Johnny Mandel at 1966 GRAMMYs

Johnny Mandel at 1966 GRAMMYs

Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images

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Johnny Mandel, GRAMMY-Winning Film Composer Of 'M*A*S*H' Theme, Is Dead At 94

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The late composer and arranger also wrote for major jazz bands and pop artists, as well as other memorable film scores and themes, including "The Shadow of Your Smile" and "Emily"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 30, 2020 - 1:08 pm

GRAMMY- and Oscar-winning composer Johnny Mandel died on Monday at his home in Ojai, Calif. at the age of 94, the New York Times reports. He composed and arranged music for jazz bands and pop singers like Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett, but is most remembered by his classic movie scores and themes.

Two of his most celebrated works include "Suicide Is Painless," the theme song for the 1970 film M*A*S*H and its long-running TV series spin-off, and "The Shadow of Your Smile," the oft-covered GRAMMY-winning theme song for the 1965 film The Sandpiper. He also scored both films, winning a second GRAMMY for latter score, as well as nomination for the former.

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Born in New York City in 1925, a young Mandel got his start in music playing trumpet in the Catskills while many musicians were overseas for World War II. Soon after, he joined jazz bands in the City, before focusing exclusively on arranging and composing in 1954, according to the Times. Four years later, he moved to Southern California and began his career writing music for Hollywood.

Shortly after, he received his first three GRAMMY nominations in 1959 at the 1st GRAMMY Awards, for his debut film score, 1958's noir I Want To Live!

His next three GRAMMY nominations—and first two wins—came at the 1966 GRAMMY Awards, for "The Shadow of Your Smile," which won Song Of The Year, and The Sandpiper's score, which won Best Original Score. The theme also earned him an Oscar for Best Original Song.

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A romantic number, "The Shadow of Your Smile" has been covered by countless artists, including Bennett (Manel arranged his version as well) Stevie Wonder, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass Band, Sinatra and his daughter Nancy Sinatra. Mandel said the song was inspired by the scenic Northern California coast: "I saw that gorgeous panorama, shooting from Big Sur out on to the ocean. How do you write that? I figured, you write it with a solo voice ... I'd try to translate that into what it looked like."

Following the two GRAMMYs he won in 1966, Mandel earned three more career GRAMMYs, in 1982, 1992 and 1993. The 1992 GRAMMY Awards win, for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s), came from his arrangement on Natalie Cole's "Unforgettable," based on her father Nat King Cole's hit of the same name. Thanks to overdubbing, the powerful track features her father's vocals alongside hers.

Other films he scored include The Americanization of Emily (1964), Point Blank (1965), Freaky Friday (1977) and Caddyshack (1980).

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Ennio Morricone in 2012

Ennio Morricone in 2012

Photo: Roberto Serra/Iguana Press/Redferns/Getty Images

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Legendary GRAMMY-Winning Film Composer Ennio Morricone Has Died At 91

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The prolific Italian composer scored over 500 films and TV shows, and launched his celebrated career with otherworldly, spacious soundtracks for Sergio Leone's 1960s spaghetti westerns
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jul 6, 2020 - 3:06 pm

Ennio Morricone, the prolific Italian composer responsible for the scores to over 500 films—including many of Sergio Leone's beloved spaghetti westerns of the '60s—has died at age 91. According to the New York Times, he died on Monday, July 6, at a hospital in his hometown of Rome, after being admitted there last week after a fall.

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The GRAMMY winner's iconic soundtracks were filled with literal bells and whistles and other eclectic sounds that transported moviegoers to the Wild West and beyond. Morricone created a powerful partnership with Italian director, scoring the Dollars trilogy (1964-66), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)—all starring Clint Eastwood—Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and more of his films.

While there are far too many to list, his other notable scores include Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso (1988), Brian De Palma's Untouchables (1987) and Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight (2015), the latter of which earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe, plus a GRAMMY nomination. The Untouchables score earned him a GRAMMY win at the 1988 GRAMMYs. He was also honored with the Recording Academy's Special Merit Award in 2014 and received seven career GRAMMY nominations.

