Perry Botkin Jr. (April 16, 1933 – January 18, 2021)
was an American
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
,
producer,
arranger
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
, and
musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
. The tune "
Nadia's Theme
"Nadia's Theme", originally titled "Cotton's Dream", is a piece of music composed by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr. in 1971. It was originally used as incidental music for the 1971 film '' Bless the Beasts and Children'', and is better kn ...
", composed by Botkin and
Barry De Vorzon
Barry De Vorzon (born July 31, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and composer. His earliest hit compositions were "Just Married" (1958), written with Al Allen and recorded by Marty Robbins, which reached number 26 on ''Billboar ...
, peaked at No. 8 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1976 and became the theme song for the long-running television soap opera ''
The Young and the Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...
''. He was also a major contributor to
Incredible Bongo Band
The Incredible Bongo Band, also known as Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band, was a project started in 1972 by Michael Viner, a record artist manager and executive at MGM Records. Viner was called on to supplement the soundtrack to the B-film ' ...
, one of the most influential groups of all-time for its ''Bongo Rock'' album which is one of the most sampled from records, making it a major influence in the origins of
Hip hop.
Life and career
He was born in 1933 in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
as son of
Perry Botkin Sr., who also was a successful musician and composer.
Botkin had a successful career in music for more than forty years. As an arranger, he worked with
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music.
He started his car ...
,
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...
,
Gary Crosby,
The Lettermen
The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...
,
Ed Ames
Ed Ames (born Edmund Dantes Urick; July 9, 1927), who also recorded as Eddie Ames, is an American singer and actor. He is known for playing Mingo in the television series ''Daniel Boone'', and for his pop hits of the mid-to-late 1960s including " ...
,
Shelby Flint
Shelby Flint (born September 17, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter who had two top-100 hits, " Angel on My Shoulder" in 1961 and " Cast Your Fate to the Wind" in 1966.
Career
Flint's single "I Will Love You" appeared in the Variety T.I.P ...
and
Harpers Bizarre
Harpers Bizarre was an American sunshine pop band of the 1960s, best known for their Broadway/sunshine pop sound and their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)."
Career
Harpers Bizarre was formed out of th ...
, among others. The film scores that he composed are similar to the music of his partner and counterpart,
Barry De Vorzon
Barry De Vorzon (born July 31, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and composer. His earliest hit compositions were "Just Married" (1958), written with Al Allen and recorded by Marty Robbins, which reached number 26 on ''Billboar ...
.
In 1990, Botkin retired from the commercial music industry, and began self-producing CDs of electronic music. James Harbert, in the liner notes for the first of these recordings, says, "With these new musical works, Perry Botkin has achieved his musical goal. He has succeeded in being himself."
Death
Botkin died on January 18, 2021, at age 87, at
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center is a Catholic hospital in Burbank, California. The hospital has 446 beds, and is part of Providence Health & Services. Its address is 501 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California 91505. On the oppo ...
in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
.
Awards
* 1971 -
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination - Best Song, "Bless the Beasts and Children", with
Barry DeVorzon
Barry De Vorzon (born July 31, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and composer. His earliest hit compositions were "Just Married" (1958), written with Al Allen and recorded by Marty Robbins, which reached number 26 on ''Billboa ...
* 1977 -
Grammy Award
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 pres ...
winner - Best Instrumental Arrangement - "
Nadia's Theme
"Nadia's Theme", originally titled "Cotton's Dream", is a piece of music composed by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr. in 1971. It was originally used as incidental music for the 1971 film '' Bless the Beasts and Children'', and is better kn ...
(The Young and the Restless)", with Barry DeVorzon and Harry Betts
Works (partial)
Recordings
* 1969 - "Love Is blue" with Johnny Gibbs,
Frank De Vol
Frank Denny De Vol (September 20, 1911 – October 27, 1999) was an American actor, and using the name De Vol was an arranger and composer. As a composer he was nominated for four Academy Awards.
Early life and career
De Vol was born in Moundsvi ...
, Norman Percival, Hank Levine,
Les Reed,
Billy May
Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad'' (1968), ''Batman'' (with '' Batgirl'' them ...
,
Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to:
Australian rules football
* Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon
* Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy
* Bill J. V. Wal ...
,
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...
,
Pete King
Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to:
People
* Pete (given name)
* Pete (nickname)
* Pete (surname)
Fictional characters
* Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe
* Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ( ...
,
Frank Comstock
Frank G. Comstock (September 20, 1922 – May 21, 2013) was an American composer, arranger, conductor and trombonist. For television, Comstock wrote and arranged music for major situation comedies and variety shows; his theme and incidental musi ...
. (
Reader's Digest
''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
, RDA 77-A)
* 1976 - "
Nadia's Theme
"Nadia's Theme", originally titled "Cotton's Dream", is a piece of music composed by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr. in 1971. It was originally used as incidental music for the 1971 film '' Bless the Beasts and Children'', and is better kn ...
" with
Barry DeVorzon
Barry De Vorzon (born July 31, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and composer. His earliest hit compositions were "Just Married" (1958), written with Al Allen and recorded by Marty Robbins, which reached number 26 on ''Billboa ...
