Elmer Bernstein - Themes for General Electric

Here is a highly enjoyable LP from the great film maestro Elmer Bernstein, conducting his own compositions.

The album includes themes that Bernstein composed for the 1958-59 season of the General Electric Theater. As the cover above tells us, Ronald Reagan, later to become US President, was the host and "program supervisor" for the series - and apparently owned a hunk of it. The show was successful, running for nearly a decade on TV.

Bernstein in the studio, circa late 1950s

That noted authority, Wikipedia, passes along the theory that then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy pressured GE to fire Reagan, insisting that the company would receive no government contracts unless it did so. The whole tale strikes me as being unlikely.

But back to the music, which is highly effective, as usual with Bernstein, a true master. I transferred this record many years ago for sharing on another forum. I recently revisited the files and redid the sound for posting here.

The LP is strongly recommended if you like film music.