Mainstream media has a tiresome habit of overusing terms like “icon” to refer to almost any celebrity representing popular culture in some form. This is especially true in the realm of music – regardless of how dubious the contributions of some musicians might be to this art form and in whatever capacity. Many of the best musicians though, are not constantly in the glare of the media, and this is especially true of composers who tend to stay in the background.
To say that Henry Mancini is one of the most talented and top-rated American composers of the 20th century would not be an overstatement and the term icon could truly be applied to him. This is all the more remarkable since his father wanted him to pursue a career as a teacher – not as a musician. Mancini still ended up taking music courses at both Carnegie Mellon and Juilliard School Of Music after high school.
It was also fortunate that he met famed band leader Glenn Miller while at basic training in New Jersey. Following his enlistment in the Air Force Mancini was one of those musicians that Miller recruited, resulting in Mancini’s assignment to the 28th Air Force Band. After his discharge from the Service at the end of World War Two he became a pianist and arranger with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
It was during this time that Mancini’s talents began to and branch out and flourish. In addition to playing piano he broadened his arrangement and composition skills. His natural talent led him to a position composing in the music department at Universal-International in 1952. The 1950s proved to be very good to Mancini as he contributed music to over 100 of the studio’s films between 1952 and 1958. The scores he helped create were prolific across diverse genres ranging from sci-fi to biopics and noir.
Mancini also moved into television scoring for the popular private-eye series Peter Gunn which aired from 1958-1961. What is best known today about this series is the enduring score in which Mancini created a fusion of jazz and rock elements. He later stated that the catchy if sinister sounds came about largely because of the heavy saxophone and brass combination. It was also during this period that he met writer/producer Blake Edwards at Universal and they ended up having a collaborative relationship that would last for an impressive 30 years.
Mancini’s successes would increase during the 1960s and this may be the period he is most readily associated with. His “Moon River” composition (co-written with Johnny Mercer) for the Blake Edward’s directed Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961) is one of the most easily recognized and most beloved songs ever recorded for a film. Tiffany’s was also a major box office hit for Audrey Hepburn and her portrayal of an eccentric extrovert is often considered to be her best role. The song won the Academy Award that year for Best Original Song as well as the Grammy for Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year. The gentle, relaxed melodies of “Moon River”and “Days Of Wine & Roses” are unforgettable and will live forever. It should also be noted that he created music for the 1961 romantic comedy Bachelor In Paradise starring Bob Hope and Lana Turner featured in a previous post.
Mancini and Mercer co-wrote again, creating the theme sing “Days Of Wine & Roses” which also won the Academy Award for Best Song of 1962 from the film of the same name. This searing portrait of a couple struggling with alcoholism was also directed by Blake Edwards. Roses proved to be another feather in the cap for Mancini and Edward’s. They would go on to further acclaim with The Pink Panther (1963) a hilarious story of an inept French inspector named Jacques Clouseau which would inspire a franchise that continues to this day. The theme song by Mancini is memorable especially for the opening piano chords followed by the low-key drums and triangle and then the accompaniment of bass, guitar, saxophone, tuba, trombone, trumpets, and horns all harmonizing to create a clever, snappy tune.
These are just some of the most noteworthy highlights of Mancini’s astounding career spanning over four decades, winning him four Academy Awards and twenty-one Grammys. Mancini was still working on a Broadway project of Victor/Victoria up to his death in June, 1994 from pancreatic cancer. His songs are featured on about forty albums and can be enjoyed by watching the wide variety of film projects he worked on. Many songs can also be played on YouTube or on albums available through sites such as discogs.com. http://discogs.com
