addition, he got a day job playing piano at Disneyland, which led to his first job as a professional composer: writing for a live “Mouseketeers” show in the early 1990s. He spent much of the 1990s working as musical director and pianist for Johnny Mathis.
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