The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (theme)
Encyclopedia
"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is the theme to the 1966 film of the same name
, which was directed by Sergio Leone
. Included on the film soundtrack
as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (main title)", the instrumental piece was composed by Ennio Morricone
, with Bruno Nicolai
conducting the orchestra. A cover version
by Hugo Montenegro
in 1968 was a pop hit in both the U.S. and the U.K.
is an Italian composer who has created music for dozens of films. In the 1960s, director Sergio Leone was impressed by a musical arrangement of Morricone's and asked his former schoolmate to compose music for one of his films, A Fistful of Dollars
. This led to a collaboration between the two on future Leone films, some of which came to be referred to as "Spaghetti Western
s". After a steady percussion beat, the theme to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly begins with a two-note melody sounding like the howl of a coyote. Additional sounds follow, some of which symbolize characters and themes from the film. This instrumental composition plays at the beginning of the film. Largely due to the memorable quality of the main theme, the film's soundtrack peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200
album chart, and it stayed on this chart for over a year.
was an American composer and orchestra leader who began scoring films in the 1960s. After hearing the music from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, he decided to create a cover version
of the theme. Musician Tommy Morgen is quoted in Wesley Hyatt's The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits as saying that Montenegro's version "...was done in one day. I think it was all day one Saturday at RCA
." Similar to Morricone's original composition, Montenegro and a few session musicians sought to recreate this record using their own instrumentation. The opening two note segment was played on an ocarina
by Art Smith; Morgen provided the sounds that followed on a harmonica
. He was quoted as saying: "I knew it was live, so I had to do this hand thing, the 'wah-wah-wah' sound." Hyatt's book states that Montenegro himself "grunted something which came out like 'rep, rup, rep, rup, rep'" between the chorus segments. Other musicians heard on the record include Elliot Fisher (electric violin
), Manny Klein
(piccolo trumpet
) and Muzzy Marcellino
, whose whistling
is heard during the recording.
Much to the surprise of Montenegro and the musicians who worked with him, this cover of the film theme became a hit single
during 1968. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart in June of that year, held out of the top spot by another song from a film, Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson
" (from the 1967 film The Graduate
). It spent three weeks atop the Billboard Easy Listening
chart during the same time frame. In September 1968, Montenegro's version reached the UK Singles Chart
and began a steady climb, eventually reaching the top of the chart on 16 November and remaining there for four weeks.
has used the opening notes of this theme in multiple episodes over the years.
Among numerous musicians who have, in full or in part, borrowed or sampled
from this song are Gorillaz
, whose 2001 debut single, "Clint Eastwood
", was so named because it reminded the group of Morricone's theme and its melodic structure. Bill Berry
, former drummer of the band R.E.M.
, played what was dubbed an "Ennio whistle" on the track "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us
", from their 1996 album New Adventures in Hi-Fi
. The song was also covered by The Pogues
for the soundtrack of the parodic western Straight to Hell.
The Ramones
were known to play a cover of this song live at the beginning of their setlist. The song is also featured in the video game, Maestro! Jump in Music
. 80's R & B band Cameo
used the theme's opening whistle in their singles Word Up!
and Single Life. Las Vegas, Nevada
-based band Sin City Sinners
always walk onto stage with a recording of the tune playing in the background.
The song was also used in TV commercials for Camel Cigarettes during the 1980s.
It was sampled for the remix of rapper Busta Rhymes
's song, "Stop The Party", after T.I.
's verse.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles. The screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone, based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone...
, which was directed by Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
. Included on the film soundtrack
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (soundtrack)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released in 1966 alongside the western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, directed by Sergio Leone. The score is composed by frequent Leone collaborator Ennio Morricone, whose distinctive original compositions, containing...
as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (main title)", the instrumental piece was composed by Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
, with Bruno Nicolai
Bruno Nicolai
Bruno Nicolai was an Italian film music composer, orchestra director and musical editor most active in the 1960s through the 1980s...
conducting the orchestra. A cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Hugo Montenegro
Hugo Montenegro
Hugo Montenegro was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best known work is derived from interpretations of the music from Spaghetti westerns, especially his cover version of the main theme from the 1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
in 1968 was a pop hit in both the U.S. and the U.K.
Ennio Morricone version
Ennio MorriconeEnnio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
is an Italian composer who has created music for dozens of films. In the 1960s, director Sergio Leone was impressed by a musical arrangement of Morricone's and asked his former schoolmate to compose music for one of his films, A Fistful of Dollars
A Fistful of Dollars
A Fistful of Dollars is a 1964 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood alongside Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp, José Calvo, Antonio Prieto, and Joseph Egger. Released in Italy in 1964 then in the United States in...
. This led to a collaboration between the two on future Leone films, some of which came to be referred to as "Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
s". After a steady percussion beat, the theme to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly begins with a two-note melody sounding like the howl of a coyote. Additional sounds follow, some of which symbolize characters and themes from the film. This instrumental composition plays at the beginning of the film. Largely due to the memorable quality of the main theme, the film's soundtrack peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart, and it stayed on this chart for over a year.