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Tarantino, like many other directors and musicians, was inspired by the Roman director's majestic soundscapes. Before The Hateful Eight, Tarantino used his music in Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds.

The power of his compositions was felt outside of the films he scored and even and the movie industry. According to Rolling Stone, "JAY-Z, Metallica, Radiohead, the Ramones, Muse, Gnarls Barkley and many others claim[ed] his music as either sample or influence or both. He was also the rare composer to inspire listeners to buy soundtracks, selling over 70 million records over the course of his career."

As the New York Times explains, one of these inspirations came from his hit "The Ecstasy of Gold," the theme song for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Metallica has used it as opening music during their concerts and the Ramones used it to close theirs. The GRAMMY-winning classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma recorded a rendition of it on his 2004 album dedicated to the composer, Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone.

Morricone also worked on TV scores as a classical composer, and as studio arranger and composer at RCA. He wrote music for Joan Baez, Paul Anka, Pet Shop Boys, k.d. lang, Andrea Bocelli, Sting and more.

Born in Rome on Nov. 10, 1928, he lived there his whole life. Despite his Hollywood fame, he only first traveled to the United States in 2007 at 78 years old and never learned English. 

"He sometimes scored 20 or more films a year, often working only from a script before screening the rushes. Directors marveled at his range—tarantellas, psychedelic screeches, swelling love themes, tense passages of high drama, stately evocations of the 18th century or eerie dissonances of the 20th—and at the ingenuity of his silences: He was wary of too much music, of overloading an audience with emotions," the Times states.

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Rio Cinema in London

Rio Cinema in London

Photo: Barry Lewis/InPictures/Getty Images

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UK Government Pledges Arts Relief Package: "Biggest Ever One-Off Investment In UK Culture"

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Cultural institutions, including music venues, will be sharing funds from the "£1.15 billion support pot for cultural organizations in England," as the announcement states. £880 million of that money will be offered as grants and the rest as loans
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jul 7, 2020 - 1:17 pm

On July 5, the British government announced a £1.57 billion ($1.96 billion USD) coronavirus relief package for the gravely affected arts and culture sector of the country, including music venues, theaters, museums, galleries, independent cinemas, cultural institutions and freelance workers in the arts. No information on how to apply for funds—which will be distributed as loans and grants—has been given yet.

The news comes days after a coalition of over 1,500 British musicians, including Dua Lipa, the Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran and Rita Ora, urged the government to assist the £4.5 billion ($5.6 billion) live music sector with the #LetTheMusicPlay campaign.

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"Our world-renowned galleries, museums, heritage sites, music venues and independent cinemas are not only critical to keeping our economy thriving, employing more than 700,000 people, they're the lifeblood of British culture," wrote Rishi Sunak, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the announcement. "That's why we're giving them the vital cash they need to safeguard their survival, helping to protect jobs and ensuring that they can."

"I understand the grave challenges the arts face and we must protect and preserve all we can for future generations. Today we are announcing a huge support package of immediate funding to tackle the funding crisis they face. I said we would not let the arts down, and this massive investment shows our level of commitment," U.K. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden added.

The immediacy of the "immediate funding" is unclear, as applications and guidelines are not yet available. As Billboard reports, "Exactly how much funding will benefit the music sector, and what the process will be for allocating the funds, has not yet been fully fleshed out."

"We don't know the breakdown of how much will go to live music venues versus other sectors as applications are not open yet," the spokesperson says. "They will be soon."

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All applicable cultural institutions, including music venues, will be sharing funds from the "£1.15 billion support pot for cultural organizations in England," as the announcement states. £880 million of that money will be offered as grants, while the remaining £270 million will be repayable loans. An additional £188 million will be allocated to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The government will determine who the grants are allocated to in partnership with "expert independent figures from the sector including the Arts Council England and other specialist bodies such as Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute. [Additionally,] repayable finance will be issued on generous terms tailored for cultural institutions to ensure they are affordable."

