Jay Ferguson
Composer · Born May 10, 1947 (79) · Burbank, California, USA
John Arden "Jay" Ferguson (born May 10, 1947) is an American rock and pop musician known for his work with the bands Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne, and his 1978 solo hit "Thunder Island". His later career has been as a composer of music for television programs and films. Many people know Ferguson for composing the theme song for the American version of The Office on NBC. Ferguson was born on May 10, 1947, in Burbank in the San Fernando Valley, California, to John Becker and Kathleen Jane Ferguson. He grew up in the Van Nuys and Canoga Park sections of Los Angeles. Along with his brother Tom, an accomplished fiddle player, he formed a bluegrass group called The Oat Hill Stump Straddlers including Michael Fondiler and Steve Fondiler. He also held part-time jobs at different points as a theater usher and an architect's assistant for his father John Ferguson, taught piano in a music store, and studied at UCLA after high school. Spirit was founded in the mid-1960s. Many musicians of the time cited The Beatles and their music as an influence, and Ferguson was no exception. Reuniting with longtime musician friends Randy California and California's stepfather Ed Cassidy, who, with Mark Andes and John Locke were in a band called the Red Roosters - Ferguson joined with them to form a jazz-influenced rock group that was originally called Spirits Rebellious, after a Khalil Gibran passage. They later shortened the name to Spirit. Ferguson was the last member to join the band. Ferguson shared singing and songwriting duties with California, writing most of the songs on their first album. Spirit began playing at various nightclubs and concerts in the Los Angeles area, especially the clubs along the Sunset Strip, including Whisky a Go Go. At one of these shows, French film producer Jacques Demy saw Spirit perform and decided he wanted them in his next film. It led to a cameo role for the band and a short speaking part in which Ferguson played a character based loosely on himself in the film Model Shop. Spirit also provided much of the instrumental soundtrack. In 1982, after his sixth and last solo album, White Noise, Ferguson decided to become a soundtrack composer for movies and television. He has written music for over 15 feature films and many TV shows. His most recognizable composition as a TV and film scorer is the theme to the NBC-TV version of The Office, which won him the 2007 Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for a Comedy Television Program. (In The Office, he is also the guitarist in Kevin's band "Scrantonicity".) He is the composer of "Pictures of You" from the soundtrack to The Terminator, and the entire score to A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Bad Dreams, the Tales From The Crypt episode "Forever Ambergris", as well as Tremors 2: Aftershocks, and Tremors 4: The Legend Begins. Ferguson is also the current soundtrack composer for NCIS: Los Angeles, having replaced original composer James S. Levine halfway through season one with Ferguson's music debuting in the season 1 episode, "Chinatown".
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 10, 1947 (79)
- Burbank, California, USA
- Composer
- 18 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
Known for
What are Jay Ferguson's films like?
Across their 16 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 1 · Earnest 12
A split, not a type: Light 8 · Serious 2 · Dark 5
A split, not a type: Grounded 8 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 2
Gentle 2 · Charged 10 · Intense 3
Steady 5 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 6 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 2
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 13 · Relentless 0
Casual 6 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 7 · Affecting 7 · Heavy 1
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet5
- Ambiguous5
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Jay Ferguson's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
Subscription and free streaming for Jay Ferguson's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
24 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Endless Bummer(2009)
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films
Americanizing Shelley (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
When Andrew Came Home(2000)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
Sweetwater(1999)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Driven (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Tremors II: Aftershocks(1996)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Double Dragon(1994)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Nervous Ticks(1992)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
Eerie, Indiana(1991)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
Tagteam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Parker Kane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Tales from the Crypt(1989)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Gleaming the Cube(1989)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
License to Drive(1988)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Bad Dreams(1988)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Johnny Be Good(1988)
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
Pulse(1988)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Best Seller(1987)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Quiet Cool (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Death of an Angel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Model Shop(1969)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 22 titles from 1969 to 2007.
Film career
- 1969Screen debut· Model Shop
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Jay Ferguson's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 35th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 32nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th6
Shape of the crowd
9 of their 18 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed9
Reviewers score the sound and music 56/100 in their films, across 10 reviewed titles; fans 68, detractors 38. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Jay Ferguson's work okay for kids?
Across up to 9 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Jay Ferguson work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jay Ferguson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Sam Pillsbury shares the most, 2.
Directors
- Sam PillsburyShared titles: Endless Bummer (2009), Eerie, Indiana (1991)See all 2 shared titles with Sam Pillsbury
- S.S. WilsonShared titles: Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004), Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996)See all 2 shared titles with S.S. Wilson
- Greg BeemanShared titles: Eerie, Indiana (1991), License to Drive (1988)See all 2 shared titles with Greg Beeman
Writers
- Brent MaddockShared titles: Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004), Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Brent Maddock
- Ron UnderwoodShared titles: Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004), Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Ron Underwood
Actors
- Michael GrossShared titles: Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004), Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Gross
Cinematographers
- Virgil L. HarperShared titles: Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004), Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Virgil L. Harper
Producers
- Nancy RobertsShared titles: Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004), Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Nancy Roberts