Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson

The team of Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson wrote this theme (and the Charlie’s Angels tv theme). They scored for many shows but these two are considered iconic from that era. They were very well known separately as educators, musical directors and composer/arrangers.

Jack Elliott was musical director for the Grammys for thirty consecutive years, Judy Garland‘s musical director and creator of the Henry Mancini Institute as well as composer of many, many television and movie scores…

Allyn Ferguson was among the founders of the Dick Grove School Of Music, musical director for Julie Andrews, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme and Johnny Mathis as well as scoring for countless tv series and movies…

The Boys In The Squad Room During Barney Miller's Prime

When you heard that funky solo bass line, you knew what you were in for! Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson‘s Barney Miller theme has all the elements of the show in that opening line and then, as soon as you get into the groove, all hell breaks loose with that trumpet. It’s hip, cornball AND nostalgic all at the same time.

Point, click, sit back, close your eyes and listen; you WILL see the old squad room with Barney Miller and the boys laying out the laughs…

Personnel as determined: Jim Hughart bass.

*The TV themes that stay with me reflect every character, every episode, the times the series took place in AND the genre of theater applicable; fresh forever in my music mind.

Partice Rushen

Patrice Rushen is a lady who crosses music genres as easily as crossing a street! As well as being an excellent composer/arranger, she sings, plays piano, clarinet, flute and percussion. And when she’s not doing any of the above, she is producing or teaching. She also plays piano for Wayne Shorter and Lee Ritenour when they tour.

Patrice Rushen's Promo For Forget Me Nots

Forget Me Nots (Patrice Rushen, Teri McFadden, Freddie Washington) is an extreme one-off; I haven’t heard anything from her quite like it before or since; actually, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like it ever! Its funk as well as its simplicity gouges, snarls and absolutely has your ears clapping. Freddie Washington‘s bass line does not quit and Gerald Albright‘s saxophone solo adds a very classic/classy touch. When Men In Black, the movie came out, I was floored when I heard Will Smith rapping over that marvelous Forget Me Nots’ bed.

Listen now, to a tune that takes no prisoners, under Patrice Rushen‘s superb performance and production.

Personnel As Determined: Patrice Rushen vocal, keyboards; Paul M Jackson Jr guitar; Gerald “Wonderfunk” Albright tenor sax; Freddy “Ready” Washington bass; Ollie Brown drums; Paulinho Da Costa percussion.

As far as the creative side of my musical persona is concerned, I am the sum total of what I have experienced musically. The emotion, the energy and the memories of music collected in my ear have shaped who I am as a composer, player and dreamer.

Edwin "Ted" Astley

Edwin Astley composed a lot of music for British television in the 50s and 60s. As well as The Saint, he wrote the original theme for Danger Man (replaced by Secret Agent Man by Steve Barri/P. F. Sloan) and the title music for The Adventures Of Robin Hood among others.

As a side note, his eldest daughter Karen Astley married Pete Townshend of The Who and their son Jon Astley produced and remastered The Who‘s reissues. Edwin Astley‘s other daughter Virginia Astley, is a singer-songwriter.

The Simple Logo Said It All

At a time when black & white was the norm, one’s imagination had to work just a little bit harder to realize the glamor in television programming, both as a producer AND viewer. Music had less production options so the scoring, arranging and playing pulled different weight than today. Edwin Astley‘s theme from The Saint supplied the “extra” color needed for this black & white very British series.

Astley actually arranged two versions of the The Saint, a slow version used in the black and white episodes and a more up-tempo arrangement of the same theme, for the color episodes. This second theme was based around Lestlie Charteris‘, (the series’ author) own theme music.

Although I fell in love with the black and white British series, I prefer the scoring of the theme for US color adaptation. The bigger sound of this second version seem to reflect the series’ move to color format. The tempo, the way the sections are laid out AND the overall style of seems to heat up in proportion  to the over all production. That bulbous, audacious brass line is so infectious to me; I can’t tell you how many times I have imitated that line with my voice and looked up over the years!

Go, click, and memory trip on the theme that immortalized the man who would be Bond…

*The TV themes that stay with me reflect every character, every episode, the times the series took place in AND the genre of theater applicable; fresh forever in my music mind.

John Dankworth; Much More Than An Excellent Jazz Saxophone Player!

