The Pink Panther (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Pink Panther Theme" is an instrumental composition by Henry Mancini
written as the theme for the 1963 film The Pink Panther
and subsequently nominated for the 1964 Academy Award for Original Music Score
. The cartoon character created for the opening credits of the movie by David DePatie
and Friz Freleng
was animated in time to the tune.The soloist of this song was Plas Johnson
.
RCA Records
released the tune as a single
in 1964; it reached the Top 10 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart
and won three Grammy Award
s.
It was featured in the opening credits of all The Pink Panther
films, with the exception of A Shot in the Dark
, and Inspector Clouseau.
, the theme, and much of the soundtrack from this entry in the series, draw heavily from the "disco" trends of the late 1970s. The theme itself was reworked to include a more dancy bassline, electric piano, and guitar solo. A similar thing was done for 1983's Curse of the Pink Panther
, where it had more electronic sounds incorporated.
The theme was used in John McLaughlin
and Al Di Meola's
live version of Chick Corea's
Short Tales of the Black Forest, from the 1981 album Friday Night in San Francisco
.
The Tibo Toussaint Orchestra perform a version on the 1988 album Sound of Movies: 20 Great Themes.
In the 1993 movie Son of the Pink Panther
, the theme was rearranged and performed by Bobby McFerrin
in the opening titles. This version was unique in being the only version to be done in the style of acapella.
The Japanese punk rock
band Hi-Standard
recorded a punk cover of the theme and placed it as a hidden track
on their Angry Fist
album, which was released in 1997.
La Pantera Mambo is the most famous song of the Colombian salsa band La 33 (read article in french about the band) and is based on The Pink Panther Theme.
A tango version of the theme is a standard part of Cuarteto Almagro's repertoire as "Pantera Tanguera." It was released on their album "Hemisferios" in 2003.
During a recorded concert by The Brian Setzer Orchestra
(featured in The Brian Setzer Orchestra: The Ultimate Collection) while playing a version of "Stray Cat Strut
," the band slows down and plays "The Pink Panther Theme."
Christophe Beck
rearranged the music for the 2006 reboot
, as well as its sequel, The Pink Panther 2.
Paul Oakenfold
remixed the theme song for the 2006 film.
In 2007, saxophonist Dave Koz
recorded a version from his Standards
album At The Movies.
Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal used the music as his solo during the band's Chinese Democracy 2009/10 Tour.
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
written as the theme for the 1963 film The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther (1963 film)
The Pink Panther is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine, and Claudia Cardinale...
and subsequently nominated for the 1964 Academy Award for Original Music Score
Academy Award for Original Music Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
. The cartoon character created for the opening credits of the movie by David DePatie
David DePatie
David Hudson DePatie was the last executive in charge of the original Warner Bros. Cartoons cartoon studio and was charged with closing it in 1963. Afterward, DePatie and longtime Warners animator Friz Freleng formed DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, with many former Warners animators joining them...
and Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
was animated in time to the tune.The soloist of this song was Plas Johnson
Plas Johnson
Plas John Johnson Jr. is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most familiar as the lead on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme"....
.
RCA Records
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...
released the tune as a 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...
in 1964; it reached the Top 10 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart
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...
and won three Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s.
It was featured in the opening credits of all The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther is a series of comedy films featuring the bungling French police detective Jacques Clouseau that began in 1963 with the release of the film of the same name. The role was originated by, and is most closely associated with, Peter Sellers...
films, with the exception of A Shot in the Dark
A Shot in the Dark (1964 film)
A Shot in the Dark is a 1964 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment in the Pink Panther series. Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté...
, and Inspector Clouseau.
Use in other media
- A variation of "The Pink Panther Theme" performed by Hollywood Studio OrchestraHollywood Studio SymphonyThe Hollywood Studio Symphony is the credited name of the symphony orchestra behind many major soundtracks, including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Sucker Punch, Jurassic Park 3, Last Samurai, Pirates of the Caribbean, We Are Marshall, Spider-Man 2, Lost and The...
was used in the film Charlie's Angels: Full ThrottleCharlie's Angels: Full ThrottleCharlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a 2003 American action comedy film. It is the sequel to 2000's Charlie's Angels. It opened in the United States on June 27, 2003, and was number one at the box office for that weekend and made a worldwide total of $259.2 million.The cast again includes Cameron...
as the background music at a burlesque club. - The original theme by Henry Mancini was used in the recurrente sketch "Los Caquitos" from the mexican sitcom "Chespirito" as the theme to Ramón Valdés' character "Peterete".
- From 1976 until 1993, it was used in the pricing game "Safe Crackers" on the U.S. game show The Price Is RightThe Price Is RightThe Price Is Right is a television game show franchise originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, and created by Bob Stewart, and is currently produced and owned by FremantleMedia. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also includes merchandise such as video games, printed...
. The theme was played as the doors opened to reveal the game set, and again as "think music" while the contestant played the game. - In the 5th season of MoonlightingMoonlightingMoonlighting is the practice of holding a second job . It may also refer to:* Moonlighting , a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski* Moonlighting , broadcast in 1985–1989 and starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd...
it is used in the episode "Shirts and Skins." - In the film Ice PrincessIce PrincessIce Princess is a 2005 American figure-skating film directed by Tim Fywell, Starring Michelle Trachtenberg, Joan Cusack, Kim Cattrall, Hayden Panettiere, Trevor Blumas, and Kirsten Olson...
, it is used as the music for the character Nikki's figure-skating routine. - In the Indonesian comedy film Warkop (Warung Kopi) it is used as the theme song.
