''Cool Hand Luke'' is a
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
album for the
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
film of the same name, released in 1967 on the
Dot label.
History
The original music for ''Cool Hand Luke'' was composed by
Lalo Schifrin, who reissued it in 2001 along with additional cues and new music on his own Aleph label.
In part because its staccato melody resembles the sound of a telegraph, an edited version of the musical cue from "Tar Sequence" has been used for many years as the news music package on several television stations' news programs around the world, most notably on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's
owned-and-operated stations (except
WPVI
WPVI-TV (channel 6), branded on-air as 6 ABC, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station ...
and
KFSN) as part of their local newscasts starting in 1968 and lasting until the mid-1990s.
Retrieved November 2013. After an increase in licensing fees to the theme and its variants, however, many stations dropped the ''Tar Sequence'' and themes based directly on it (such as the Frank Gari
Frank Daniel Garofalo (born April 1, 1944), known professionally as Frank Gari, is an American singer-songwriter and composer.
Early life
Gari was a popular singer and songwriter from the late 1950s and early 1960s. His best known songs as a ...
-composed news music packages ''News Series 2000''). The ''Eyewitness News'' collection by Gari Media, currently used by WABC-TV
WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neig ...
and many other ABC affiliates, has a similar sound to the Tar Sequence. In Australia, the Nine Network introduced the "Tar Sequence" cue for Nine News in the early-1980s, and is still using variants of the theme as of 2022.
" Plastic Jesus" was sung by Paul Newman, but this version is not included in the soundtrack album. Other songs heard in the film performed by Harry Dean Stanton
Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer.
In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes ...
(but not included on the soundtrack album) include " Midnight Special", "Just a Closer Walk With Thee
"Just a Closer Walk with Thee" is a traditional gospel song and jazz standard that has been performed and recorded by many artists. Performed as either an instrumental or vocal, "A Closer Walk" is perhaps the most frequently played number in the ...
", " Ain't No Grave Can Keep My Body Down" and "Cotton Fields
"Cotton Fields (The Cotton Song)" (also known as In Them Old Cotton Fields Back Home) is a song written by American blues musician Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, who made the first recording of the song in 1940.
Early versions
Reco ...
".
Reception
Thom Jurek stated in his Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
review of the reissue: "Of all the film scores Lalo Schifrin has composed — good and bad, and yes, he's done some stinkers — the score to Stuart Rosenberg's 1967 film ''Cool Hand Luke''... is among his greatest achievements. As the reverie of the end title played so simply by Howard Roberts and Tommy Tedesco becomes a poignant memory of the film's hero and his struggle — as well as his laughter — listeners will find themselves wanting more..." Dan Goldwasser wrote: "Lalo's mixture of bluegrass and symphonic music resulted in a unique and satisfying sound. From the distinctive "Main Title" theme to the highly energetic (and Copeland-esque) "Tar Sequence", the first five minutes alone on the album are enough to give one the clear indication that this is no ordinary score."
The ''Cool Hand Luke'' score was nominated for an Academy Award.
Track listing
All songs by Lalo Schifrin unless otherwise noted.
# "Main Title" – 2:08
# "Just a Closer Walk With Thee
"Just a Closer Walk with Thee" is a traditional gospel song and jazz standard that has been performed and recorded by many artists. Performed as either an instrumental or vocal, "A Closer Walk" is perhaps the most frequently played number in the ...
" (Traditional) – 2:54
# "Tar Sequence" – 3:13
# "Lucille" – 2:45
# "Egg Eating Contest" – 2:58
# " Plastic Jesus" (Ed Rush, George Cromarty) – 1:57
# "Bean Time " – 1:12
# "Ballad of Cool Hand Luke" – 2:36
# "Arletta Blues" – 2:54
# "The First Morning" – 1:51
# "The Chase" – 3:18
# "Road Gang" – 1:48
# "End Title" – 2:13
2001 reissue track listing
# "Main Title" – 2:08
# "Tar Sequence" – 3:13
# "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" (Traditional) – 2:54
# "Chase" – 3:17
# "Lucille" – 2:45
# "Egg Eating Contest" – 2:57
# "Eye-Ballin Glasses" – 2:24
# "Arletta Blues" – 2:54
# "Criss-crossing the Fence" – 2:19
# "Plastic Jesus" (Rush, Cromarty) – 1:56
# "Got My Mind Back" – 3:08
# "Ballad of Cool Hand Luke" – 2:34
# "The First Morning" – 1:49
# "Bean Time " – 1:10
# "Road Gang" – 1:48
# "Radio in Barracks" – 1:47
# "Dog Boy" – 3:09
# "End Title" – 2:13
# "Sketches of Cool Hand Luke" – 6:56
# "Down Here on the Ground" – 5:59
Personnel
*Tom Mack – producer
*Donna Schifrin – producer (reissue)
*Thorne Nogar – engineer
*Andrew Richardson – engineer
* Lalo Schifrin – conductor, liner notes (reissue)
*Theresa Eastman – art direction, design (reissue)
*Bobby Bee – mastering (reissue)
*Stuart Rosenberg – liner notes (reissue)
*Howard Roberts
Howard Mancel Roberts (October 2, 1929 – June 28, 1992) was an American jazz guitarist, educator, and session musician.
Early years
Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Damon and Vesta Roberts, and began playing guitar at the age of 8 - a ...
, Tommy Tedesco
Thomas Joseph Tedesco (July 3, 1930 – November 10, 1997) was an American guitarist and studio musician in Los Angeles and Hollywood. He was part of the loose collective of the area's leading session musicians later popularly known as The Wrec ...
- guitar
*Earl Palmer
Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of a ...
- drums
* Tom Malone - Harmonica
* Ray Brown – bass
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cool Hand Luke (Soundtrack)
1967 soundtrack albums
MCA Records soundtracks
Lalo Schifrin soundtracks
Film scores
Dot Records soundtracks
Albums conducted by Lalo Schifrin