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The Horror
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https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mCrRZC3EQWxkW1SHw3GHseeNlBKjuw4FU
"Themes From Horror Movies"
Dick Jacobs And His Orchestra
THEMES FROM
HORROR
MOVIES
...
DICK JACOBS
AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Narrated by Bob McFadden Nerration written by Mert Goede
...
Horrors! Gezawks! The idea scares you half out of your wits, if you've given half a thought to unhappy things
like Dracula or the Deadly Mantis or the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
These are probably the most misunderstood things in the universe, a horrifying horde that has been maligned to a fare-thee-well
(almost), had naught but diatribe (in the pill form) heaped upon them. We reject them. They feel unwanted. Our world's
attitude toward them is unjust, unkind, they say. Pity the unhappy Creature, lovable Dracula, the Mantis praying for a
kind word. The Mole People or those weirdies from Outer Space want love, not loathing. Things like that can get under your skin.
Now comes Dick Jacobs, seeing their side for the first time — putting the first crack in our attitude.
Out of their shadows and darkness he has heard the armth and beauty of their music. Where you and I have been shaken
by a shriek, Dick heard the tenderness that is so touching in such amorous expression. When your blood has
been curdled by the speech impediment of a Dracula, the maestro has understood the problem. It's horrible!
Dick Jacobs raises a musical voice in behalf of these things — all those things. He has found a common ground
an area of understanding. He removes the pall, the funereal effect that has been so often injected
in their melodies and reveals the peace and contentment.
Listen to the lilt of loveliness as Dick plays the main theme from "Son of Dracula." It sort of gets you ... Here.
Know what I mean? There is such joie de tiere in the farewell song to "The Incredible Shrinking Man."
Say what you will — that man boils down to nothing. It's monstrous!
Dick Jacobs would turn the Earth inside out for the Mole People. They reciprocate, constantly. Their folk songs reflect
the constant struggle. The music is modern, wonderful, though a bit too far out. Perhaps the Mole People are too far in.
The musical tour through "The House of Frankenstein" is sheer delight. Feel the walls close in on you.
There's hardly room to stumble and fall.
The Creature's ballet music is enchanting. He's half-man, half-fish and not half-bad. Just had trouble adjusting.
Children will understand better than adults. They realize the "Bloodsucking Theme" from "Horror of Dracula"
is a nursery rhyme. Simple. Direct. Gurgly.
Dick Jacobs admits his great compassion for these downtrodden and disheartened. It is evident in his
treatment of their soul-stirring music. It sort of grows on you as it has on him through the years.
The bug bit him early in life. When first he saw "Frankenstein" he was six. Dick was studying piano.
The way he played after that had a deep and disturbing effect on his family and neighbors.
Was this genius they beard? The thought and his playing gave them the shivers. Would he outgrow it?
They felt that Dick had to continue. He had to lick that bug.
Dick persisted. The bug persisted. "Dracula" came and went. Dick turned to the saxophone.
He studied Music at N.Y.U. There he found a book entitled "Proper Etiquette Toward Creatures From Outer Space."
It was a rare edition. (As far as is known, the only copy in the world.) Dick was convinced. He would crusade for better
understanding between Man and Thing. Many of you have read his famous paper on the subject called "Getting Along Is Weird."
Meanwhile. Dick needed sustinence as much as did those Creatures. He became a musical arranger
for a leading publisher, then joined the Army in World War II. When it ended, be joined Tommy Dorsey's
arranging team. Later he and Sy Oliver formed an arranging partnership. Recently, Dick gained
wide fame for his recordings from "The Man With The Golden Arm." His arrangements have helped
the McGuire Sisters, Teresa Brewer and others create hits. Last season Dick was
the musical director of "The Hit Parade."
Throughout his career, Dick Jacobs never lost sight of his goal, his desire to create an area of understanding for all Things.
His arrangements of these misunderstood melodies helps clear the air. In a recent ... said: "There is something quite strange about it, something nightmarish —
The music is so warm, almost human. You may have certain doubts when first
you hear it. Later on, who knows? It may even give you the willies,"
-- Mort Goode
(album notes)
----
Dick Jacobs (29 March 1918 – 20 May 1988) was an American musician, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, music director and an artists-and-repertoire director for several record labels (Coral, Decca, Brunswick and Springboard). He helped Jackie Wilson, Buddy Holly, Bobby Darin and others early in their careers in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Jacobs was born in New York City, United States, and graduated from New York University. During World War II, he served in the United States Army, then returned to the city and spent several years arranging for Tommy Dorsey. After that, he partnered with Sy Oliver to pursue freelance arranging work.
When he was hired to be the musical director for the television series, Your Hit Parade, for its 1957–58 season, he replaced most of the existing studio orchestra members with his own choices including Dick Hyman, Don Lamond, Al Caiola and Jerome Richardson. At that point, the Hit Parade orchestra became one of the first on-screen orchestras to become integrated. In 1953, he produced a number of acts, including the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer, and by 1958 had a hit single, the theme tune from the movie Kathy-O. In 1956, his recording of "Man with the Golden Arm" sold over one million copies as a single and was awarded a gold disc.
According to The Ultimate Book of Songs and Artists, by Joel Whitburn, Jacobs's biggest hits were "Main Title" and "Molly-O" (1956), "Petticoats of Portugal" (1956), and "Fascination" (1957).
Jacobs brought a lush instrumental orchestral sound to a number of rock and roll songs in the late 1950s, notably those for Buddy Holly and Cirino Colacrai and his vocal quartet, the Bowties. Eventually retiring in the late 1970s, he and Harriet Jacobs wrote Who Wrote That Song?, a reference book on popular songs and songwriters. -- Wikipedia
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