Born Bernard Alfred Nitzsche in Chicago, IL. Raised on a farm near Newaygo, Michigan. Co-wrote the song "Needles and Pins" for the Searchers which gave him his start in show business. One of Hollywood's leading scorers of motion picture music from the 1970s through the 1990s. His first film score was for VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS (1965). Un-nominated credits include THE EXORCIST (1973), WHEN YOU COMIN' BACK, RED RYDER? (1979), HARDCORE (1979), CRUSING (1980), PERSONAL BEST (1982), CANNERY ROW (1982), BREATHLESS (1983), THE RAZOR'S EDGE (1984), STARMAN (1984), THE JEWEL OF THE NILE (1985), 9-1/2 WEEKS (1986), STAND BY ME (1986), MERMAIDS (1990), BLUE SKY (1994) and THE CROSSING GUARD (1995). His song "Up Where We Belong" was used in MOULIN ROUGE (2001). His son, Jack M. Nietsche Jr. is a boom operator for Hollywood films.  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Score) 1975: ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Score) 1982: AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN  Music Best Song 1982: AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN "Up Where We Belong" - Music (w. Buffy Sainte-Marie) 3 nominations, 1 Award