Hugo Montenegro version
Hugo MontenegroHugo Montenegro
Hugo Montenegro was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best known work is derived from interpretations of the music from Spaghetti westerns, especially his cover version of the main theme from the 1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
was an American composer and orchestra leader who began scoring films in the 1960s. After hearing the music from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, he decided to create a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the theme. Musician Tommy Morgen is quoted in Wesley Hyatt's The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits as saying that Montenegro's version "...was done in one day. I think it was all day one Saturday at RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
." Similar to Morricone's original composition, Montenegro and a few session musicians sought to recreate this record using their own instrumentation. The opening two note segment was played on an ocarina
Ocarina
The ocarina is an ancient flute-like wind instrument. Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body...
by Art Smith; Morgen provided the sounds that followed on a harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
. He was quoted as saying: "I knew it was live, so I had to do this hand thing, the 'wah-wah-wah' sound." Hyatt's book states that Montenegro himself "grunted something which came out like 'rep, rup, rep, rup, rep'" between the chorus segments. Other musicians heard on the record include Elliot Fisher (electric violin
Electric violin
An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
), Manny Klein
Manny Klein
Manny Klein was a jazz trumpeter most associated with swing.He began with Paul Whiteman in 1928 and was active throughout the 1930s playing with several major bands of the era including the Dorseys and Benny Goodman. In 1937, he moved to California and worked with Frank Trumbauer's orchestra...
(piccolo trumpet
Piccolo trumpet
The smallest of the trumpet family is the piccolo trumpet, pitched one octave higher than the standard B trumpet. Most piccolo trumpets are built to play in either B or A, using a separate leadpipe for each key. The tubing in the B piccolo trumpet is one-half the length of that in a standard B...
) and Muzzy Marcellino
Muzzy Marcellino
Maurice "Muzzy" Marcellino was an American singer and musician, known primarily for his clear, melodious style of whistling....
, whose whistling
Whistling
Human whistling is the production of sound by means of carefully controlling a stream of air flowing through a small hole. Whistling can be achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips and then blowing or sucking air through the hole...
is heard during the recording.
Much to the surprise of Montenegro and the musicians who worked with him, this cover of the film theme became a hit single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
during 1968. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in June of that year, held out of the top spot by another song from a film, Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson
Mrs. Robinson
"Mrs. Robinson" is a song written by Paul Simon and first performed by Simon & Garfunkel. When released as a single in 1968, it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, for their second chart-topping hit after "The Sound of Silence"...
" (from the 1967 film The Graduate
The Graduate
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
). It spent three weeks atop the Billboard Easy Listening
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
chart during the same time frame. In September 1968, Montenegro's version reached the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and began a steady climb, eventually reaching the top of the chart on 16 November and remaining there for four weeks.
Other uses
Detailing this song in a description of the film soundtrack, the website CD Universe states that it is "so familiar as to be a cultural touchstone. Even an abbreviated sound byte of the theme is enough to conjure images of desolate desert plains, rolling tumbleweeds, and a cowboy-booted figure standing ominously in the distance." It has been used frequently to convey these sorts of images on radio, film and television in the years since the film's release. The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
has used the opening notes of this theme in multiple episodes over the years.
Among numerous musicians who have, in full or in part, borrowed or sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
from this song are Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
, whose 2001 debut single, "Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood (song)
"Clint Eastwood" is a song by Gorillaz. It was released as the first single from their debut album in March 2001. It peaked at #4 in the UK and #57 in the US on 11 September 2001. The single has sold 480,000 copies in the UK according to the Official UK Charts Company. The song is a mix of...
", was so named because it reminded the group of Morricone's theme and its melodic structure. Bill Berry
Bill Berry
William "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....
, former drummer of the band R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, played what was dubbed an "Ennio whistle" on the track "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us
How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us
"How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us" is a song by R.E.M., released as the fourth and final single from their tenth studio album New Adventures in Hi-Fi in 1997. It was released in Germany and Japan....
", from their 1996 album New Adventures in Hi-Fi
New Adventures in Hi-Fi
New Adventures in Hi-Fi is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia and the following day in the United States...
. The song was also covered by The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
for the soundtrack of the parodic western Straight to Hell.
The Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
were known to play a cover of this song live at the beginning of their setlist. The song is also featured in the video game, Maestro! Jump in Music
Maestro! Jump in Music
Maestro! Jump In Music is a rhythm action game for the Nintendo DS and iPhone OS. It is published by BigBen Interactive and developed by Pastagames and Neko Entertainment. The game was released for the Nintendo DS in Europe on November 6, 2009...
. 80's R & B band Cameo
Cameo (band)
Cameo is an American soul-influenced funk group that formed in the early 1970s. Cameo was initially a 13-member group known as the New York City Players; this name was later changed to Cameo to avoid a lawsuit from Ohio Players, another group from that era. Since then, Cameo has recorded several...
used the theme's opening whistle in their singles Word Up!
Word Up! (song)
"Word Up!" is a funk/hip hop song written and originally recorded by Cameo in 1986. Due to its heavy play on American dance and R&B radio, as well as music video play on MTV , the single became the band's most well-known hit.From the album of the same name, "Word Up!" was Nick's first US Top 40...
and Single Life. Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
-based band Sin City Sinners
Sin City Sinners
Sin City Sinners is a group of prominent musicians who perform self-penned originals and rock and roll covers at key venues throughout Las Vegas, Nevada...
always walk onto stage with a recording of the tune playing in the background.
The song was also used in TV commercials for Camel Cigarettes during the 1980s.
It was sampled for the remix of rapper Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
's song, "Stop The Party", after T.I.
T.I.
Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....
's verse.
External links
- Montenegro 7" vinyl (UK) Discogs
- Montenegro 7" vinyl (US) Discogs