Neal Hefti (1922-2008) - music, song, jazz, blues

Remember the 60s TV Series of Batman, bold, brash and camp? The theme music is too, based on a simple blues sequence with repeated words but that is what good music is all about, complementing the medium whether it is stage, TV or Film. Note that while Hefti composed the Batman theme, he was unavailable for the incidental music and as a result it was bandleader Nelson Riddle who composed the music for most of seasons 1 and 2, and Billy May for season 3. Neal Hefti has also contributed to film in the form of "Barefoot in the Park" and "The Odd Couple" with its catchy main theme, also reused on the television series which followed the film's success.

Hefti has a jazz background having played trumpet in jazz bands. He has arranged music for Henry James and the Count Basie CD called "The Complete Atomic Mr. Basie" including the track "Flight of the Foo Birds". Sadly he died in October 2008 at his home in California.

Here is a selection of Neal Hefti tracks on Youtube:

• Batman - theme tune, see Theme on Vinyl
• The Odd Couple - Main Theme (also on Vinyl)
• Sex and the Single Girl - Theme Song with the voices of Natalie Wood and Tony Curtis (the latter not singing)
• Duel at Diablo - Main Theme is Jazzy with a Latin vibe and some interesting stereo panning
• Barefoot in the Park - the track New Home Up-A-Stairs complete with stair-climbing music!
• Like Heaven (Prologue) - a vaguely religious track from the snappily titled film Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad
• Splanky - a jazz standard made popular by Count Basie and played here by the YCB Jazz Orchestra
• Cute - another well-known Hefti track as interpreted by some amazing musicians including Mel Lewis on drums and Toots Thielemans on harmonica
• Flight of the Foo Birds - Big Band version
• Flight of the Foo Birds - "Swingtet" version
• Lil' Darling - another popular Hefti track as used here on the soundtrack for Rush Hour 2, scored by Lalo Schifrin
• Lil' Darling - played here at a slower tempo by Count Basie and his Band

Films by Neal Hefti:

• The Odd Couple - soundtrack and songs with main theme lyrics by Sammy Cahn
• Sex and the Single Girl - with Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood
• How to Murder your Wife
• Boeing Boeing
• Lord Love a Duck
• Batman - theme tune
• Duel at Diablo - the main title for the Western has a laid-back latin vibe, see the youtube link above
• Barefoot in the Park
• Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad
• P.J.
• A New Leaf
• Last of the Red Hot Lovers

TV music by Neal Hefti:

• The Fred Astaire Show - music director
• Batman - theme tune from the 60s camp version with Adam West, and Hefti also contributed the unforgettable lyrics "Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah" and "Batman"!
• The Odd Couple - series following the successful movie
• Barefoot in the Park - also had a TV series which re-used the theme from the film
• The 500 Pound Jerk - TV Movie
• Conspiracy of Terror - TV Drama

Neal Hefti - Recommendations:

The following CDs featuring music by Neal Hefti may be found. In addition an extract of a piano arrangement of "Flight of the Foo Birds" has been used as an example score on the Sibelius Software site.

• Pardon My Doo-Wah / Hot 'n Hearty from the Collectables Jazz Classics series - from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
• Batman (music from the TV series by Hefti and otehr composers) - from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com