Neal Hefti

NEAL HEFTI
 
 
Neal Hefti  (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, songwriter, and arranger.  He composed the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960’s, and scored the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series also titled The Odd Couple.  He began arranging professionally in his teens, when he wrote charts for Nat Towles.  He became a prominent composer and arranger while playing trumpet for Woody Herman; while working for Herman he provided new arrangements for “Woodchopper’s Ball” and “Blowin’ Up a Storm”, and composed “The Good Earth” and “Wild Root”.  He is especially known for his charts for Count Basie such as “Li’l Darlin’” and “Cute”.  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 

Side 2 of the 1989 retrospective album of Link Protrudi and the JaymenMissing Links includes a live performance of “Batman”, played against the backdrop of the original “Batman Theme by Neal Hefti for the 1960’s Batman TV show.  Midway through the performance, two of the bandmembers take a novel approach to the old rumor that Batman and Robin were the original Ambiguously Gay Duo by letting Robin admit to having a dalliance with Spider-Man

 

(February 2013)

 

Last edited: March 22, 2021