Peter Gunn (song)

Last updated
"Peter Gunn"
Single by Henry Mancini
from the album The Music from Peter Gunn
B-side "The Brothers Go to Mother's"
ReleasedJan 1959 [1]  (Jan 1959 [2] )
Recorded1958
Studio Radio Recorders, Los Angeles
Genre Instrumental theme music
Length2:04
Label RCA Victor
Composer(s) Henry Mancini
Producer(s) Simon Rady
Official audio
"Peter Gunn" (1993 Remastered) on YouTube

"Peter Gunn" is the theme music composed by Henry Mancini for the television show of the same name. [3] The song was the opening track on the original soundtrack album, The Music from Peter Gunn , released by RCA Victor in 1959. [4] Mancini won an Emmy Award and two Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Arrangement. [5] In 2005, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [6]

Contents

Recording and releases

In his 1989 autobiography, Did They Mention the Music?, Mancini states:

The Peter Gunn title theme actually derives more from rock and roll than from jazz. I used guitar and piano in unison, playing what is known in music as an ostinato, which means obstinate. It was sustained throughout the piece, giving it a sinister effect, with some frightened saxophone sounds and some shouting brass. The piece has one chord throughout and a super-simple top line. [5]

In the original recording of the song, the piano riff is played by John Williams, who went on to become an influential film composer. Mancini arranged the first single version of the song for trumpeter Ray Anthony in 1959. Recorded for Capitol Records at Radio Recorders [7] and featuring tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson, it reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, number 12 on the R&B chart, [8] and number 13 in Canada. [9]

Mancini has recorded several different versions of his theme music including "Señor Peter Gunn" on his 1965 album, The Latin Sound of Henry Mancini, and in a new arrangement for the 1967 movie Gunn...Number One! . [10]

Lyrics were added by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans and first recorded in 1965 by Sarah Vaughan in an arrangement by Bill Holman on her album Sarah Vaughan Sings the Mancini Songbook . [11] Mancini also recorded a vocal version titled "Bye Bye" that is on his 1967 soundtrack album Gunn...Number One!. [12]

Other charting versions

In addition to the many different arrangements of the "Peter Gunn" theme recorded by Mancini, the music has also been recorded by numerous other artists. Versions that reached the record charts include:

Notable media appearances

"Peter Gunn" appeared as background music in various scenes of the film The Blues Brothers and on its soundtrack album, as recorded by The Blues Brothers Band.

An electronic arrangement of "Peter Gunn" plays throughout the video game Spy Hunter [22] and Spy Hunter II .

The theme was used in Stitch! The Movie and The Lion King 1½ , as well as Waterworld .

The song was featured in the video game Rock n' Roll Racing .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Mancini</span> American film composer (1924–1994)

Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and twenty Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duane Eddy</span> American guitarist (1938–2024)

Duane Eddy was an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" guitar sound, including "Rebel-'Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young". He had sold 12 million records by 1963. His guitar style influenced the Ventures, the Shadows, the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, and Marty Stuart.

<i>Peter Gunn</i> American private eye television series created by Blake Edwards

Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, lounge singer Edie Hart. The series was broadcast by NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and by ABC in 1960–61. The series was created by Blake Edwards, who, on occasion, was also writer and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon River</span> Song from the 1961 film "Breakfast at Tiffanys"

"Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 1962 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In 1999, Mancini's recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

"Baby Elephant Walk" is a song composed in 1961 by Henry Mancini for the 1962 film Hatari! Lyrics by Hal David were not used in the film version. The instrumental earned Mancini a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Days of Wine and Roses (song)</span> 1963 single by Andy Williams

"Days of Wine and Roses" is a popular song, from the 1962 film of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Be Cruel</span> 1956 single by Elvis Presley

"Don't Be Cruel" is a song that was recorded by Elvis Presley and written by Otis Blackwell in 1956. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, it was listed #197 in Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Can't Stop Loving You</span> 1957 song by Don Gibson

"I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter, and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 3, 1957, for RCA Victor Records. It was released in 1958 as the B-side of "Oh, Lonesome Me", becoming a double-sided country hit single. At the time of Gibson's death in 2003, the song had been recorded by more than 700 artists, most notably by Ray Charles, whose recording reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart.

<i>The Music from Peter Gunn</i> 1959 soundtrack album by Henry Mancini

The Music from Peter Gunn is a soundtrack album to the TV series Peter Gunn, composed and conducted by Henry Mancini, and released in January 1959 on RCA Victor. It was the first album ever to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1959. The album was followed by More Music from Peter Gunn, released on RCA Victor in July 1959. In 1998 the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wonderful World (Sam Cooke song)</span> 1960 single by Sam Cooke

"Wonderful World" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. Released on April 14, 1960, by Keen Records, it had been recorded during an impromptu session the previous year in March 1959, at Sam Cooke's last recording session at Keen. He signed with RCA Victor in 1960 and "Wonderful World", then unreleased, was issued as a single in competition. The song was mainly composed by songwriting team Lou Adler and Herb Alpert, but Cooke revised the lyrics to mention the subject of education more.

