"Tracy's Theme" | ||||
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Single by Spencer Ross | ||||
A-side | "Tracy's Theme" | |||
B-side | "Thanksgiving Day" Parade | |||
Released | 1959 | |||
Recorded | 1959 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 2:55 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Robert Ascher | |||
Producer(s) | Robert Mersey (uncredited) | |||
Spencer Ross singles chronology | ||||
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"Tracy's Theme" is a 1959 instrumental written by Robert Ascher and recorded by producer, conductor and arranger Robert Mersey under the name "Spencer Ross". [1] The fictitious name may have been used because Mersey was under contract to a record label other than Columbia, which released "Tracy's Theme", at the time of the recording. It peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960, after being used as the theme for a TV production of The Philadelphia Story .
As part of the December 7, 1959 airing on NBC of a new television production of The Philadelphia Story, composer Robert Ascher wrote a melody to be associated with the character of Tracy Lord, [2] played by Diana Lynn on the TV special. Talent Associates, the production company that owned the special, thought the tune had hit potential, so the company worked out a deal with Columbia Records to issue it as a single. This presented a problem for Mersey, the musical director for Talent Associates, as he was under contract with the new Big Top label as its musical director as well; he had already released a single, "Bittersweet September," on the label in July 1959. [3]
Devon Music, the publishing firm of Talent Associates owned by David Susskind and Howie Richmond at the time, [1] came up with a solution. They created a fictitious artist named "Spencer Ross", and retained ownership of that pseudonym for potential future use.
"Tracy's Theme" was reviewed in the November 23, 1959 issue of Billboard , two weeks before The Philadelphia Story aired. [4] Another Ascher melody from a Talent Associates production, "Thanksgiving Day Parade" from the November 27, 1959 airing of Miracle on 34th Street , was used as the B-side.
Neither Mersey nor the fictitious Ross were the real stars of the recording; Vincent J. "Jimmy" Abato (1919-2008), a one-time member of Glenn Miller's orchestra, played the hypnotic melody on the alto saxophone, [5] with the accompaniment of strings and a repeated percussion beat.
A reported 20 million viewers watched the special presentation of The Philadelphia Story. [6] With the single already on the market, and promotional copies in the hands of radio stations, it was only a matter of time before the popular theme started to sell; "Tracy's Theme" entered the Billboard Hot 100 on January 4, 1960 [7] and reached a peak of #13 on February 22. [8] In the Billboard Top Singles of 1960 ranking at the end of the year, it finished #81. [9]
After "Tracy's Theme" became a hit, Mersey received permission to use the Spencer Ross pseudonym on his next Big Top single, "Theme of a Lonely Evening" backed with "Bobby's Blues", [1] but after that, the rights to the Ross name reverted to Devon Music. Two more Spencer Ross singles and a full-length LP, which included "Tracy's Theme" in addition to non-Mersey productions, were issued on Columbia before the end of 1960.