Morris Stoloff (1 August 1898 – 16 April 1980) was a violinist
and musical composer. Stoloff worked with Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Shore and
Frank Sinatra.
Stoloff was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A child
prodigy on the violin, Stoloff was taken under the wing of W. A. Clark. After
studying with Leopold Auer for several years, Stoloff was touring the U.S. as a
featured soloist at the age of 16, and joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic a
year later as its youngest member ever.
When sound came to motion pictures, studios came looking
for musicians to provide it, and Stoloff was one of the first to cross over
from classical music to movies. He was the first concertmaster on Paramount
Pictures' payroll, and he worked with setting up the mechanics of a system that
had to provide a steady stream of music for everything from epic dramas to
serials and comedy shorts.
Stoloff often took partial credit for a picture's score
when he worked closely with a particular composer to work out a theme, motifs,
and melodies. As a result, he ranks among some of the most-nominated
individuals in the history of the Academy Awards. He won three Oscars for best
scores, including those for Cover Girl (1944), The Jolson Story (1946), and
Song Without End (1960), and was nominated 14 other times.
By the late 1940s, film music was beginning to be
recognized on its own, and Stoloff began recording some of the more popular
numbers as singles for Decca Records. When long-play albums were perfected, the
studios saw the opportunity to market more than just singles to the listening
audience, and soundtrack albums became a hot commodity. Stoloff exercised his
privilege as musical director to record these soundtrack albums himself,
working with material from the actual scores.
Among space age pop fans, he is best remembered for his
1956 Top 10 hit that paired the swing era tune "Moonglow" with the
love theme from the movie Picnic, the medley called "Moonglow and Theme
from Picnic". It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
by the RIAA.
When Frank Sinatra founded Reprise Records in the early
1960s, he hired Stoloff as musical director; the two having worked successfully
before on Pal Joey (1957). One of Stoloff's most noteworthy achievements while
at Reprise was the release of a set of re-recordings of great Broadway
musicals, including Kiss Me, Kate with a studio cast.
Stoloff died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81. (Info
Wikipedia)
Here is the famous dance scene from the 1955 blockbuster movie "Picnic" directed by Joshua Logan & starring William Holden and Kim Novak. The scene was considered daring & erotic for a movie of that day. The music by Morris Stoloff became very popular. By merging two songs he achieved a unique sound and the combination was recorded by a variety of artists of the day. The movie was nominated for six Academy Awards and won two.
Here is the famous dance scene from the 1955 blockbuster movie "Picnic" directed by Joshua Logan & starring William Holden and Kim Novak. The scene was considered daring & erotic for a movie of that day. The music by Morris Stoloff became very popular. By merging two songs he achieved a unique sound and the combination was recorded by a variety of artists of the day. The movie was nominated for six Academy Awards and won two.
3 comments:
For “Morris Stoloff And His Orchestra – Love Sequence (Themes And Counter Themes)” go here:
http://www43.zippyshare.com/v/uHRrL5oz/file.html
1. Moonglow / Theme from "Picnic" 2:47
2. These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)/Love Comes but Once in a While
3. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away)/There Was a Time
4. Sentimental Journey / To You, Sweetheart 2:47
5. You Can't Run Away from It 2:29
6. Save Your Sorrow (For Tomorrow) / Last Night 2:54
7. Exactly Like You / Wanna Go Back to You 2:54
8. Our Theme and Counter Theme 2:52
9. Prisoner of Love / Dream Awhile with Me Dear 3:05
10. Manhattan Romance / Sweet Sue, Just You 2:29
11. Rosetta / It Was a Beautiful Dream 2:43
12. Walkin' Thru a Rainbow 3:02
Saw the film back in '56. The dance scene a standout in a fine film. Never get tired of watching it.
Showing your age there Mike! I was a year old in 56. Retiring jan 2019 if I'm still here! Regards, Bob
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