News - A Mancini Anthology

"Good music can improve a fine film, but it can never make a bad film good. We composers are not magicians. We write music."
-- Henry Mancini

Poll # 1 - Besides "Moon River" which is your favorite Mancini song from Movies ?
Poll # 2 - Best Mancini release of 2004

May 12, 2012 - La-La Land Records has released Mommie Dearest, which has been available only as a promo for a few collectors, now with source cues and alternate cues. Kudos!

January 31, 2012 - What a great start of the year! Kritzerland will release the complete soundtrack of : The Molly Maguires, plus the unreleased score for the film by Charles Strouse.

March 21, 2011 - Intrada does it again! Complete soundtrack of : Trail of the Pink Panther, thumbs up!

January 20, 2011 - Quartet Records will release in February another unreleased Mancini score: Harry and Son, good job Quartet!

September 15, 2010 - Quartet Records will release in late September an unreleased Mancini score: Curse of the Pink Panther, a great soundtrack, kudos Quartet!

June 10, 2010 - Vocalion has released a 2-on-1 CD with Mancini's Angels & The Theme Scene. Mancini's Angels is released in CD format.

May 24, 2010 - And Intrada keep spoiling us, with a brilliant unreleased score from 1974, of 99 and 44/100% Dead! which before only had the main theme included in Hangin' Out recording. The score has 20 tracks with some bonus tracks. Kudos! By the way, Hangin' Out on CD would be great too, I'm just saying.....

March 2, 2010 - And another great release from Intrada, and this is not only the release in CD format of The Hawaiians but also, they found the original mono soundtrack and not the rerecording made by Mancini. Great 2CD release!

February 23, 2010 - A great new release from Kritzerland, who already gave us Gaily, Gaily CD release, now with the unreleased score for Married to it, for pre-order now but due to release on April of this year. Good!

November 27, 2009 - Added some photos from a 1962 program. Also, added the CD release of Gaily, Gaily including liner notes related to the score.

June 1, 2009 - And the news keeps getting better. Film Score Monthly has released The Thief Who Came to Dinner. This score was never released in CD format but that's not all, it includes also 12 bonus tracks, 3 source music and 2 demo tracks.

March 23, 2009 - Finally a new release! Varese Sarabande is releasing on April 6yh, Nightwing. This is another unreleased score from the guys at Varese Sarabande. For more information, go to Varese's site.

July 23, 2008 - Got the The Man Who Loved Women CD and it is great. Very much in the 80s feel and I have included partial liner notes. The parts where they talk about the music or Mancini

June 13, 2008 - Great news! Varese Sarabande is releasing on June 30, The Man Who Loved Women. This is an unreleased score so every Mancini fan must be excited about this one. For more information, go to Varese's site.

November 7, 2007 - Found some info on So This is Paris EP, but this has the Songs from the Soundtrack, and not the incidental (uncredited) music composed by Mancini. Anyway, for information purposes....

November 5, 2007 - Now is again the turn for BuySoundtrax Records with a complete score for Without a Clue, official release. There was a promo that was shared among collectors but with only half the music.

June 21 2007 - Film Score Monthly has released a great new CD: Wait Until Dark, first time release, and with 3 bonus tracks. Keep them coming!

May 29 2007 - I have recreated the Soundtrack Listing. I have verified dates with IMDB.com and now it also has comments on Mancini's involvement for most of the movies. New movie references has been added. All of this thanks to the collaboration of our dear friend, Dan Miles.
Also there are track listings and cover for Without a Clue unofficial recording and notes for Me, Natalie by Rod McKuen. And a couple of lyrics!

April 26 2007 - I have created a card similar to the baseball cards. Here is Mancini Card 1

April 16 2007 - Happy Birthday Hank! We missed you music so much! Let's play some charade humming moon river chasing a pink panther with the help of Peter Gunn. Well, you get the idea....

December 7th 2006 - Just a small message to wish you all a merry Christmas!

October 14th 2006 - At last, a new release. A complete release by BuySoundtrax Records of Lifeforce, with the complete score, the original release and a bonus track composed by Mancini plus the additional music by Michael Kamen.

February 10th 2006 - I have removed the Guestbook because there were only 2 comments and pages and pages of spam. So if you have any comment on the site, or inquiry please contact me at the email address provided on the left menu. Sorry for the inconvenience!

December 20th 2005 - Best wishes on this coming Christmas. Also let's hope this next year will include more releases of the great Hank, there are still a lot of musical treasures to be found!. Hope these holidays find you all in good health and good company!

October 17th, 2005 - I bought a lot of 45 rpm Singles of old Mancini compositions so I am updating the soundtrack recordings with these singles. Although composed by Mancini, not all are performed by his orchestra but worth mentioning. Check Foxfire, One Desire, The Private War of Major Benson, Six Bridges to Cross, The World in my Corner, Rock Pretty Baby, Four Girls in Town, Oklahoma Crude and Once is not Enough.

July 3rd, 2005 - Small update with an article from Sheet Music Magazine, The Mancini Generation Goes On: Talking with Henry and the lyrics for Theme from Mr. Lucky.

June 11th, 2005 - Our site has a new location. Here, at SoundtrackFan.Com domain. From now on, all updates will be uploaded here.

March 21st, 2005 - Last week I launched a new site called Live Scores. This site was made to serve as a reference to TV and movie appearances of film composers, also live recordings, radio programs, interviews, printed materials and some website links. Of course, there is a section on Henry Mancini, take a look!

January 8th, 2005 - The information on Bachelor in Paradise soundtrack has the proper cover now ! Not the Penelope cover. And I have transcribed a part of the liner notes. If you still not have it, I hope that this will help you decide and get while you can ! To order the CD go to the Film Score Monthly website.

