Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered international recognition for composing over 100 feature film scores, as well as compositions for television, stage productions, and the concert hall. Elfman has frequently worked with directors Tim Burton,

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1 ...

, and

Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, producer, photographer, and musician. He has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultur ...

, with achievements including the scores of 17 Burton films such as ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'', '' Batman Returns'', '' Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'', and '' Dumbo''; Raimi's ''

Darkman ''Darkman'' is a 1990 American superhero film directed and co-written by Sam Raimi. Based on a short story Raimi wrote that paid homage to Universal's horror films of the 1930s, the film stars Liam Neeson as scientist Peyton Westlake, who is br ...

'' (1990), '' A Simple Plan'' (1998), ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

'', '' Spider-Man 2'', '' Oz the Great and Powerful'', and '' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness''; and Van Sant's Academy Award-winning films '' Good Will Hunting'' and '' Milk''. He wrote music for all of the '' Men in Black'' and '' Fifty Shades of Grey'' franchise films, the songs and score for Henry Selick's animated

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

'' The Nightmare Before Christmas'', and the themes for the popular television series ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...

'' and '' The Simpsons''. Among his honors are four Oscar nominations, two

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s, a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

, seven Saturn Awards for Best Music, the 2002 Richard Kirk Award, the 2015 Disney Legend Award, the

Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award Hollywood in Vienna is an annual film music gala hosted in the Vienna Concert Hall where the ''Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award'' is presented. Overview "Hollywood in Vienna" is a red carpet film music gala-concert in the Vienna Conce ...

in 2017, and the Society of Composers & Lyricists Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.

Early life

Elfman was born on May 29, 1953 in Los Angeles, California, to a Jewish family of

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

and

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

descent. He is a son of Blossom Elfman (née Bernstein), a writer and teacher, and Milton Elfman, a teacher, and the brother of actor, musician, and journalist

Richard Elfman Richard Elfman (born March 6, 1949) is an American actor, musician, director, producer, screenwriter, journalist, author and magazine publisher. Early life Richard Elfman was born in the Watts district of inner-city Los Angeles. His mother, ...

. Elfman was raised in a racially mixed affluent community in

Baldwin Hills, California Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw is a neighborhood in the south region of the city of Los Angeles. It is divided between the upscale, principally home-owning Baldwin Hills residential district to the south and a more concentrated apartment area to the n ...

, where he spent much of his time at the local movie theater discovering classic sci-fi, fantasy and horror films and first noticed the music of such film composers as Bernard Herrmann and Franz Waxman. Elfman has admitted to fabricating stories about his past out of boredom, including a false birthplace of Amarillo, Texas, and parents in the United States Air Force. In his early school days, Elfman exhibited an aptitude for science with almost no interest in music, and was even rejected from elementary school orchestra "for having no propensity for music." This would change when he switched high schools in the late 1960s and fell in with a musical crowd, who introduced him to early jazz and the work of

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

and his 20th-century contemporaries. After finishing high school early with plans to travel the world, Elfman followed his brother Richard to France, where he performed violin with Jérôme Savary's Le Grand Magic Circus, an avant-garde musical theater group. He then embarked on a ten-month, self-guided tour through Africa,

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

and collecting a range of West African percussion instruments until a series of illnesses forced him to return home. At this time, Richard was forming a new musical theater group in Los Angeles. While Elfman was never officially a student at CalArts, Nyoman Wenten, an instructor in the

Indonesian music As it is a country with many different tribes and ethnic groups, the music of Indonesia ( id, Musik Indonesia) itself is also very diverse, coming in hundreds of different forms and styles. Every region have its own culture and art, and as a r ...

department, encouraged him to attend classes and perform music there for two years.

Career

Oingo Boingo

After returning to Los Angeles from Africa in the early 1970s, Elfman was asked by his brother Richard to serve as musical director of his

street theatre Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or university c ...

performance art troupe The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Elfman was tasked with adapting and arranging 1920s and 1930s jazz and big band music by artists such as

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

, Django Reinhardt and Josephine Baker for the ensemble, which consisted of up to 15 performers playing upwards of 30 instruments. He also composed original pieces and helped build instruments unique for the group, including an aluminum gamelan, the 'Schlitz

celeste Celeste may refer to: Geography * Mount Celeste, unofficial name of a mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada * Celeste, Texas, a rural city in North Texas ** Celeste High School, public high school located in the city of Celeste, ...