John Dankworth‘s name, for me, is synonymous with jazz singer Cleo Laine (husband & wife). They worked many projects together. But he is a fine saxophone player, great composer and arranger on his own.

The Avengers: Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) & Steed (Patrick Macnee)

In the Avengers theme, you have everything going; that is everything that counts except the kitchen sink! First off, you have this fantastic fanfare; the scoring blasts its way into your being like sun coming over the horizon after 6 months of darkness in Alaska!  That brass signals that something worth listening to and watching is about to begin. Then, percussion starts grooving and we are off!

I still get chills with the contrast between the brass section and those classy string lines (both texture and feel-wise) which, for me, really introduce the elegance of the characters. When the whole orchestra swings in the end credits, it really digs in and hurts so good!

Sometimes the theme is great, the show not so much and vice versa; in this case, they both deserve equal, top billing. When I listen, both Steed and Emma Peel are immortalized forever.

I suggest you pick up from your fave fish & chips spot, pour a nice crystal of chilled Cristal, LISTEN, watch and remember one of the classiest TV shows ever to be floating around in space as you do so…

*The TV themes that stay with me reflect every character, every episode, the times the series took place in AND the genre of theater applicable; fresh forever in my music mind.

Richard Berry's Louie Louie By The Kingsmen. The Most Famous Party Song Ever.

*Fact: With the exception of Paul McCartney‘s “Yesterday,” Louie Louie has been covered more times than any other pop song (over 1,000 versions and counting).

*Fact: KFJC, a college radio station in Los Altos Hills, California, once played it for 63 hours straight without repeating the same recording twice, receiving unprecedented coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Tonight, Playboy magazine and various other international media sources.                                                                                    

*A Short History Of Louie Louie Eric Predoehl (©1996, ©1999, all rights reserved)

Richard Berry

Richard Berry wrote and recorded Louie Louie as a latin/calypso thing in 1955 and had some local success in the Los Angeles area. Apparently, when he felt it had run its course, he sold the publishing rights. Oops…

The Kingsmen: L-R Don Galluci, Jack Ely, Lynn Easton, Mike Mitchell, and Bob Nordby

The Kingsmen recorded Louie Louie at Northwestern, Inc., Motion Pictures and Recording in Portland WA in 1963. I was eleven and loved it!

Even now, I really love the guitar and keyboard sharing the line together (thirds I think, with the guitar in octaves?); most of all, I love the energy of the drummer. I think without Lynn Eastman’s take on the bed, the tune would have been sucked up by a black hole, never to be heard again!

Everyone was playing Louie Louie on guitar, even if you didn’t play guitar! We are talking three chords, lyrics that imply, but don’t really say anything and a groove that doesn’t stop tapping you on the shoulder, begging you to dance, sing along, drink beer or anything else that moves you!

Click, sit back and let this phenomenon do what it do…

Personnel as determined: Jack Ely vocal, rhythm guitar; Lynn Easton drums; Mike Mitchell lead guitar; Don Gallucci electric piano; Bob Nordby bass guitar.

As far as the creative side of my musical persona is concerned, I am the sum total of what I have experienced musically. The emotion, the energy and the memories of music collected in my ear have shaped who I am as a composer, player and dreamer.

Joe Zawinul; Consummate "Jazz" Composer & Keyboard Player

I usually write about one-offs with regard to a band/performer. In this case, it’s about Joe Zawinul, the man who wrote the music (lyrics by Johnny Watson and Larry Williams). What a monster player/composer in his own right and legendary leader of Weather Report and The Zawinul Syndicate amongst many other distinguished playing situations.

Originally, he wrote Mercy Mercy Mercy for Julian “Cannonball” Adderley in 1966. I doubt he ever thought much about the Buckinghams until, that is, they made it a huge hit! Imagine, having never written anything like it before or since, (the heavy) Joe Zawinul involved in the pop industry. I love it!

The Buckinghams' Mercy Mercy Mercy Album.

My first experience with the tune was, in fact, with the Buckinghams version when I was 15 years old in 1967. I loved (and still do) everything about the tune. The drumming is intelligent and the arrangement is really thought out. The blue tinge and horn section take it out of the bubble gum class and for me, those qualities make the performance memorable (AND, last but certainly not the least, check out the BIG ending!). Take a trip down memory lane when the British ruled the airwaves and we did our best to hang on!

Personnel as determined: Carl Giammarese guitar; Nick Fortuna bass; John Poulos drums; George LeGros vocals; Dennis Tufano vocals; Marty Grebb keyboardist.