December 23th, 2004 - The year is almost over and it is a good time to revisit the Mancini cds released this year. Let's see, there was the Ultimate Mancini tribute CD, Oklahoma Crude reissue, Pink Guitar, Pink Panther's Penthouse Party and Midnight, Moonlight & Magic compilation. Also, Phil Woods and Carl Saunders recording of Mancini tunes. The official websites about Henry Mancini and The Pink Panther. So, what would have made this year, a remarkable one ? If we only had more soundtrack releases, even reissues!

But wait a minute, we haven't finished the year yet. We still have a great news. The release for the first time of the Bachelor in Paradise soundtrack by Film Score Monthly. It is a double feature, coupled with Penelope, composed by John Williams. Bachelor in Paradise has 27 tracks, 17 regular ones and 10 bonus tracks. What a great way to finish the year ! Ordered this soundtrack now, and congratulations to the staff of FSM for this great release.

September 25th, 2004 - And the winner of the contest is ... Dan Miles. Congratulations !
Some of the answers are displayed in the Results page. Thanks to all participating fans.

Also, for the answer to question 4 about the instrument played in The Thorn Birds soundtrack and the musician who played it, check this article from Frets magazine - July 83 issue.

August 28th, 2004 - The Contest has been extended for two weeks more, ending on September 20th, because I won't be available until near the dateline. But keep the answers or messages coming and I will check them when I return. Also, I got the book Case History of a Film Score by Henry Mancini - The Thorn Birds and it is great, it has two parts, pre-production and the music. On first part you will see the process of how Mancini created the themes and on the second part, there are 16 musical examples with music cues and arrangements for various instruments, plus the companion cd. Check the book page and see the Table of Contents.

August 23st, 2004 - The contest has started ! You have until two weeks, that is, until September 6th, to submit your answers to the Questionnaire. The prize is one (1) copy of the book Case History of a Film Score by Henry Mancini - The Thorn Birds. The book is provided courtesy of Warner Bros. Publications and winners are judged, chosen, and notified by this website.

July 29th, 2004 - Information of the release of a book analyzing the film score of The Thorn Birds by Warner Bros. Publications. Includes a cd with musical examples of the recordings: Case History of a Film Score by Henry Mancini - The Thorn Birds. Check here for an update for a contest for a free book awarded by the publishers. Soon.

April 28th, 2004 - Received cover and track listings for Mommie Dearest Promo. Thanks to Roger Hammonds.

April 26th, 2004 - Today we are celebrating what could have been Mr. Mancini's 80th Birthday. Let's celebrate his music by remember him and his music. Let's play some Peter Gunn, Moon River, Pink Panther, The Party and many other tunes on this day.

March 28th, 2004 - Varese Sarabande has announced the upcoming release of the soundtrack of The Thorn Birds, a 2CD edition on April 27th. A long-awaited release coming one day after the anniversary of Mr. Mancini's birth. Great ! The day of release is set on May 4 of this year.

March 24th, 2004 - The tribute Cd, Ultimate Mancini has been officially launched and it is available in many stores, including Amazon. Although there is not much information yet, it is supposed to featured Monica Mancini singing in many of the tracks with the exception of Moon River performed by Take Six and Stevie Wonder on the harmonica. Also, Plas Johnson and Tom Scott on the saxophones.

January 16th, 2004 - Well, 2004 is already here and we expect great Mancini events for this year.
If any Mancini fan was present at the Christmas concert at Walt Disney Hall last year, may that person sent us a review (no matter how big or small it is, I will place it here !).

Also, Music From The Films Of Audrey Hepburn liner notes were transcribed by Stephan Huber.
Thanks Stephan for your continuing support to this site.

December 22th, 2003 - Transcribed more liner notes.

December 10th, 2003 - Transcribed 18 liner notes including Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. And for those daring souls, even the japanese liner notes from Sunflower (Himawari in japanese).

Look out for 2004 ! The Mancini Year. Celebrating the 80 years since the born of the Maestro, the US Postal Service will issue a commemorative stamp on April 13, 2004. There will many events such as a tribute cd: Ultimate Mancini, a tribute concert, reissue of Did They Mention The Music ?, rededication of Star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Mancini in the Schools - a CD-Rom to be sent to 30,000 schools and the first event will be on December 23 of 2003, at the new Walt Disney Hall celebrating Xmas. These and more news and events here: http://www.henrymancini.com/

August 24th, 2003 - New location for this website, now in the domain ferhiga.com. Also, we're ready for the Intrada release of Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. A rare occasion with a soundtrack never released before with two bonus tracks. Also, track listings and covers from the only two bootlegs that I know from Mr. Mancini's works: Lifeforce Expanded and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

July 17th, 2003 - Welcome the first two fan contributions to the section: Fan Comments. It is a great contribution, just go and see what other Mr. Mancini fans felt about his music. If you also want to place your comments go to the Instructions.

June 4th, 2003 - Created a new section: Your Comments. It will feature up to 3 pages of Mancini's fan comments on his music, what music was the one that made you a fan, your oldest recording, well, you have the idea. Come on and share with others your passion ...
Also added two more Liner Notes, Lifeforce and The Mancini Touch.

April 17, 2003 - Added links to Amazon CDs and books, and corrected minor errors. .

July 17, 2002 - Added some quotes over the main pages from Mr. Mancini and added more Mancini's own recordings.

June 30, 2002 - Launching of this site : Soundtrack Fan, with the first section devoted to a film composer: A Mancini Anthology. There are some sections that are only partially completed.
I promise to work on them and update the page very soon.