Frank Devol

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.

There are some LP releases for his soundtracks but few on CD format. “The Flight of the Phoenix” was released by FSM coupled with “Patton” (from Goldsmith) as is long out of print. Intrada released “Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte” and is also out of print. “The Dirty Dozen” has several releases, sometimes coupled with other soundtracks, and a definitive edition by FSM.

Check this month for DeVol’s rare soundtracks.

Enjoy!
Fernando