Thursday, January 28, 2010

Hal Mooney & His Orchestra

Artist: Hal Mooney & His Orchestra
LP: The Passion of Paris
Song: "La Vie En Rose"
[ listen ]
Song: "Can Can"
[ listen ]

Born in 1911, pianist/composer/arranger Hal Mooney studied music with Joseph Schillinger and was working with Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra before a stint in the U.S. Army during WWII interrupted his music career. When the war ended, Mooney settled in Hollywood and worked as composer-arranger for many of the great singers of the era—Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Nina Simone, Patti Page, Dinah Washington, Peggy Lee and Sarah Vaughn, to name a few. In the 1970s, Hal worked as musical supervisor on hit shows like "The Six Million Dollar Man," "The Rockford Files," "The Bionic Woman" and "Columbo" before retiring in 1977. You can read more about Hal Mooney's life and career here and here. His arrangement of "Can Can" is filled with so much chaotic energy, it practically has the passion of punk!


[ Hal Mooney: February 4, 1911 — March 23, 1995 ]

No comments: