Neal Hefti, 1922-2008

October 15, 2008 7:52 AM

Neal Hefti,trumpet player, arranger, big band leader and composer for film & televison, has died. This may be his most loved work.
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot (35 comments total)

Never forgotten. It's sad to be losing so many Space Age Pop (lounge, retro, etc) musicians in recent years.
posted by davidmsc at 8:07 AM on October 15, 2008

DA NA NA NA NA NA NA

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posted by jonp72 at 8:15 AM on October 15, 2008

I always liked the work he did with/for Count Basie's band best.

"Splanky"
and
"Li'l Darlin'"

Great musician...

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posted by Kimothy at 8:17 AM on October 15, 2008

One of my very favorite records, ever.

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posted by jbickers at 8:23 AM on October 15, 2008

Hefti arranged an excellent, somewhat overlooked Sinatra album, Sinatra and Swingin' Brass. You know it's got to be good 'cause there's no "g" on Swinging. Like Sinatra's Swingin' Session. Makes me wonder what they did with all those leftover g's.
posted by Man-Thing at 8:23 AM on October 15, 2008

Man, you beat me to it jbickers. I must have been laggin'.
posted by Man-Thing at 8:24 AM on October 15, 2008

Don't forget this one.
posted by chococat at 8:27 AM on October 15, 2008

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I remember buying the Batman theme on single when it was released in the 80s. It had a crazy instrumental break when the main theme-part finished.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:42 AM on October 15, 2008

My 6th birthday was a Batman party, mom made us capes played this and we ran around in circles for two hours. Bam Pow
posted by pianomover at 8:43 AM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Loved the Batman theme song. But had trouble memorizing the lyrics.

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posted by hal9k at 8:54 AM on October 15, 2008

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posted by trip and a half at 8:59 AM on October 15, 2008

He's known for The Odd Couple theme more than anything.

Had no idea he wrote Batman.
posted by Zambrano at 9:03 AM on October 15, 2008

You can listen to full tracks of his work on Last.fm from the Atomic Basie album....
posted by Kimothy at 9:05 AM on October 15, 2008

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posted by Outlawyr at 9:07 AM on October 15, 2008

Aww, the Batman trumpeter died?! Such a fun video that Batman show one. I loved the way he made his trumpet voice the sounds of BIFF! POW! ooOOF! SOCK!

RIP Neal Hefti.
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posted by nickyskye at 9:13 AM on October 15, 2008

He's known for The Odd Couple theme more than anything.
Had no idea he wrote Batman.

And I thought everyone knew him as the "O Dad, Poor Dad, Mom's Locked You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad" guy.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 10:00 AM on October 15, 2008

My sibs and I were all in elementary school when Batman debuted on TV. We made our bacy sib sing "Da na na na na na... BATROOM!!" every time before we'd let go to the bathroom.

I'd be willing to bet she ain't gonna miss Mr Hefti one bit.

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posted by buggzzee23 at 10:05 AM on October 15, 2008

bacy = baby
posted by buggzzee23 at 10:05 AM on October 15, 2008

He's known for The Odd Couple theme more than anything.

Ooh, I love that song!
posted by ericthegardener at 10:08 AM on October 15, 2008

Everyone knows his work but hardly anyone knows his name.

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posted by tommasz at 10:18 AM on October 15, 2008

Lil' Darling a capella and Batman by the Jam.
posted by pracowity at 10:18 AM on October 15, 2008

♪
posted by Smart Dalek at 10:31 AM on October 15, 2008

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Also related: Shockabilly band Mary Shelley Overdrive recently did a terrific grindhouse-meets-Frank-Miller cover of the Hefti Batman theme entitled "The Goddamn Batman!" It's a track from their freely-downloadable covers EP Hideous Sexy. Go get it!
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:45 AM on October 15, 2008

If Hefti had done nothing else except his charts for Basie's band, that'd be enough to secure his formidable standing in jazz history. Here's the most substantial obit I've seen yet, with lots more info and good links to audio.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 11:05 AM on October 15, 2008 [2 favorites]

Thanks Neil. Today's composers can learn a lot from your songs. There hasn't been any show that I know of in the last 20 years that has a memorable theme song like the ones from the 50's to the 80's. What gives?
posted by doctorschlock at 11:09 AM on October 15, 2008

OOPs Neal! So used to writing it Neil. Sorry dude. My bad.
posted by doctorschlock at 11:10 AM on October 15, 2008

Well, Lord love a duck, Goddamnit.

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posted by sourwookie at 11:22 AM on October 15, 2008 [2 favorites]

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posted by cerebus19 at 11:52 AM on October 15, 2008

Don't forget Cherry Point (oh wah, ta goo, siam) and Cute (cute is awesome because drums have the melody.

I've played a lot of his work. He was fifth trumpeter for Count Basie and had this habit of putting all the trumpet solos in the fifth part just so he could play them. In the bands I played in, they were just shoved into the second folder.

Interestingly enough, Lil' Darlin' was supposed to be a fast tune. If you crank it up, you really get that Basie feel to it, but apparently when he premiered, the Count dropped the tempo way way down. Hefti admitted that he was right.

If you like the ballads of Hefti, compare the work of Sammy Nestico (still around - I exchanged email with him a year back) - here's Bill Watrous playing Samantha.
posted by plinth at 11:56 AM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Green Hornet .
posted by hortense at 12:26 PM on October 15, 2008

As sourwookie noted, he also wrote the music to one of my favorite quirky movies, 1966's Lord Love a Duck. (Ruth Gordon!)
posted by Ron Thanagar at 1:24 PM on October 15, 2008

For my son's fourth birthday he had a batman party. We played this on a boombox when I burst in the door dressed as batman and ran around. We were in grad school. I had to crawl out the window to sneak in the front door, and one of the kids' parents watched with amusement from her car in the parking lot of the apartments.

I'm glad I didn't have to pay royalties every time my friends and I sang this song.
posted by mecran01 at 8:43 PM on October 15, 2008

Man, this bites. Talk about an influence. Neal Hefti's name is permanently emblazoned on my memory due to the Hefti's Batman Theme LP (filled mostly with Nelson Riddle tracks), which I played to death.

[Oh boy! I just found (and bought) a copy of it on eBay for $12! Hee-YEAH!]
posted by humannaire at 9:11 PM on October 15, 2008

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posted by humannaire at 9:38 PM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Humannaire for the win. Cept maybe the Bat signal should also be shedding a tear.

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posted by Skygazer at 11:15 PM on October 15, 2008