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As Billboard highlights, "The funding will also target employment, including freelancers in the music industry. More than 350,000 people in the recreation and leisure sector have been furloughed since the pandemic began. (The U.K. live music sector supports 210,000 jobs)."

"Eligibility for grants and loans must be as broad as possible to ensure maximum take up from across the industry from those in desperate need of help," Tom Kiehl, acting CEO at U.K. Music, told the outlet.

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For more information on COVID-19 relief for those in the music industry, please visit MusiCares useful resource page. You can also find more info on applying for a one-time grant from the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, or donating to the Fund, if you are able.

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Brianna Agyemang & Jamila Thomas

Brianna Agyemang & Jamila Thomas

Photo: Flo Ngala/Billboard

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#TheShowMustBePaused Creators Brianna Agyemang & Jamila Thomas Talk Vision, Next Steps

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The two young music executives behind the movement that became "Blackout Tuesday," discuss their vision for a more just music industry in a recent interview
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 11, 2020 - 2:43 pm

Last Tuesday, June 2, the music industry came to a sudden stop for #TheShowMustBePaused movement envisioned by Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas. While the message may have been muddied by brands and others posting black boxes, the mission was effective—major labels and music orgs closed shop for the day and joined conversations on making real change.

Today, in an in-depth interview with Billboard, the two New York music executives share their vision for moving the industry forward and the important purpose behind the pause.

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"We're taking it one day at a time. No one thought [we] could black out the industry, but they couldn't keep Brianna and me from trying," Thomas, who's the senior director of marketing at Atlantic Records, said.

"We're the least expected, but we're here for a reason—and we're not going away," Agyemang added; she's the senior artist campaign manager at Platoon, Apple's artist-services division.

"We had found out about George Floyd's killing, after those of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, at the hands of police. It was just a really heavy week for the Black community. And people still had to work. It didn't seem like anyone had a chance to really take in what was happening in the middle of the coronavirus, which was also attacking the Black community disproportionately. It was just a lot while trying to keep the show moving. So I called Jamila that Friday [May 29] and said we should take the day off, that it's not business as usual. Then we came up with the tagline #TheShowMustBePaused and some graphics," Agyemang explained, sharing the emotional week that pushed them to action.

"As our friends began posting, it spread like wildfire. Then people started reaching out, asking, 'OK, where and when do we want to pause?' It just kind of centered ourselves as a community. We wanted to make sure that if people were willing to take that pause along with us that we—if they were asking what they could do on Tuesday—would help provide them with things to do. So we went into planning mode."

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For their "day off," two women hosted a digital summit that brought together music professionals of all stripes to talk change, with almost 1,500 joining the productive conversations.

"We held three different discussions during that one day. We reached out to people directly, sending them invitations to join us for a community conversation. The turnout was overwhelming, with nearly 1,500 people joining overall, from top-level executives, artists and lawyers to interns. The idea was to talk to everyone about developing a realistic plan for moving forward," Thomas told Billboard.

"Urban artists occupy most of the music charts, and we celebrate the genres [R&B/hip-hop] at industry events and the GRAMMYs. But when that community takes a hit, it seems like it's every man for himself. You can post something if you want. Or you can donate. But there's never a united front. Progress is needed in the work space, and progress is needed in the streets.

There's no better time to do it than now, because the country is literally in a moment of transition. And music has to be at the forefront of that because of its influence. It starts with us working together. All those partners coming together on that call and blacking out on Tuesday was the first time that has ever happened. If we can just keep that same spirit going, then change will come," she added, explaining the topics they delved into during the summit.

"After the summit, there were so many announcements from labels and other companies. I felt inspired from this."

"The conversations were done in a safe space because we wanted to make sure people felt comfortable talking, being vulnerable and sharing their feelings or providing solutions and ideas," Agyemang said. "I wished we had had more time to talk that day. What I loved most is that it felt very positive. While we do have things that need to change, it didn’t feel like it was impossible based on those conversations. It definitely feels more like a whole music community now than I will say it felt in the past."