' made from tuned beer cans, and a "junkyard orchestra" built from car parts and trash cans. The Mystic Knights performed on the street and in nightclubs throughout Los Angeles until Richard left in 1979 to pursue filmmaking. As a send-off to the group's original concept, Richard produced the film '' Forbidden Zone'' based on the Mystic Knights' stage performances. Elfman composed the songs and his first

score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...

for the film, and appeared as the character

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

, who performs a reworked version of Calloway's " Minnie the Moocher." Before the release of '' Forbidden Zone'', Elfman took over the Mystic Knights as lead singer-songwriter in 1979. He pared the group down to eight players to record and tour as a ska-influenced new wave band under the name to Oingo Boingo. Their biggest success among eight studio albums penned by Elfman was 1985's '' Dead Man's Party'', featuring the hit song "

Weird Science Weird Science is the name of: * ''Weird Science'' (film), a 1985 film directed by John Hughes ** ''Weird Science'' (TV series), a television series based on the film ** "Weird Science" (song), the theme song to the film and the TV series by Oing ...

" from the movie of the same name. The band also appeared performing their single "Dead Man's Party" in the 1986 movie '' Back to School'',Buck, David
"Mystic Knights of the Movie Soundtrack"
Tedium, March 14, 2018. for which Elfman also composed the score. Elfman shifted the band to a more guitar-oriented rock sound in the late 1980s, which continued through their last album ''Boingo'' in 1994. Citing permanent hearing damage from performing live and conflicts with his film-scoring career, Elfman retired Oingo Boingo in 1995 with a series of five sold-out final concerts at the

Universal Amphitheatre Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California within Universal City, California, Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a p ...

ending on Halloween night. On October 31, 2015, Elfman and Oingo Boingo guitarist

Steve Bartek Steve Bartek (born January 30, 1952, in Garfield Heights, Ohio) is an American guitarist, film composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He is best known as the lead guitarist in the band Oingo Boingo and for his orchestration work with composer Da ...

performed the song "Dead Man's Party" with an orchestra as an encore to a live-to-film concert of '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' score at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

. Elfman told the audience the performance was "20 years to the day" of Oingo Boingo's retirement.

Film scoring

As fans of Oingo Boingo, Tim Burton and Paul Reubens invited Elfman to write the

for their first feature film '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' in 1985. Elfman was initially apprehensive because of his lack of formal training and having never scored a

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

feature, but after Burton accepted his initial demo of the title music, and with

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

assistance from Oingo Boingo guitarist and arranger

, Elfman completed the score to great effect, paying homage to influential film composers Nino Rota and Bernard Herrmann. Elfman described the first time he heard his music played by a full orchestra as one of the most thrilling experiences of his life. Following ''Pee Wee's Big Adventure'', Elfman scored a string of comedies in the late 1980s, including '' Back to School'' starring

Rodney Dangerfield Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Rodney Cohen; November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was known for his self-deprecating one-liner humor, his catchphrase "I don't get no resp ...

, Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' and the Bill Murray vehicle '' Scrooged''. Non-comedy work included the all- synth score to Emilio Estevez's crime drama '' Wisdom'' and the big band,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

-infused music for Martin Brest's buddy cop action film '' Midnight Run''. In 1989, Elfman's influential,

-winning score for Burton's ''

'' marked a major stylistic shift to dark, densely orchestrated music in the romantic idiom. This continued in his scores for Warren Beatty's ''

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...

'',

's ''

'' and Clive Barker's '' Nightbreed'', all released in 1990. With ''Batman'', Elfman firmly established a career-spanning relationship with Burton, scoring all but three of the director's major studio releases. Highlights include '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' Batman Returns'' (1992), '' Sleepy Hollow'' (1999), '' Big Fish'' (2003) and ''

'' (2010). In 1993, Elfman wrote the score and ten songs for the Burton-produced stop motion animated film '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'', directed by Henry Selick, and also provided the singing voice for main character Jack Skellington, as well as the voices for secondary characters Barrel, the Clown with the Tear-Away Face and others. In 2005, he wrote the score and songs for Burton's '' Corpse Bride'' and provided the voice of the character of Bonejangles, and provided the score, songs and Oompa-Loompa vocals for Burton's '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' that same year. In addition to frequent collaborations with Burton, Raimi and

, Elfman has worked with esteemed directors such as Brian De Palma,

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...

, Errol Morris, Ang Lee, Richard Donner,

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...

, David O. Russell, Taylor Hackford, Jon Amiel, Joe Johnston, and

Barry Sonnenfeld Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1, 1953) is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as ''The Addams Family'' (1991) and its sequel ''Addams Family Va ...

. His scores for Sonnenfeld's '' Men in Black'', Van Sant's '' Good Will Hunting'' and '' Milk'', and Burton's '' Big Fish'' all received Academy Award nominations. Since the mid-1990s, Elfman expanded his craft to a range of genres, including

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

s (''

Dolores Claiborne ''Dolores Claiborne'' () is a 1992 psychological thriller novel by Stephen King. The novel is narrated by the title character. Atypically for a King novel, it has no chapters, double-spacing between paragraphs, or other section breaks; thus, t ...

'', '' A Simple Plan'', '' The Kingdom, The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window''), dramas ('' Sommersby'', '' A Civil Action'', '' Hitchcock''), indies ('' Freeway'', '' Silver Linings Playbook'', '' Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot, White Noise''), family ('' Flubber'', ''

Charlotte's Web ''Charlotte's Web'' is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams; it was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his ...