"Theme from A Summer Place" is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 film A Summer Place, which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. It was recorded for the film as an instrumental theme by Steiner. Originally known as the "Molly and Johnny Theme", this lush extended cue, as orchestrated by Murray Cutter, is not the main title theme of the film, but an oft-heard secondary love theme for the characters played by Dee and Donahue. A subsequent recording by Hugo Winterhalter was the first to use the "Theme from A Summer Place" title. The theme has become a canonical representation of the easy listening genre, and is considered by some to be the definitive easy listening track of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Battle of New Orleans</span> Song written by Jimmy Driftwood

"The Battle of New Orleans" is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood in 1936. The song describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical version of what actually happened at the battle. It has been recorded by many artists, but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton. His version, recorded at Bradley Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, scored number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1959, it was very popular with teenagers in the late 1950s/early 1960s in an era mostly dominated by rock and roll music.

"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin. The song was written for the 1934 film Dames, in which it was performed by Dick Powell. Several other successful recordings of the song were made in 1934, and it later became a hit for the Flamingos in 1959 and Art Garfunkel in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unforgettable (Nat King Cole song)</span> 1951 popular song

"Unforgettable" is a popular song written by Irving Gordon. The song's original working title was "Uncomparable,” however, the music publishing company asked Gordon to change it to "Unforgettable.” The song was published in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sailing (Christopher Cross song)</span> 1979 song by Christopher Cross

"Sailing" is a 1979 soft rock song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross. It was released in June 1980 as the second single from his self-titled debut album (1979), which was already certified gold by this time. The song was a success in the United States, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 30, 1980, where it stayed for one week. The song also won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Arrangement of the Year, and helped Cross win the Best New Artist award. VH1 named "Sailing" the most "softsational soft rock" song of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Make the World Go Away</span> 1963 single, 1965 hit for Eddie Arnold

"Make the World Go Away'" is a country pop song composed by Hank Cochran. It has become a Top 40 popular success three times: for Timi Yuro (1963), Eddy Arnold (1965), and the brother-sister duo Donny and Marie Osmond (1975). The original version of the song was recorded by Ray Price in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hide Away (instrumental)</span> Instrumental blues standard first recorded by Freddie King

"Hide Away" or "Hideaway" is a blues guitar instrumental that has become "a standard for countless blues and rock musicians performing today". First recorded in 1960 by Freddie King, the song became a hit on the record charts. It has been interpreted and recorded by numerous blues and other musicians and has been recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame.

"Mona Lisa" is a popular song written by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston for the Paramount Pictures film Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1949), in which it was performed by Sergio de Karlo and a recurrent accordion motif. The title and lyrics refer to the renaissance portrait Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo da Vinci. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinning Wheel (song)</span> Single by Blood, Sweat & Tears

"Spinning Wheel" is a song recorded in 1968 by Jazz fusion/Rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears; it was written by Canadian lead vocalist David Clayton-Thomas and included on their eponymous album, released in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Any Day Now (Burt Bacharach song)</span> 1962 song by Bacharach and Bob Hilliard

"Any Day Now" is a popular song written by Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard in 1962. It has been recorded by numerous artists over the years, including notable versions by Chuck Jackson in 1962, Alan Price in 1965, Elvis Presley in 1969, Scott Walker in 1973 and Ronnie Milsap in 1982. In the lyrics, the singer predicts the imminent demise of a romantic relationship and describes the sadness this will leave.

References

  1. ↑ "Two Smash Singles From This Album". Billboard. January 1, 1959. p. 32.
  2. ↑ "Two Smash Singles From This Album". Billboard. January 1, 1959. p. 32.
  3. ↑ Henry Mancini: Sounds and Scores, Northridge Music, Inc. 1973, 1986
  4. ↑ RCA Victor LPM/LSP-1956 liner notes
  5. 1 2 Did They Mention the Music?, Henry Mancini with Gene Lees, Contemporary Books, 1989, page 236
  6. ↑ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists". Grammy.com.
  7. ↑ Young, Clive (27 April 2021). "Al Schmitt, Legendary Engineer, Passes at 91". prosoundnetwork.com. Future Plc. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  8. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (1988). "Ray Anthony; Deodato". Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. pp. 26, 116. ISBN   0-89820-068-7.
  9. ↑ "CHUM Hit Parade - February 23, 1959". Chumtribute.com.
  10. ↑ Dryden, Ken. "Henry Mancini: 'Peter Gunn' –Review/Appears On". AllMusic . Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  11. ↑ Liner notes to Mercury Records SR 61009
  12. ↑ Liner notes to RCA Victor LPM/LSP-3840
  13. ↑ "Duane Eddy – Singles". Official Charts . Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  14. ↑ Billboard (November 14, 1960). "Hot 100". Billboard . p. 34. ISSN   0006-2510.
  15. ↑ "CHUM Hit Parade - November 28, 1960".
  16. ↑ "RPM Top Singles –July 12, 1986". July 17, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2016– via Library and Archives Canada.
  17. ↑ "1986 Grammy Winners". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  18. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles –September 20, 1986" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  19. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles of '86 –December 27, 1986" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  20. 1 2 Mason, Stewart. "The B-52s: 'Planet Claire' –Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Disco Hot 100". Billboard . Vol. 92, no. 11. March 15, 1980. p. 50. ISSN   0006-2510.
  22. ↑ Dave Ellis (October 2, 2012). "Chat with Spy Hunter Game Designer". Like Totally 80s.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.