Music for prime time : a history of American television themes and scoring

With hundreds of interviews conducted over a 35-year span, this book is the most comprehensive history of television scoring to date. Music composed for television had, until recently, never been taken seriously by scholars or critics. Catchy TV themes, often for popular weekly series, were fondly remembered but not considered much more culturally significant than commercial jingles. Yet noted composers like John Williams, Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith and Lalo Schifrin learned and/or honed their craft in television before going on to major success in feature films. Oscar-winning film composers like Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman and Maurice Jarre wrote hours of music for television projects, and such high-profile jazz figures as Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck and Quincy Jones also contributed music to TV series. Concert-hall luminaries from Aaron Copland to Leonard Bernstein, and theater writers from Jerome Moross to Richard Rodgers, penned memorable scores for TV. Music for Prime Time is the first serious, journalistic history of music for American television. It is the product of 35 years of research and more than 450 interviews with composers, orchestrators, producers, editors and musicians active in the field. Based on, but vastly expanded and revised from, an earlier book by the same author, this wide-ranging narrative not only tells the backstory of every great TV theme but also examines the many neglected and frequently underrated orchestral and jazz compositions for television dating back to the late 1940s. Covering every series genre (crime, comedy, drama, westerns, action-adventure, fantasy and sci-fi), it also looks at music for animated series, news and documentary programming, TV-movies and miniseries, and how music for television has evolved in the era of cable and streaming options. It is the most comprehensive history of television scoring ever published. "Music composed for television had, until recently, never been taken seriously by scholars or critics. Catchy TV themes, often for popular weekly series, were fondly remembered but not considered much more culturally significant than commercial jingles. Yet noted composers like John Williams, Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith and Lalo Schifrin learned and/or honed their craft in television before going on to major success in feature films. Oscar-winning film composers like Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman and Maurice Jarre wrote hours of music for television projects, and such high-profile jazz figures as Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck and Quincy Jones also contributed music to TV series. Concert-hall luminaries from Aaron Copland to Leonard Bernstein, and theater writers from Jerome Moross to Richard Rodgers, penned memorable scores for TV. Music for Prime Time is the first serious, journalistic history of music for American television. It is the product of 35 years of research and more than 450 interviews with composers, orchestrators, producers, editors and musicians active in the field. Based on, but vastly expanded and revised from, an earlier book by the same author, this wide-ranging narrative not only tells the backstory of every great TV theme but also examines the many neglected and frequently underrated orchestral and jazz compositions for television dating back to the late 1940s. Covering every series genre (crime, comedy, drama, westerns, action-adventure, fantasy and sci-fi), it also looks at music for animated series, news and documentary programming, TV-movies and miniseries, and how music for television has evolved in the era of cable and streaming options. It is the most comprehensive history of television scoring ever published"--Jacket "This meticulously researched and anecdote-filled chronicle is the first serious examination of the history of original music for television in America (and a number of programs that originated in England but became hits in the U.S.). Drawing on hundreds of interviews with composers, producers, music editors and music supervisors, it follows the history of this unique musical form-both themes and dramatic scores-from the earliest days of the medium until today. Each chapter focuses on a different TV genre (dramas, comedies, action-adventure, science-fiction and fantasy, animation, news and documentaries, TV-movies and miniseries, etc.) and, largely through the words of the songwriters and composers themselves, traces the evolution of television music, from the earliest days of the medium through today's cable and streaming offerings. Rare and, in some cases, previously unseen photographs and illustrations, help to tell the story. Rare musical examples, in the original composer's hands, from "Peter Gunn" to "Twilight Zone," are also included. Interviews with every major composer (and many minor ones) in TV music history are included, from Henry Mancini and John Williams to Jerry Goldsmith and Lalo Schifrin; the contributions of such leading contemporary film composers as Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard and Michael Giacchino are included"-- Provided by publisher ## Abstract This meticulously researched and anecdote-filled chronicle is the first serious examination of the history of original music for television in America (and a number of programs that originated in England but became hits in the US). Drawing on hundreds of interviews with composers, producers, music editors, and music supervisors, it follows the history of this unique musical form—both themes and dramatic scores—from the earliest days of the medium until today. Each chapter focuses on a different TV genre (dramas, comedies, action-adventure, science-fiction and fantasy, animation, news and documentaries, TV-movies and miniseries, etc.) and, largely through the words of the songwriters and composers themselves, traces the evolution of television music, from the earliest days of the medium through today’s cable and streaming offerings. Rare and, in some cases, previously unseen photographs and illustrations, help to tell the story. Rare musical examples, in the original composer’s hands, from “Peter Gunn” to “Twilight Zone,” are also included. Interviews with every major composer (and many minor ones) in TV music history are included, from Henry Mancini and John Williams to Jerry Goldsmith and Lalo Schifrin; the contributions of such leading contemporary film composers as Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard, and Michael Giacchino are included. This meticulously researched and anecdote-filled chronicle is the first serious examination of the history of original music for television in America (and a number of programs that originated in England but became hits in the US). Drawing on hundreds of interviews with composers, producers, music editors, and music supervisors, it follows the history of this unique musical form - both themes and dramatic scores - from the earliest days of the medium until today. Each chapter focuses on a different TV genre (dramas, comedies, action-adventure, science-fiction and fantasy, animation, news and documentaries, TV-movies and miniseries, etc.) and, largely through the words of the songwriters and composers themselves, traces the evolution of television music, from the earliest days of the medium through today's cable and streaming offerings. Rare and, in some cases, previously unseen photographs and illustrations, help to tell the story. Rare musical examples, in the original composer's hands, from "Peter Gunn" to "Twilight Zone," are also included. Interviews with every major composer (and many minor ones) in TV music history are included, from Henry Mancini and John Williams to Jerry Goldsmith and Lalo Schifrin; the contributions of such leading contemporary film composers as Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard, and Michael Giacchino are included Cover Music for Prime Time Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1 “Hi-​yo, Silver!”: The Birth of TV Music 2 “Book ’em, Danno”: Cop and Detective Shows 3 “Head ’em up! Move ’em out!”: The Westerns 4 “You are traveling through another dimension”: Fantasy and Science Fiction 5 “Man, woman, birth, death, infinity”: Drama 6 “Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale”: Comedy 7 “Your mission, should you decide to accept it”: Action-​Adventure 8 “You are there”: Documentaries, News, and Information Programming 9 “Flintstones! Meet the Flintstones!”: Cartoons in Prime Time 10 “My name is Kunta Kinte”: Made-​for-​TV Movies and Miniseries 11 “Mrs. Peel, we’re needed”: British Shows Aired in America 12 “This is the way”: Music for Cable and Streaming Services Afterword Photo Credits Bibliography and Sources Index With hundreds of interviews conducted over a 35-year span, this book presents a comprehensive history of television scoring to date. Music composed for television had, until recently, never been taken seriously by scholars or critics. Catchy TV themes, often for popular weekly series, were fondly remembered but not considered much more culturally significant than commercial jingles. Yet noted composers like John Williams, Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith and Lalo Schifrin learned and/or honed their craft in television before going on to major success in feature films. Oscar-winning film composers like Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman and Maurice Jarre wrote hours of music for television projects, and such high-profile jazz figures as Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck and Quincy Jones also contributed music to TV series