'', '' Frankenweenie'', '' Goosebumps, Dolittle''), documentary (''

Standard Operating Procedure A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a set of step-by-step instructions compiled by an organization to help workers carry out routine operations. SOPs aim to achieve efficiency, quality output, and uniformity of performance, while reducing misc ...

'', '' The Unknown Known''), and horror ('' Red Dragon'', ''

The Wolfman In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely o ...

''), as well as entries in his well-established areas of horror comedy ('' The Frighteners'', '' Mars Attacks!'', '' Dark Shadows'') and comic book-inspired action films (''

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

'', '' Wanted'', '' Hellboy II: The Golden Army''). Among his franchise work, Elfman composed the scores for four '' Men in Black'' films (1997–2019) and three '' Fifty Shades of Grey'' films (2015–2018). In 1996, he scored the first film in the ''Mission: Impossible'' series, adapting themes for the original television series by

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

as well as composing his own. Elfman scored Raimi's ''

'' in 2002 and '' Spider-Man 2'' in 2004, themes and selections from which were used for Raimi's ''

Spider-Man 3 ''Spider-Man 3'' is a 2007 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi from a screenplay by Raimi, his older brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent. It is the final installment in Raimi's ...

'', scored by

Christopher Young Christopher Young (born April 28, 1957) is an American composer and orchestrator of film and television scores. Many of his compositions are for horror and thriller films, including ''Hellraiser'', ''Species'', ''Urban Legend'', ''The Grudge'', ...

. Elfman's ''Spider-Man'' theme was incorporated into the MCU film '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' composed by Michael Giacchino. Elfman entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe by providing additional music an 2015's '' Avengers: Age of Ultron,'' receiving composer credit with Brian Tyler. Elfman also scored MCU's '' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'' in 2022, utilizing Giacchino's theme to the original ''Doctor Strange'' film, as well as themes from WandaVision and

X-Men: The Animated Series ''X-Men'', also known as ''X-Men: The Animated Series'', is an animated superhero television series which debuted on October 31, 1992, in the United States on the Fox Kids Network. ''X-Men'' was Marvel Comics' second attempt at an animated X-Men ...

, and music from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Bach's Toccata and Fugue. For several high-profile sequel and reboot projects in the 2010s, Elfman incorporated established musical themes with his own original thematic material, including the DC Extended Universe's '' Justice League'', '' The Grinch,'' '' Dumbo'' and ''Men in Black International''. Elfman was featured in the 2016 documentary ''

Score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...

'', in which he appeared among over 50 film composers to discuss the craft of movie music and influential figures in the business.

Concert and stage music

Elfman's first piece of original concert music, ''

Serenada Schizophrana ''Serenada Schizophrana'' is a suite of six symphonic movements written by American film composer Danny Elfman in 2004. It was commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra, which premiered the work at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Februar ...

'', was commissioned by the

American Composers Orchestra The American Composers Orchestra (ACO) is an American orchestra administratively based in New York City, specialising in contemporary American music. The ACO gives concerts at various concert venues in New York City, including: * Zankel Hall at ...

, who premiered the piece on February 23, 2005, at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

. Subsequent concert works include his first '' Violin Concerto "Eleven Eleven"'', co-commissioned by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Stanford Live at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, which premiered at Smetana Hall in Prague on June 21, 2017, with

Sandy Cameron A.M. "Sandy" Cameron (December 16, 1938 – December 25, 2004) was a Canadian politician and businessman. He represented the electoral district of Guysborough in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1973 to 1984. He was a member of the Nova Sco ...

on violin and John Mauceri conducting the Czech National Symphony Orchestra; the ''Piano Quartet'', co-commissioned by the

Lied Center for Performing Arts The Lied Center for Performing Arts (frequently shortened to Lied Center) is a multi-venue performing arts facility in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It opened in 1990 on the southwest edge of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's City Campus ...

University of Nebraska and the Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet, which premiered February 6, 2018, in Lincoln, Nebraska; and the ''Percussion Quartet'', commissioned by

Third Coast Percussion Third Coast Percussion is a Grammy Award-winning American percussion ensemble, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The group, composed of Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore, specializes in new music/contempor ...

and premiered at the

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

Days And Nights Festival in

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...

on October 10, 2019. 2022 saw the first performances of three concert works. Elfman's Cello Concerto composed

Gautier Capucon Gautier may refer to: People * Gautier or Walter of Pontoise (c. 1030 – c. 1099), French saint * Gautier le Leu, thirteenth-century French poet * Gautier (surname) Places * Gautier, Dominican Republic, a municipal district in the San Pedro d ...

premiered by the Vienna Symphony in March, with subsequent performances by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in May and The

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

US premiere in November Elfman's Percussion Concerto for Colin Currie premiered at tLondon's

