As you all know, in this blog I have included rare soundtracks that are not released yet, so it is great when the official soundtracks arrive: there are two world-premiere releases from composers Henry Mancini and Frank DeVol.

- The Man Who Loved Women – Music by Henry Mancini
One might think that all of the soundtracks from a famous composer such as Mancini has already been released. Sadly, that’s not true. There are some that are still waiting for their CD release and some, like this one, that are being released in any format. This soundtrack is released by Varese Sarabarande for their CD Club for June 30, so pre-orders are being accepted. They included the full soundtrack plus a couple of bonus tracks. Check for the full info at Varese’s site.

- Emperor of the North / Caprice – Music by Frank DeVol
More surprisingly, DeVol has a release by Intrada with these two soundtracks that have never been released in any format before. As they say, Caprice is not complete. They included the surviving tracks from master tapes. The main title was very catchy and spy-like. It looks like it is not included, so listen to it, taken from the movie. More information at Intrada’s site.

Thank you very much Varese and Intrada for these great limited-edition releases. I have ordered both, of course, as any Mancini, DeVol, or just general soundtrack fan would do!

Regards
Fernando

The last entry for this Monthly Special on Frank DeVol’s music is this western comedy with Jane Fonda as the restless Catherine ‘Cat’ Ballou and Lee Marvin as two characters: Kid Shelleen and his nemesis, Tim Strawn. The movie has segments where two troubadours (shouters) tell the story as it goes along: Nat ‘King’ Cole and Stubby Kaye.

The songs were written by Jerry Livingston and Mack David, and two songs appeared on Nat King Cole’s recording: “Nat King Cole Sings Songs From Cat Ballou”. The songs might not be written by DeVol, but the underscore is. The lyrics for the main song can be found on the Unofficial Frank DeVol’s page. Some info about the movie at Wikipedia.

As you can see, the soundtracks selected were mostly comedies, so on a next Devol’s Special, it would be more about action or drama movies.
continue reading "Cat Ballou"

This is the second Herbie movie composed by Frank DeVol. This time we go to Puerto Vallarta and Mexico, and inside a cruise. The main song “I Found a New Friend” is very nice and I have included the lyrics. The end credits has some additional lyrics but I have transcribed most of them.

Next week, let’s see.. a Cat Ballou?
continue reading "Herbie Goes Bananas"

This second share is another comedy but this time for one of the two Herbie movies that were composed by Frank DeVol. In this new adventure, Herbie is in the middle of a robbery and of course, it helps catch the robbers. It wouldn’t be a Love-Bug movie, without a love adventure in the middle too. It was starred by the late Don Knotts.
Next week we’ll have another Herbie adventure!
continue reading "Herbie goes to Montecarlo"

In this Robert Aldrich comedy, Gene Wilder is a Polish Rabbi who is sent to the Wild West to lead a synagogue in San Francisco. Along the way, he is robbed and he needs the help of a cowboy (Harrison Ford) to reach his destination. This was a hilarous film and the music was composed by, you guess it, Frank DeVol. DeVol constructs a fine score for the two unlikely friends and he also appears as the piano player. If you haven’t seen it, then don’t waste time and go and look for it.
continue reading "The Frisco Kid"

Let’s start with this new idea: one month devoted to one composer. And what’s better than the music of Frank DeVol, who is so underated and deserve more exposure. In the 40s and 50s, Frank DeVol conducted his orchestra under the moniker “Music By De Vol” with a series of instrumental arrangements and also for some artists, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, Kay Starr, Tony Bennett, Vic Damone and others.

He started scoring for Robert Aldrich’s “World for Ransom” and among his credits were Oscar nominations for “Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte”, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, “Pillow Talk” and “Cat Ballou”. He also scored “The Dirty Dozen”, “The Longest Yard”, “McLintock!” and “The Flight of the Phoenix”. For a more complete list go to my Unofficial Frank DeVol Webpage.

Many are more familiar though, for his TV themes for “My Three Sons” and “The Brady Bunch”. But his talent was not limited to the music, he appeared in many TV shows as a comedy actor and was the popular “Happy Kyne” from “Fernwood 2-night”. He was born in Moundsville, West Virginia on September 20, 1911 and passed away in October 27, 1999 in Lafayette, California.
continue reading "Frank Devol"