Overview
"Peter Gunn" is the theme music composed by Henry Mancini for the television show of the same name. The song was the opening track on the original soundtrack album, The Music from Peter Gunn, released by RCA Victor in 1959. Mancini won an Emmy Award and two Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Arrangement.
Recording and releases
In his 1989 autobiography, Did They Mention the Music?, Mancini states:
In the original recording of the song, the piano riff is played by John Williams, who went on to become an influential film composer. Mancini arranged the first single version of the song for trumpeter Ray Anthony in 1959. Recorded for Capitol Records at Radio Recorders and featuring tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson, it reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, number 12 on the R&B chart, and number 13 in Canada.
Mancini has recorded several different versions of his theme music including "Señor Peter Gunn" on his 1965 album, The Latin Sound of Henry Mancini, and in a new arrangement for the 1967 movie Gunn...Number One!.
Lyrics were added by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans and first recorded in 1965 by Sarah Vaughan in an arrangement by Bill Holman on her album Sarah Vaughan Sings the Mancini Songbook. Mancini also recorded a vocal version titled "Bye Bye" that is on his 1967 soundtrack album Gunn...Number One!.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).