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

with

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

, and was later performed at Soka University of America in California, with Pacific Symphony. His ''Wunderkammer'', a commission from the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, toured the UK in summer 2022, culminating in a performance in London's

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

as part of the BBC Proms, with national radio and TV broadcasts. In 2008, Elfman accepted his first commission for the stage, composing the music for Twyla Tharp's ''Rabbit and Rogue'' ballet, co-commissioned by

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

and Orange County Performing Arts Center and premiering on June 3, 2008, at the Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center. Other works for stage include the music for Cirque Du Soleil's '' Iris'' in 2011, and incidental music for the Broadway production of Taylor Mac's '' Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus'' in 2019. Nightmare Before XMAS Live 20151031 185935

Nightmare Before XMAS Live 20151031 185935

In October 2013, Elfman returned to the stage for the first time since his band Oingo Boingo disbanded to sing a handful of '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' songs as part of the concert ''Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton'', featuring suites of music from 15 Tim Burton films newly arranged by Elfman. The concert has since toured internationally and has played in Japan, Australia, Mexico and throughout Europe and the United States. Since 2015, Elfman has appeared regularly in a

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

concert featuring full orchestra performing the ''Nightmare Before Christmas'' score live to the film projection. Elfman made his

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind "Coachella – Woodstock In My Mind" is a song by Ame ...

debut on April 16, 2022, with ''Danny Elfman: From Boingo to ‘Batman’ to ‘Big Mess’ to Beyond!'' The concert, postponed from Coachella 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, featured Elfman's film and television music arranged for band, orchestra and choir, as well as songs from his solo album '' Big Mess'' and new arrangements of songs from his Oingo Boingo catalogue. Conducted by

, and featuring Elfman (vocals, guitar, percussion), Wes Borland (guitar),

Stu Brooks Stu Brooks (also known as Stu "Bassie" Brooks) is a Grammy nominated bassist, composer, producer, musical director, and co-founder of the experimental group Dub Trio. He is known for playing and recording with the Saturday Night Live Band, Lady Ga ...

(bass), Nili Brosh (guitar), and

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American session drummer. He is the son of tuba soloist Stan Freese and the older brother of musician Jason Freese. He is a member of the Vandals (since 1989) and Devo (since 1996), having forme ...

(drums), the concert was expanded for two shows Halloween weekend 2022 at the

Television and other projects

In addition to his music for film, Elfman also penned themes for the television series '' The Simpsons'', '' Tales from the Crypt'', '' The Flash'' and ''

'', which won Elfman his first Emmy. He also adapted his original themes for the animated versions of ''

'' and '' Beetlejuice''. Occasional forays into serial television include episodes of ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...

'', '' Amazing Stories'' and Pee-wee's Playhouse, the

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

'' When We Rise'' co-composed with Chris Bacon, and themes for the Netflix series Wednesday. He has composed music for animated shorts, including Sally Cruikshank's ''Face Like A Frog'' and Tim Burton's "Stainboy" internet series. Elfman provided background music for Luigi Serafini's solo exhibition ''il Teatro della Pittura'' at the Fondazione Mudima di Milano in Milan, Italy in 1998 and for the ''Tim Burton'' exhibition at

MoMA Moma may refer to: People * Moma Clarke (1869–1958), British journalist * Moma Marković (1912–1992), Serbian politician * Momčilo Rajin (born 1954), Serbian art and music critic, theorist and historian, artist and publisher Places ; Ang ...

in 2009. In the 1990s, Elfman composed music for advertising campaigns for Nike,

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

and Lincoln-Mercury, and in 2002 wrote the music for Honda's "Power of Dreams" advertising campaign, which was the first cinema commercial to be shot in the

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...

format. In 2013 he composed the music and provided the English-language vocals for the

Hong Kong Disneyland Hong Kong Disneyland () (local nickname ''HKDL''; also known as HK Disneyland) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and it is owned and managed by Hong Ko ...

attraction Mystic Manor. On October 31, 2019, the MasterClass online educational series released "Making Music out of Chaos," presenting 21 compositional and career lessons from Elfman's four decades of experience primarily in the film industry. Elfman scored the 10-minute video "Joe Biden," which introduced Joe Biden's acceptance of the presidential candidacy nomination at the

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...

Solo

In October 2020, Elfman released the single, "

Happy Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. Sinc ...

," on Anti- Records and

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...

. From January 2021 on the eleventh day of each month, he released five subsequent singles "Sorry", "Love In The Time of COVID", "Kick Me", "True", and a reworking the Oingo Boingo song “Insects” from the album '' Nothing to Fear''. This culminated with the release of the double album '' Big Mess'' on June 11. Featuring 18 original songs this was Elfman's first solo studio album since 1984's '' So-Lo''. On August 11, 2021, Elfman released a remix of “True” with lead vocals shared between Elfman and

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

frontman Trent Reznor. A year later, Elfman released ''Bigger Messier'', a compilation of 23 remixes of songs on the album ''Big Mess'' by artists including Reznor,

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

Blixa Bargeld Blixa Bargeld (born Christian Emmerich, 12 January 1959) is a German musician who has been the lead singer of the band Einstürzende Neubauten since its formation in 1980. Bargeld was also a founding member of the Australian rock band Nick Cave a ...

