Put Brando on a motorcycle and you get instant icon, and also a pretty good score, as composed by Leith Stevens.
The Wild One was probably the original biker movie, a precursor to the cheesy genre items that were so common in the late 60s. Unlike those films, which were accompanied by what seemed like one long fuzztone guitar riff, The Wild One was backed by cool jazz as played by some of the best West Coast musicians, as noted on the back of the LP. The pseudonyms are not hard to decode: Roger Short for Shorty Rogers and Manny Shell for Shelly Manne. (Too bad Paul Horn wasn't on the gig.)
This rip is from the original 10-inch LP; it later was issued on a 12-incher with a different cover.
I'll be back with Destination Moon, another Stevens score.
7 comments:
Allegedly Shorty Rogers was the actual composer of this score.
There was an RCA EP (extended-play) record which contained four of these numbers played by Shorty Rogers "and His Orchestra." The liner notes and the disk identified Stevens as the composer.
The same performances were reissued on a CD of Shorty Rogers. It's a great example of the West Coast jazz of the 1950's. (Great Rogers numbers like "Infinity Promenade" and "Tale of an African Lobster.") When I can lay hands on the disk, I'll see who's given as composer of the Wild One numbers.
Incidentally, another great LP of soundtrack music, also featuring Shorty Rogers, as Elmer Bernstein's "The Man with the Golden Arm."
Philip in Canada
Buster,
This is one of your best Jazz offerings on your blog. Love Shorty Rogers and west coast ’50’s jazz. Thanks for sharing.
Best regards,
love jazz film scores! thanks
Note: this is now available in a version that combines the 10-inch LP, the additional music on 12-inch version of that LP, and an EP that Shorty Rogers made with four of the same tracks:
https://mega.nz/#!mY10TC7Q!pBxPebTM6qREGg-p_m1OCHGyX4KWiuGzkOFgEMNBSEc
Thank you, Buster.
I'm so glad I didn't miss this one, nor the space saga going on @ the page, next door :)
Thank you, Buster!
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