- In season 7 (2008) of Dancing with the Stars, Kim KardashianKim KardashianKimberly Noel "Kim" Kardashian is an American socialite, television personality, model, actress and businesswoman. She is known for the E! reality series that she shares with her family—Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and its spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take New York...
and her professional dance partner Mark BallasMark BallasMark Alexander Ballas Jr. is an American dancer.Ballas is a professional ballroom dancer on the ABC program Dancing with the Stars. He began competing on the show in the fall of 2007. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography in 2011...
did a Foxtrot to "The Pink Panther Theme." - On the radio station 98fmDublin's 9898FM is an independent local radio station in Dublin, Ireland, operated by Radio Two Thousand Limited, a subsidiary of Denis O'Brien's Communicorp Limited, under a sound broadcasting contract from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. The station broadcasts on the 98.1 MHz FM frequency...
(Dublin, Ireland) a variation of "The Pink Panther Theme" was used for "The Secret Sound of The City." - In 2010, an Iranian website used the theme as the musical background for a cartoon themed site that claims that "the killing of 6 million Jews in the Second World War known as the Holocaust was a sheer lie."
Other versions
In the 1978 movie Revenge of the Pink PantherRevenge of the Pink Panther
Revenge of the Pink Panther is the sixth film in the Pink Panther film series. Released in 1978, Revenge of was the last entry featuring series star Peter Sellers, who died in 1980...
, the theme, and much of the soundtrack from this entry in the series, draw heavily from the "disco" trends of the late 1970s. The theme itself was reworked to include a more dancy bassline, electric piano, and guitar solo. A similar thing was done for 1983's Curse of the Pink Panther
Curse of the Pink Panther
Curse of the Pink Panther is a 1983 comedy film, the eighth installment of the The Pink Panther series of films started by Blake Edwards in the early 1960s....
, where it had more electronic sounds incorporated.
The theme was used in John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
and Al Di Meola's
Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola is an acclaimed American jazz fusion and Latin guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date...
live version of Chick Corea's
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
Short Tales of the Black Forest, from the 1981 album Friday Night in San Francisco
Friday Night in San Francisco
Friday Night in San Francisco is a 1981 live album by Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía. It was recorded at The Warfield Theatre on 5 December 1980, in San Francisco.-Side one:#"Mediterranean Sundance/Río Ancho" – 11:25...
.
The Tibo Toussaint Orchestra perform a version on the 1988 album Sound of Movies: 20 Great Themes.
In the 1993 movie Son of the Pink Panther
Son of the Pink Panther
Son of the Pink Panther is the ninth entry in the 30-year-old The Pink Panther film series. Directed by Blake Edwards, it stars Roberto Benigni as Inspector Clouseau's illegitimate son. Also in this film are Panther regulars Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk and Graham Stark and a star of the original 1963...
, the theme was rearranged and performed by Bobby McFerrin
Bobby McFerrin
Robert "Bobby" McFerrin, Jr. is an American vocalist and conductor. He is best known for his 1988 hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". He is a ten-time Grammy Award winner.-Life:...
in the opening titles. This version was unique in being the only version to be done in the style of acapella.
The Japanese punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Hi-Standard
Hi-Standard
Hi-Standard is a Japanese punk rock band who formed in 1991. The release Making the Road sparked sold-out Japan shows and US/European tours with punk bands such as NOFX, No Use for a Name and WIZO. Although members of Hi-Standard were Japanese born, all of the band's major releases were sung in...
recorded a punk cover of the theme and placed it as a hidden track
Hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
on their Angry Fist
Angry Fist
Angry Fist is the second album from Japanese punk rock band, Hi-Standard. It was released on American label, Fat Wreck Chords, in July 1997.-Track listing:*All songs written by Hi-Standard, unless otherwise stated....
album, which was released in 1997.
La Pantera Mambo is the most famous song of the Colombian salsa band La 33 (read article in french about the band) and is based on The Pink Panther Theme.
A tango version of the theme is a standard part of Cuarteto Almagro's repertoire as "Pantera Tanguera." It was released on their album "Hemisferios" in 2003.
During a recorded concert by The Brian Setzer Orchestra
The Brian Setzer Orchestra
The Brian Setzer Orchestra is a swing and jump blues band formed in 1990 by Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer. The group had success covering Louis Prima's "Jump Jive an' Wail", which appeared on Prima's 1957 album The Wildest!...
(featured in The Brian Setzer Orchestra: The Ultimate Collection) while playing a version of "Stray Cat Strut
Stray Cat Strut
"Stray Cat Strut" is the eighth track on the Stray Cats' debut album, Stray Cats, released in 1981 in the UK. In the US, the song was first released in 1982 on Built for Speed. The song became a hit in the US, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, over a year after it had reached its...
," the band slows down and plays "The Pink Panther Theme."
Christophe Beck
Christophe Beck
Christophe Beck , also credited as Chris Beck, is a Canadian television and film score composer....
rearranged the music for the 2006 reboot
The Pink Panther (2006 film)
The Pink Panther is a 2006 American comedy film and a reboot of The Pink Panther film series. In this film, Inspector Jacques Clouseau is assigned to solve the murder of a famous soccer coach and the theft of the famous Pink Panther diamond. The film also stars Kevin Kline, Jean Reno, Emily...
, as well as its sequel, The Pink Panther 2.
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold is a British record producer and a trance DJ.-Early Career: 1979–84:Paul Oakenfold's career was set to be a chef, after having hopes of becoming part of a band. He describes his early life as a "bedroom deejay" in a podcasted interview with Vancouver's 24 Hours, stating he grew...
remixed the theme song for the 2006 film.
In 2007, saxophonist Dave Koz
Dave Koz
Dave Koz is an American smooth jazz saxophonist.- Life and career :Dave Koz was born on March 27, 1963 in Encino, California....
recorded a version from his Standards
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
album At The Movies.
Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal used the music as his solo during the band's Chinese Democracy 2009/10 Tour.