, Squarepusher,

Boy Harsher Boy Harsher is an American electronic music group, formed in 2013 in Savannah, Georgia. Currently based in Northampton, Massachusetts, the band consists of vocalist Jae Matthews and producer Augustus Muller. The band has amassed a cult following ...

and more.

Influences and style

Elfman has said his major influences are composers from

Hollywood's Golden Age Classical Hollywood cinema is a term used in film criticism to describe both a narrative and visual style of filmmaking which became characteristic of American cinema between the 1910s (rapidly after World War I) and the 1960s. It eventually be ...

, such as Bernard Herrmann, Dimitri Tiomkin, Max Steiner, David Tamkin, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and

Carl Stalling Carl William Stalling (November 10, 1891 – November 29, 1972) was an American composer, voice actor and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts produced by War ...

;

20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nuclear ...

classical composers This is a list of classical music composers by era. With the exception of the overview, the Modernist era has been combined with the Postmodern. Overview Preset = TimeHorizontal_AutoPlaceBars_UnitYear ImageSize = width:1100 height:auto bari ...

Sergei Prokofiev,

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

, and Carl Orff; and jazz, experimental and minimalist composers

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

, Harry Partch,

, Lou Harrison, Terry Riley, and

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

.Elfman, Danny. "A note from the Composer." Liner notes. Serenada Shizophrana. CD. Sony Classical, 2006. Influences on specific scores include

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

('' Forbidden Zone''), Nino Rota ('' Pee-wee's Big Adventure''), George Gershwin (''

''), Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ('' Edward Scissorhands''), and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

('' Dead Presidents''). Though not considered direct influences ''per se'', Elfman has discussed his respect and admiration for film composers Jerry Goldsmith,

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

, Thomas Newman, Alexandre Desplat and

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

, as well as classical composer John Adams. Though many believe

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

informed his influential score to ''

'', Elfman has said it was more likely from Wagner's influence on classic film composers such as Herrmann, Steiner, Waxman and Korngold, as he was unfamiliar with Wagner's work at the time. Elfman counts Herrmann as his biggest influence, and has said hearing Herrmann's score to '' The Day the Earth Stood Still'' when he was a child was the first time he recognized film music as a cinematic art form and realized the powerful contribution a composer makes to the movies.

Pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...

of Herrmann's music can be heard in Elfman's ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure'', especially the cues "Stolen Bike" and "Clown Dream", which directly reference Herrmann's music from ''

Psycho Psycho may refer to: Mind * Psychopath * Sociopath * Someone with a personality disorder * Someone with a psychological disorder People with the nickname * Karl Amoussou or Psycho, mixed martial artist * Peter Ebdon or Psycho, English snook ...

'' and '' The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' respectively. His score to ''Batman'' makes more subtle nods to Herrmann's ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' and '' Vertigo'', and more integral

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

can be heard in later scores for '' Mars Attacks!'' and '' Hitchcock'', as well as the "Blue Strings" movement of his first concert work ''

''. While Elfman is primarily known for writing large-scale orchestral works in the romantic,

and Hollywood Golden Age film score traditions, his compositions have used a wide range of idioms, including rock and

('' Midnight Run, Hot to Trot''), big band and jazz (''Dick Tracy'', ''Chicago''),

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

('' The Nightmare Before Christmas'', '' Corpse Bride''),

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and hip hop ('' Dead Presidents'', ''

Notorious Notorious means well known for a negative trait, characteristic, or action. It may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Notorious'' (1946 film), a thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Notorious'' (1992 film), a TV film re ...

''), folk and indie rock ('' Taking Woodstock'', '' Silver Linings Playbook''), Americana ('' Article 99'', '' Sommersby'', '' Big Fish),''

minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

('' Good Will Hunting'', ''Standard Operating Procedure'', '' The Unknown Known''), and atonal or experimental ('' Freeway'', '' A Simple Plan, The Girl on the Train''). Given his appreciation and study of world music and his vast collection of instruments from non-Western cultures, Elfman will often use traditional instruments in his scores when there is an international setting, such as African percussion for ''

Instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a v ...

