| "The Pink Panther Theme" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byHenry Mancini | ||||
| from the albumThe Pink Panther | ||||
| Released | 1963 | |||
| Recorded | 1963 | |||
| Genre | Jazz,big band | |||
| Length | 2:40 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Composer | Henry Mancini | |||
| Producer | Joe Reisman | |||
| Henry Mancini singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio | ||||
| "The Pink Panther Theme" onYouTube | ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"The Pink Panther Theme" is ajazz composition byHenry Mancini written as the theme for the 1963 filmThe Pink Panther and subsequently nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Score at the37th Academy Awards but lost to theSherman Brothers forMary Poppins. Theeponymous cartoon character created for the film's opening credits byDavid DePatie andFriz Freleng was animated in time to the tune. The tenor saxophone solo was played byPlas Johnson.
The tune was included on the film'ssoundtrack album (originally issued as RCA Victor LPM/LSP-2795) and available as asingle (in the United States) in 1964; the single reached the Top 10 on the U.S.Billboard adult contemporary chart and won threeGrammy Awards.
Various recordings of the composition appeared in the opening credits of allThe Pink Panther films exceptA Shot in the Dark andInspector Clouseau. It has also been used in theatrical shorts, television cartoons, commercials and other works in which the animated Pink Panther appears.
"The Pink Panther Theme" is composed in the key ofE minor, temporarily moves to the key of G minor for abridge, and finishes back in the original key.
In his autobiographyDid They Mention the Music?, Mancini talked about how he composed the theme music:
I told [the animators] that I would give them a tempo they could animate to, so that any time there were striking motions, someone getting hit, I could score to it.
[The animators] finished the sequence and I looked at it. All the accents in the music were timed to actions on the screen.
I had a specific saxophone player in mind—Plas Johnson. I nearly always precast my players and write for them and around them, and Plas had the sound and the style I wanted.[1]
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The theme and variations thereof were utilized in thePink Panthertheatrical shorts, composed byWilliam Lava andWalter Greene, as well as for the television seriesThe Pink Panther ShowThe New Pink Panther Show, andThe All New Pink Panther Show, the former two composed by Doug Goodwin and the latter composed by Steve DePatie.
From 1976 to 1991, the theme served as the think music forSafe Crackers, apricing game featured on the American game showThe Price Is Right.
In the 1978 filmRevenge of the Pink Panther, the theme—and much of the soundtrack from this entry in the series—drew heavily from thedisco sound of the late 1970s. The theme itself was reworked to include a dancier bassline, electric keyboard, and a guitar solo. A similar treatment was given to 1983'sCurse of the Pink Panther, where the music featured considerably more synthesized elements.
The theme was used inJohn McLaughlin andAl Di Meola's live version ofChick Corea's "Short Tales of the Black Forest", from the 1981 albumFriday Night in San Francisco.[3]
In the 1993 filmSon of the Pink Panther, the theme was rearranged and performed byBobby McFerrin in the opening titles, the only version of the theme to be performed ina cappella style. The credits featured the theme in the traditional style, similar to its appearance inReturn of the Pink Panther, with an electric keyboard bassline.
A 1990s pop-style arrangement of the theme byJared Faber is featured in the soundtrack of the 1996computer gameThe Pink Panther: Passport to Peril as the game's opening theme.
ActressesDrew Barrymore,Lucy Liu andCameron Diaz, along with Los Angeles–based entertainersThe Pussycat Dolls, danced to the theme in their filmCharlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003).
Christophe Beck rearranged the music for various uses inthe 2006 reboot and its sequel,The Pink Panther 2—DJPaul Oakenfold remixed the theme song for the 2006 film. Mancini is given a posthumous credit in the opening titles for the theme.
The theme was featured in the filmThe Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004).
A rearranged rock-styled electric-guitar version of Henry Mancini's "Pink Panther Theme", composed by David Ricard, was used for the short-livedPink Panther and Pals series in 2010.
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[4] Mastertone | Gold | 500,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
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