Uploaded March 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
AND THE GRAMMY AWARD FOR BEST SONG GOES TO - 1964
Winning Composer : Henry Mancini
Winning Song : "Days of Wine and Roses"
The other nominees that year were :
Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen for "Call Me Irresponsible" performed by Frank Sinatra
Sacha Distel and Jack Reardon for "The Good Life" performed by Tony Bennett
Sadie Vimmerstedt and Johnny Mercer for "I Wanna Be Around" performed by Tony Bennett
Burt Bacharach and Hal David for "Wives and Lovers" performed by Jack Jones
WARREN BARKER
Best known for his jazzy score and best-selling soundtrack album from the television series, "77 Sunset Strip", Barker played piano and trumpet in school and then attended UCLA, where he studied under the composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. After serving in the Army Air Corps, where he played in a band, he returned to Los Angeles and began a long association with radio, television, and movie studios. He worked as staff director for Warner Borthers Record for nearly a dozen years, leaving in 1960 to focus on television work.
His TV credits include musical direction for the TV series "Hawaiian Eye" and orchestrations for such Nick-at-Night classics as "Bewtiched," "Daktari," "That Girl," and "The Flying Nun"--including that little xylophone thing that plays whenever Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) wiggles her nose to cast a spell. He imprinted a bit of 1970s cultural history into a generation's genetic code with his theme for the "Donny and Marie Osmond Show," "A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock-n-Roll." Barker also wrote the scores for the films Strange Lovers and The Zebra in the Kitchen. He retired from the studio scene in the early 1980s and devoted his time thereafter to writing and conducting original compositions for concert bands and wind ensembles.
PETITE
Track appearing on the 1959 album "A Musical Touch of Far Away Places" released by Warner Brothers.
Arrangements are by Martin Denny and Warren Barker.
MHO
This is a real treat for the "exotica lovers" among us (style Les Baxter, Martin Denny and others), but then again : this could be called "orchestral exotica" because the orchestration is much more lavish with emphasis on the (high pitch) violins. Consequently; the album from which this track has been taken is popular with "common" easy listening fans as well. Critics have described the album as "significantly underrated" and that might be the case indeed. On the sleeve cover is mentioned (specifically for this track) that "the music has been arranged in a "Philippinish way" but we have no clear explanation as to what that may mean ... Suppose this has to be seen in the "time context" of the end 1950s when "exotica" was considered to be "the hype of the moment". Whatever the case : this is just very original easy listening music with "an exotic touch".
As such, it inspired us to bring you our theme presentation titled "Moonlight Dancing" (It's Pure Magic). Enjoy !
AND THE GRAMMY AWARD FOR BEST SONG GOES TO - 1964
Winning Composer : Henry Mancini
Winning Song : "Days of Wine and Roses"
The other nominees that year were :
Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen for "Call Me Irresponsible" performed by Frank Sinatra
Sacha Distel and Jack Reardon for "The Good Life" performed by Tony Bennett
Sadie Vimmerstedt and Johnny Mercer for "I Wanna Be Around" performed by Tony Bennett
Burt Bacharach and Hal David for "Wives and Lovers" performed by Jack Jones
WARREN BARKER
Best known for his jazzy score and best-selling soundtrack album from the television series, "77 Sunset Strip", Barker played piano and trumpet in school and then attended UCLA, where he studied under the composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. After serving in the Army Air Corps, where he played in a band, he returned to Los Angeles and began a long association with radio, television, and movie studios. He worked as staff director for Warner Borthers Record for nearly a dozen years, leaving in 1960 to focus on television work.
His TV credits include musical direction for the TV series "Hawaiian Eye" and orchestrations for such Nick-at-Night classics as "Bewtiched," "Daktari," "That Girl," and "The Flying Nun"--including that little xylophone thing that plays whenever Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) wiggles her nose to cast a spell. He imprinted a bit of 1970s cultural history into a generation's genetic code with his theme for the "Donny and Marie Osmond Show," "A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock-n-Roll." Barker also wrote the scores for the films Strange Lovers and The Zebra in the Kitchen. He retired from the studio scene in the early 1980s and devoted his time thereafter to writing and conducting original compositions for concert bands and wind ensembles.
PETITE
Track appearing on the 1959 album "A Musical Touch of Far Away Places" released by Warner Brothers.
Arrangements are by Martin Denny and Warren Barker.
MHO
This is a real treat for the "exotica lovers" among us (style Les Baxter, Martin Denny and others), but then again : this could be called "orchestral exotica" because the orchestration is much more lavish with emphasis on the (high pitch) violins. Consequently; the album from which this track has been taken is popular with "common" easy listening fans as well. Critics have described the album as "significantly underrated" and that might be the case indeed. On the sleeve cover is mentioned (specifically for this track) that "the music has been arranged in a "Philippinish way" but we have no clear explanation as to what that may mean ... Suppose this has to be seen in the "time context" of the end 1950s when "exotica" was considered to be "the hype of the moment". Whatever the case : this is just very original easy listening music with "an exotic touch".
As such, it inspired us to bring you our theme presentation titled "Moonlight Dancing" (It's Pure Magic). Enjoy !