,'' the oud for '' The Kingdom'' set in Saudi Arabia, and pan flute for '' Proof of Life'' set in South America. When working on films with established musical identifiers, Elfman will often incorporate original themes in addition to his own thematic material. Examples include

's main theme and "The Plot" from the original Mission Impossible TV Series for '' Mission: Impossible'';

' theme for ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

'', the Hans Zimmer/ Junkie XL theme for '' Wonder Woman'' and his own original ''Batman'' theme for '' Justice League;'' the "Welcome Christmas" song from the 1966 ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' for ''The Grinch''; and "Casey Junior," "Pink Elephants on Parade," and "When I See an Elephant Fly" from Disney's original 1941

animated film Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

for '' Dumbo''. The songs for ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' and ''Corpse Bride'' were influenced by

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

and early Rodgers and Hammerstein. At the request of Tim Burton, ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' songs drew inspiration from Bollywood,

the Mamas and the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

, ABBA, Queen, and Earth, Wind & Fire individually. Elfman's work in pop music and specifically as songwriter for Oingo Boingo was influenced by the Specials,

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

, the Selecter,

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

, Fun Boy Three, and XTC.

Process

Film music

For his film scores, Elfman draws musical inspiration almost exclusively from viewing a cut of the film, and occasionally from visits to the set while the film is in production (he wrote and orchestrated his theme for ''Batman'' on an airplane to Los Angeles after visiting the set in London). While he prefers not to work from script, story or concept, exceptions include '' The Nightmare Before Christmas,'' for which ten songs needed to be written in advance of filmmaking, and '' Dumbo,'' for which he composed the main theme before filming began. Once a rough cut of the film is ready, Elfman and the director have a spotting session to decide where to place music in the film, the emotional undercurrents of each scene, and overall tone. Elfman then spends a few weeks of free composition and experimentation to begin working out thematic material and to develop sounds and the harmonic pallette. When he has received approval on initial material from the filmmakers, Elfman begins to compose anywhere from 60 to 120 minutes of music cue-by-cue. He says two of the most important things to capture at this point are the tone of each scene and editorial rhythm. Next to thematic development, action set pieces tend to take Elfman the most time given the complexity of timing music to action. One element where Elfman's compositional process deviates from most film composers is that he will often compose three or more often radically different versions of a single cue to give the director more options for musicalizing a scene. Early in his career, he wrote out his scores using pencil, but has composed largely digitally since the mid-1990s. Before recording the score, he demos each cue by mocking orchestral and choral parts on synthesizer to get approval from the director. Once approved, he provides a detailed, multi-line sketch of his composition to his lead orchestrator

, who ensures the sketches are appropriately broken down for sections of the orchestra (i.e.

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, brass woodwind, some percussion), choir ( SATB) and individual players. Elfman also typically samples or records his own percussion and guitar playing to overlay with live orchestra. More than half of some scores feature Elfman's performance, including '' Dead Presidents'', '' Mission: Impossible'', '' Planet of the Apes'', ''The Kingdom'', '' The Girl on the Train'' and '' The Circle.'' To produce the score, Elfman rents a recording studio and hires a conductor and orchestra/choir. He oversees the recording from the

control booth The control booth, control room, lighting box, technical booth, tech booth, or just booth used by television, film or theatrical technicians is the area designated for the operation of technical equipment ( lighting and sound), lighting contro ...

so that he can troubleshoot with the film's director and recording engineers. The final recording is given to the film's sound department to mix with dialogue and sound effects for the film's complete soundtrack. Elfman will usually do a separate mix of select cues for an album presentation of the score, and has produced nearly 100 to date. On the occasion that there are compressed deadlines or in the event he is not available to rescore or adapt his music if there are major edits to the film after the score's completion, Elfman will hire additional composers to work on small cues or sections of cues, adapting his existing material or themes. Examples include Jonathan Sheffer on ''

'', David Buckley on the '' Fifty Shades of Grey'' films, and Pinar Toprak on '' Justice League.'' Since the 1990s, Elfman has occasionally co-composed music or shared music writing credit (e.g.'' When We Rise'', '' Spy Kids'', '' Avengers: Age of Ultron, Men in Black International''), or written themes that are then used or adapted by other composers, including Jonathan Sheffer (''

Pure Luck ''Pure Luck'' is a 1991 American comedy film starring Martin Short and Danny Glover. It is a remake of the popular French comedy film '' La Chèvre'' (1981). Plot The film opens as the klutzy Valerie Highsmith arrives at an airport in Puerto V ...

''),

('' Novacaine''), John Debney ('' Heartbreakers),'' Deborah Lurie ( ''9''), and the Newton Brothers ( ''Before I Wake''). During all his career, Elfman only once collaborated with another artist – meaning writing music together: it was with

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

on the song " Face to Face" for ''Batman Returns'' in 1992. She created the foundation of the song, "and then I would take it and I would add stuff. And send it back to her". It was a long distance collaboration as the studio needed the song very quickly. Elfman literally saw himself as a non-collaborator. "I’m not used to collaborating at all with anybody. I did one track with Siouxsie and the Banshees" "but that’s it. I’ve always been in my own bubble, and that bubble has been very fertile".

