Bill Conti (born April 13, 1943 in Providence, Rhode Island) is a film musical director. Conti was an orchestra director by age fifteen. In 1974, he began as a film music director. His big break into celebrity came in 1976, however, when he was hired to choose the music for the movie that also made Sylvester Stallone famous: Rocky. Conti was credited on the cover of the movie's soundtrack album and received an Academy Award nomination for the well-known Rocky theme "Gonna Fly Now."