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And those boxes? It was never part of the plan. There was nothing they could do to stop people from posting them, so they focused on making sure the resources to take action were clear and accessible.

"Our graphic copy explained the reason for the music business blackout. And at the bottom was the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused. That was always our hashtag. But it was like the game of telephone: Things get muddled in the communication," Agyemang explained. "The goal was not to mute ourselves. The goal was to take a break from your daily nine-to-five duties to refocus and recenter. And that meant that you could take a pause and just breathe. Or take a moment to think or use that time to focus on what you could do within your community to make a change and help make progress as well."

"People move so fast online. So we quickly took action to tell people about things they could do on Tuesday to help. We had to double down and tell our friends that we wanted them to communicate where people could donate, where they could march, pray or speak to a therapist. We had put together information for the summit we were holding that day. We wanted to let people know that now that we have you here, we want to talk to you all. That this wasn't a date to be silent," Thomas added.

This is just the beginning for the powerhouse pair and the collation of changemakers they've already formed—they are actively planning the second phase of action for #TheShowMustBePaused.

"We didn't put our names on the original graphic because it's not about us. It's about a movement for all of us. We're humbled by all the support but we're also not afraid. We're assuming this leadership role, honored that people trust us to lead them to the next steps, working together as a community," Thomas stated.

"We literally stopped major companies for a day to come up with plans on how to help the black community and move forward. It has been a success thus far, and it has only been a week. We're just going to continue to move in a positive direction," Agyemang noted. "When George Floyd died, it was like, 'Here's another thing after Ahmaud Arbery, after Breonna Taylor, after COVID-19.' [Tuesday] was a way for people to release and pause, because in the end we have to fix it and we have to heal as a society. And we can do this by changing the future."

Read the full interview here, and visit theshowmustbepaused.com for more info on the initiative and how you can take action.

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Harry Connick Jr. and friends in Jackson Square, New Orleans

Harry Connick Jr. and friends in NOLA

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United We Sing: Cyndi Lauper, Jamie Foxx & More Help Harry Connick Jr. Bring Smiles To Essential Workers

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Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey, Herbie Hancock, Andra Day, Cyndi Lauper, Little Big Town, Dave Matthews, Tim McGraw, John Fogerty and others also brought gratitude from New York to New Orleans
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 21, 2020 - 7:02 pm

On Sunday, June 21, CBS aired the two-hour "United We Sing: A GRAMMY Salute To The Unsung Heroes" special featuring host Harry Connick Jr., who, along with his filmmaker daughter, Georgia Connick, journeyed via RV from New York to New Orleans to personally thank the essential workers risking their lives to keep us all safe and healthy during the COVID-19 crisis.

The inspiring road trip, which was shot several weeks ago and with a limited crew and social distancing precautions, saw the Connicks visiting truck drivers, teachers, grocery store workers, hospital cleaning staff, firefighters, a trash route worker and other unsung heroes of the coronavirus pandemic.

At each stop, a very special guest, via Zoom, helped Harry offer messages of gratitude to the local heroes, while Georgia filmed the moving interactions. These included Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey and Queen Latifah, along with GRAMMY winners Irma Thomas, Jamie Foxx, Herbie Hancock, Andra Day, Cyndi Lauper, Little Big Town, Dave Matthews, Tim McGraw, John Fogerty and others.

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The first stop was to visit Harry's sister Suzanna Jamison, a military doctor currently stationed at Queens Hospital Center in Queens, N.Y. "It's really hard for all the people involved," she said. It was also, understandably so, hard for the siblings to not be able to hug each other. He later visited their father in New Orleans, where they grew up, for another heartwarming family visit.

After narrowly escaping N.Y.C. while driving their massive RV through the narrow streets of Chinatown, Harry navigated them to Chattanooga, Tenn. to thank an adorable trucker couple. McGraw, the first celeb guest of the jaunt, said hi via Zoom. The country icon shared that his dad was a trucker, and he got his country music education at a young age, riding alongside his father with the tape deck going. He then sang an acoustic rendition of his 1999 song "Something Like That" (watch the performance above).