Concert music

In the liner notes for the 2006 CD recording of his first concert work ''

'', Elfman wrote: "I began composing several dozen short improvisational compositions, maybe a minute each. Slowly, some of them began to develop themselves until finally I had six separate movements that, in some abstract, absurd way, felt connected." To create the

cadenza In music, a cadenza (from it, cadenza, link=no , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvisation, improvised or written-out ornament (music), ornamental passage (music), passage played or sung by a solo (music), sol ...

s for his violin concerto ''Eleven Eleven'', Elfman collaborated with soloist Sandy Cameron, for whom the piece was written.

Vocals

Elfman often incorporates choral or vocal arrangements into his film scores, notably the use of women's and children's choirs ('' Scrooged'', '' Nightbreed, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns'', '' Sleepy Hollow,

'', '' The Grinch''), and solo voice or vocal effects ('' Beetlejuice'', '' Mars Attacks!'', '' Men in Black II'', '' Flubber'', '' Nacho Libre'', '' Iris'', '' Dark Shadows'', '' The Girl on the Train''). Evoking the "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff's '' Carmina Burana'', he set made-up, Latin-sounding text for SATB choir in standout cue "Descent into Mystery" from ''

.'' Elfman also adds his own vocals into compositions in much the same way he mixes his percussion and guitar performances into orchestral arrangements. Prominent use can be heard in the scores for '' To Die For'' (sung with director

, credited to "Little Gus and the Suzettes"), '' Silver Linings Playbook'', and his music for the

ride Mystic Manor. He provided the singing voice for characters in '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' and '' Corpse Bride'' in addition to composing the scores and songs'','' and can be heard singing the "Day-O" call in the style of Harry Belafonte's " Banana Boat Song" in the first bars of the ''Beetlejuice'' main title. For Tim Burton's '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,'' Elfman set

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

's text for the

Oompa-Loompa This is a list of characters in the 1964 Roald Dahl book ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'', his 1972 sequel ''Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator'', and the former's film adaptations, ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' (1971) and '' ...

characters as four stylistically distinct songs: the Bollywood-influenced "Augustus Gloop," the

-infused "Violet Beauregarde," the psychedelic pop stylings of "Veruca Salt," and the baroque rock of "Mike Teevee." For all songs in the film, Elfman sang, manipulated and mixed several layers of his vocals to create the singing voices and harmonies of the Oompa Loompas, and incorporated his vocals into non-song score tracks that featured the characters, including "Loompa Land," "Chocolate River," "The Boat Arrives," and "The River Cruise."

Lyrics

Elfman typically writes the lyrics to songs he has composed for movies. He employs song structures from Tin Pan Alley and early musical theatre composers (

32-bar form The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. A ...

), and pop and rock of the 1950s and 1960s ( verse-chorus). As his songs serve to advance the plot and develop characters, lyrics reflect storylines and imagery specific to the film and express the inner life of characters. He wrote the lyrics and music for ten songs featured in the

stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

musical '' The Nightmare Before Christmas''. Drawing from Tim Burton's parody poem of '' A Visit from St. Nicholas'' and concept drawings, Elfman wrote each song in consultation with Burton before the film even had a script. These include the full-cast songs "This Is Halloween," "Town Meeting Song," and "Making Christmas"; four songs for the main character Jack Skellington "Jack's Lament," "What's This," "Jack's Obsession," and "Poor Jack" all sung by Elfman; and the other character songs "Kidnap the Sandy Claws," "Oogie Boogie's Song," and "Sally's Song." An eleventh song, "Finale/Reprise," reworks lyrics from the songs "This Is Halloween," "What's This" and "Sally's Song" for the film's ending. Though uncredited, Burton contributed some lyrics to ''Nightmare'', including the line "Perhaps it's the head that I found in the lake" in "Town Meeting Song." Elfman composed five songs for Burton's '' Corpse Bride'': "According to Plan" with lyrics co-written by screenwriter John August; "Remains of the Day," which he sung as the character Bonejangles, and "Tears To Shed," both with additional lyrics by August, and "The Wedding Song" credited solely to Elfman. The song "Erased" was not used in the final film. He wrote the lyrics to "Lullaby" from ''

'', the rock track "The Little Things" from '' Wanted'' which he also sang in English and Russian, and "Alice's Theme" from ''

''. Elfman co-wrote the lyrics to "Twice the Love" from '' Big Fish'' and the "Wonka's Welcome Song" for ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' with John August. Elfman wrote the lyrics to all of Oingo Boingo's original songs 1979–1994 and has made residuals on the titular two-word opening phrase sung in his ''The Simpsons'' theme since the series first aired in 1989.

Personal life

As a teenager, Elfman dated his classmate Kim Gordon, who would later become one of the members of the rock band

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

. He has two daughters, Lola and Mali, from his marriage to Geri Eisenmenger. Mali is a film producer and actress. Elfman and Mali collaborated on her 2011 film ''Do Not Disturb''. On November 29, 2003, Elfman married actress

Bridget Fonda Bridget Jane Fonda (born January 27, 1964) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), ''Single White Female'' (1992), ''Singles'' (1992), ''Point of No Return'' (1993), '' It Could Happen to You'' ( ...

