---
name: "Bob James"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/bob-james"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "25 December 1939"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T21:11:02.779300+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Bob James

Composer. Born 25 December 1939 in Marshall, Missouri.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 25 December 1939, Marshall, Missouri
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2687938

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Taxi*](https://film.one/tv/taxi.md) (86)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Bob James is an American jazz keyboardist, arranger, composer and record producer. Born Robert McElhiney James on 25 December 1939 in Marshall, Missouri, he began his career playing piano professionally from a young age and later studied at the University of Michigan.

He is best known for composing the theme 'Angela' for the television series *Taxi* (1978–1983), which appeared on his 1978 album *Touchdown*. James provided the original music for the series and later released a collection of it on *The Genie: Themes & Variations from the TV Series Taxi* (1983).

He founded the smooth jazz group Fourplay and has collaborated with artists including Earl Klugh and David Sanborn, winning Grammy Awards for albums with each. His work has been widely sampled in hip-hop.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Taxi* (1978), Fi1m 86, Music — [page](https://film.one/tv/taxi.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/bob-james