The next stop was to visit teachers at Irvington High School in Newark, N.J. One of the young teachers, Aaysha Notice, shared her passion for showing up for her students, even when they're apart, with innovative ideas like a car parade to celebrate the kids' test scores, driving outside their houses, shouting praises from a safe distance. Their special caller was Queen Latifah—she attended Irvington at the same time her mom taught there. Notice and the other teachers where thrilled to hear support from Latifah, who reminded them: "You are the superstars!"

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The show was interspersed with a stellar selection of musical guests and virtual collabs, the second of which was Trombone Shorty and Little Big Town, with the New Orleans jazz artist playing from his hometown and the country act singing in from Florida and Nashville. They performed a rousing cover of Hank Williams' "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)."

Irma Thomas

Irma Thomas sings in front of the Mississippi River

Other performances included Thomas singing her GRAMMY-winning 1962 classic "It's Raining" in front of a grey-skied Mississippi river, with Lauper supporting virtually from Los Angeles and Foxx singing a moving rendition of Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands," dedicated to his beloved grandmother and Withers. Foxx helped thank the cleaning staff at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Ala.

Hancock and Day, who is playing Billie Holiday in an upcoming biopic, performed Holiday's "God Bless The Child," along with an upright bassist and drummer, each playing from their respective set-ups. Later, Jon Batiste and the Gospel Soul Children served up a beautiful performance of "Amazing Grace."

Fogerty and his family, calling in from Los Angeles, performed an electric rendition of his "Proud Mary," with help from Rockin' Dopsie Jr. playing the zydeco in front of the river that inspired the Creedance Clearwater Revival hit. Also while in NOLA, Connick joined an amazing, socially distanced second line, featuring the Bourbon Street Brass Band, the Lady Buckjumpers and the Wild Magnolias, who delivered a brass rendition of "America The Beautiful."

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One of the most moving musical moments came from the tribute to the late jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis, who died from COVID-19. Three of his sons honored the NOLA legend with the hymn "How Great Thou Art," along with Connick singing on a piano. They performed outside of the city's Ellis Marsalis Center For Music, built after hurricane Katrina to serves as a music education and enrichment space for kids, a recording studio, performance hall and more. One of the eldest sons, Branford Marsalis, returned to the show later to perform Dave Matthews Band's "Mercy" with Dave himself.

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While visiting New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell at City Hall, Lou Hill of the Recording Academy stopped by to share the Academy would be joining Connick in making donations to the Marsalis Center and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, another important local music org highlighted during the special. During the show, viewers where encouraged to learn more and donate what they could to the non-profits, as well as MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund and two food-focused charities, No Kid Hungry and the Conscious Alliance, a coalition of artists dedicated keeping their communities fed.

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Other stops and celebrity Zoom cameos included a visit to Oprah's Boys and Girls Club in Kosciusko, Miss., where the employees are feeding kids who would otherwise not eat with school out, with around 2000 meals a day! Winfrey called in to thank them personally; she helped open in that Boys and Girls Club in her hometown back in 2006. At a Kroger's grocery store in Knoxville, Tenn., Connick called on Renée Zellweger to praise two lovely employees there. Sandra Bullock zoomed with transit supervisor Joy Palmer, who recently lost her husband to COVID-19.

GRAMMYs

A gospel choir sings with Connick in Jefferson Square, New Orleans

Brad Pitt made two cameos, first offering playful jokes and heartfelt thanks to the lovely Darnell, the supervisor of trash pickup route, and later to help Connick close the show. The final number saw Connick singing "Stars Still Shine" on a piano in NOLA's Jackson Square, with the support of a gospel choir and orchestra. The new song, dedicated to all their new friends on the front lines, and the many more they didn't have time to meet, is available to download now with all proceeds going to the Marsalis Center.

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