. They have a son, Oliver. In 1998, Elfman scored '' A Simple Plan'', starring Fonda. He is the uncle of actor

Bodhi Elfman Bodhi Pine Elfman (born Bodhi Pine Saboff) is an American actor and the child of filmmaker Richard Elfman and Rhonda Joy Saboff. He is best known for playing the roles of Avram Hader in the Fox television series ''Touch'' and for his recurring r ...

, who is married to actress

Jenna Elfman Jennifer Mary Elfman (née Butala, born 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as Dharma on the ABC sitcom ''Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002), for which she received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Televisi ...

. Elfman has been an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

since the age of 11 or 12. According to him, he is a cynicologist. Describing his politics during the 1980s, Elfman said, "I'm not a doomist. My attitude is always to be critical of what's around you, but not ever to forget how lucky we are. I've traveled around the world. I left thinking I was a revolutionary. I came back real right-wing patriotic. Since then, I've kind of mellowed in between." Several of his songs written for Oingo Boingo during this period satirized social politics, although Elfman stated his message was to "question, resist, challenge" and that his songs were not aligned to any one political agenda. In 2008, Elfman expressed support for Barack Obama. For the

, he scored the biographical video played ahead of Joe Biden's acceptance of the presidential nomination in the

2020 United States elections The 2020 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Democratic presidential nominee, former vice president Joe Biden, defeated incumbent Republican president Donald Trump in the presidential election. Despite losing seats ...

. In a series of posts on his Instagram page discussing the video, Elfman criticized Donald Trump, Richard Nixon, and the electoral college, and linked to several voter resources. During his 18 years with Oingo Boingo, Elfman developed significant hearing damage as a result of the continuous exposure to the high noise levels involved in performing in a rock band. Afraid of worsening his condition, he decided to leave the band, saying that he would never return to that kind of performance. His impairment was so bad that he could not "even sit in a loud restaurant or bar anymore." However, he found performing in front of orchestras more tolerable, and returned several times to reprise his live performance of Jack Skellington.

In popular culture

Since '' The Simpsons second annual '' Treehouse of Horror'' episode aired in 1991, launching " scary names" tradition in the opening and closing titles, Elfman has been alternately credited for the theme music as "Red Wolf Elfman," "Danny Skellingelfman," "Li'l Leakin Brain Elfman," "Boris Elfmonivich," "Danny Elfblood," "Danny 'Hell'fman," "The Bloody Elf," "Danny Elfbones," "Elfmunster" and "Daniel Beilzebelsman." Elfman's composition "Clown Dream" from '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' is used in the video game ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

'' and has often been used as the opening music for Primus concerts. In the 2007 sixth season ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' parody " Blue Harvest", ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' lampooned Elfman's orchestral style. A scene shows Elfman replacing an incinerated

to conduct a full orchestra playing the

, only to be decapitated by a lightsaber after conducting a few bars of oom-pah music. Episode five of the 14th season of ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'' in 2010 criticized Tim Burton for using the "same" music in all his films, referring to Elfman's scores. In October 2016, Elfman produced a video clip for Funny or Die with original "horror" music composed to footage of Donald Trump pacing around Hillary Clinton at the second United States presidential election debates, 2016. In 2019, selections from Elfman's '' Midnight Run'' score were used in the third season of Netflix's ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

,'' including "Stairway Chase" in episodes 5 and 6, and "Wild Ride" and "Package Deal" in episode 6. Christina Aguilera revealed that Elfman's music inspired her Las Vegas concert residency The Xperience.''The Christina Aguilera Interview''. ''Sun on the Strip''. ''Las Vegas Sun''. Greenspun Media Group. June 12, 2019.

List of compositions

Awards and nominations

American Film Institute

Elfman's scores for ''

'' and '' Edward Scissorhands'' were nominated for AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores.

Discography

Including commercial recordings of his film scores and the Oingo Boingo discography, Elfman has produced over 100 albums as of 2019.

Appearances in film and television

References

External links

* * * * *
Danny Elfman page at his classical publishers, Faber Music Ltd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elfman, Danny 1953 births 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians American film score composers American male film score composers American male singers American male voice actors American musical theatre composers American new wave musicians American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American rock musicians American television composers Animated film score composers Anti- (record label) artists Columbia Records artists Danny Fonda family Grammy Award winners Jewish American atheists Jewish American film score composers Jewish American songwriters Jewish American television composers Jewish rock musicians La-La Land Records artists Living people Male actors from Los Angeles Male musical theatre composers Male television composers Musicians from Los Angeles People from Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles Primetime Emmy Award winners Record producers from California University High School (Los Angeles) alumni Video game composers Warner Records artists