As far as the creative side of my musical persona is concerned, I am the sum total of what I have experienced musically. The emotion, the energy and the memories of music collected in my ear have shaped who I am as a composer, player and dreamer.

My Deagan Commander II Vibraphone. Built-In Pickups, Portable. My Weapon Of Choice In 2002.

While  I was working retail in a musical instrument store, this thought occurred to me; why not form some kind of band with the staff. We all had families; we worked the same hours; we had similar musical interests so why not?

When 6:00 rolled around, I wheeled my vibes next door (in good weather) and we set up in 20 minutes. Playing next door to where we worked, every Thursday was convenient and seemed to work out well. We started attracting some regulars and our format was easy going jazz. With my vibraphone, we had a built in signature both visually and sound-wise. After a few months we started playing other coffee settings and started to let people sit in. It was fun and it kept my music machinery well-oiled!

Hey! Turn the radio up! I love that song!

We picked tunes that were easy to play on, so we could invite other players to jam with us. One of my faves, which I use to this day to warm up on in a club, is Charles Lloyd‘s Sweet Georgia Bright. I happen to love this rare instance of HIM playing it!

Charles Lloyd tenor sax; Jason Moran piano; Reuben Rogers bass; Eric Harland drums.

*The Series …While Listening To Myself In The Mirror, chronicles the milestones, influences and progression of the musical career and times of Arnold Faber, Canadian Career Musician/Composer. The intent is strictly to inform, entertain and chronicle a 38+ year career in Canadian music history.

Quincy Jones "Q" Originally Wrote Streetbeater In 1973 For The A&M Album You've Got It Bad, Girl.

Quincy Jones… so much music, such an imagination; HUGE legacy. I love the theme from Sandford And Son. The funk hurts; the hue is blue BUT, has a distinct “hay seed” edge; a 3 dimensional aural kaleidoscope!

This musical onion when peeled, reveals Quincy Jones’ meticulous command over every phase of the process from conception, through documentation then right to completion of final product. He is definitely a master craftsman.

Listen, love AND learn about all the characters, the zaniness and humor of this extreme classic sit-com in three minutes and seven seconds!

Personnel As Deternined: Quincy Jones trumpet, arranger, conductor; Dave Grusin electric piano; Phil Woods alto sax; Tom “Junior” Morgan harmonica; Ernie Watts tenor sax; Bobbye Porter percussion; Bob James & Creations keyboards; Ray Brown bass.

*The TV themes that stay with me reflect every character, every episode, the times the series took place in AND the genre of theater applicable; fresh forever in my music mind.

David Schwartz

Northern Exposure was David Schwartz‘s first (of many) tv effort; he got a grammy nomination for it. Whimsical, quirky, intelligent and 3 dimensional is how I feel about this baby. 3 dimensional in the way it pops out at you, latches on to your ear and never, never lets go! It truly reflects the whole show with all of the above.

If you know Northern Exposure at all, you know it doesn’t fit any mold or cliche´ of any kind. Beyond description, it’s kind of like you’re a fly on the wall observing a Theater Of The Absurd production in high definition 3D at an IMAX!

I love the color cocktail mixture of the harmonica and accordion against that beautiful, whining fretless! Chop it all up with the percussion bed and drop it in a blender to puree´. Then, CHILL, pour it in your favorite mug, close your eyes AND drink it all in!

I’ll never get enough!

Tollak Ollestad chromatic harmonica; Abe Most clarinet; Andy Narrel steel drums; Brian Mann accordion; d.Fly (David Schwartz) fretless bass; Luis Conte congas & percussion; Jim Keltner drums.

*The TV themes that stay with me reflect every character, every episode, the times the series took place in AND the genre of theater applicable; fresh forever in my music mind.

Pete Carpenter & Mike Post

The Rockford Files Theme for me is a musical pizza. You have rock, country and orchestral elements that culminate in one tastily, arranged palette!  Synth + rock guitar + harmonica underscored with those warm brass sounds really do it for me. All the elements from the Pontiac Firebird and trailer, opening message machine patter and Jim Rockford’s personality to Los Angeles’ state of art, love and politics at that time, for me, will always live through that theme.

*The TV themes that stay with me reflect every character, every episode, the times the series took place in AND the genre of theater applicable; fresh forever in my music mind.