. (
A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
, AM 1856)
Recordings (arranger)
*
Hollyridge Strings
The Hollyridge Strings was an American studio orchestra that specialized in easy-listening music, and recorded for the Capitol Records label in the 1960s and 1970s. Stu Phillips, Mort Garson, and Perry Botkin, Jr. were among those who produced, a ...
- "The Beatles Songbook Vol.4" album (co-arranger/conductor (with
Mort Garson
Morton Sanford Garson (20 July 1924 – 4 January 2008) was a Canadian composer, arranger, songwriter, and pioneer of electronic music. He is best known for his albums in the 1960s and 1970s, such as '' Mother Earth's Plantasia'' (1976), He also ...
)
*
Incredible Bongo Band
The Incredible Bongo Band, also known as Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band, was a project started in 1972 by Michael Viner, a record artist manager and executive at MGM Records. Viner was called on to supplement the soundtrack to the B-film ' ...
- "Bongo Rock" album
*
Incredible Bongo Band
The Incredible Bongo Band, also known as Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band, was a project started in 1972 by Michael Viner, a record artist manager and executive at MGM Records. Viner was called on to supplement the soundtrack to the B-film ' ...
- "The Return of the Incredible Bongo Band" album
*
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music.
He started his car ...
- ''In a Broadway Bag'' album
*
The Cascades - "Rhythm of the Rain"
* Robin Ward - "Wonderful Summer"
*
Shelby Flint
Shelby Flint (born September 17, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter who had two top-100 hits, " Angel on My Shoulder" in 1961 and " Cast Your Fate to the Wind" in 1966.
Career
Flint's single "I Will Love You" appeared in the Variety T.I.P ...
- “Angel On My Shoulder”
* The T-Bones - "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)"
*
José Feliciano
José Montserrate Feliciano García (born September 10, 1945) () is a Puerto Rican musician, singer and composer. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song " ...
- "Feliz Navidad"
*
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...
- ''Pandemonium Shadow Show'' album
*
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...
- ''Playing Possum'' album
*
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...
- ''Stoney End'' album
*
Maureen McGovern
Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; "We May Never Love Like This Again" from ''T ...
- ''Academy Award Performance'' album
*
The Checkmates
Michael Emile Telford Miller (16 October 1937 – 11 April 2016), known professionally as Emile Ford, was a musician and singer born in Saint Lucia, British Windward Islands. He was popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s and early 1 ...
- ''
Love Is All We Have to Give'' album, including "
Black Pearl
The ''Black Pearl'' (formerly known as the ''Wicked Wench'') is a fictional ship in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. In the screenplay, the ''Black Pearl'' is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. Captained by ...
"
Films
* ''
R. P. M.
''R. P. M.'' is a 1970 American drama film directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Anthony Quinn and Ann-Margret. As the film's poster notes, the title is an initialism for "revolutions per minute", which at the time was a common term for the varia ...
'' (1970) (with Barry DeVorzon)
* ''
Bless the Beasts and Children'' (1971) (with Barry DeVorzon)
* ''
Skyjacked'' (1972)
* ''
They Only Kill Their Masters
''They Only Kill Their Masters'' is a 1972 American mystery film directed by James Goldstone, written by Lane Slate, and starring James Garner and Katharine Ross, with a supporting cast featuring Hal Holbrook, June Allyson, Tom Ewell, Peter Lawfo ...
'' (1972)
* ''
Lady Ice
''Lady Ice'' is a 1973 American crime film directed by Tom Gries, and stars Donald Sutherland, Jennifer O'Neill, and Robert Duvall. The story concerns an insurance investigator who becomes involved with a wealthy young woman he suspects of fenc ...
'' (1973)
* ''Your Three Minutes Are Up'' (1973)
* ''
Goin' South
''Goin' South'' is a 1978 American Western-comedy film, directed by and starring Jack Nicholson, with Mary Steenburgen, Christopher Lloyd, John Belushi, Richard Bradford, Veronica Cartwright, Danny DeVito and Ed Begley Jr.
Plot
Henry Lloy ...
'' (1978) (with Van Dyke Parks)
* ''
Tarzan, the Ape Man'' (1981)
* ''
Dance of the Dwarfs
''Dance of the Dwarfs'' is a 1983 American horror adventure film directed by Gus Trikonis and starring Peter Fonda and Deborah Raffin. It is based on the 1968 novel of the same name by Geoffrey Household.
Plot
In an unnamed South American natio ...
'' (1983)
* ''
Silent Night, Deadly Night
''Silent Night, Deadly Night'' is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr., and starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, and Leo Geter. The story concerns a ...
'' (1984)
* ''
Weekend Warriors'' (1986)
Television
* ''ABC Movie of the Week'' (theme)
* ''
The Young And The Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...
'' (theme)
* ''
Mork & Mindy
''Mork & Mindy'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 14, 1978, to May 27, 1982. A spin-off after a highly successful episode of ''Happy Days'', "My Favorite Orkan", it starred Robin Williams as Mork, an extraterrest ...
'' (series)
* ''
Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most succ ...
'' (series)
* ''
Laverne & Shirley
''Laverne & Shirley'' (originally ''Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney'') is an American sitcom television series that played for eight seasons on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' star ...
'' (series)
* ''
The Smothers Brothers Show
''The Smothers Brothers Show'' is
an American Fantasy television, fantasy sitcom featuring the Smothers Brothers that aired on CBS on Friday nights at 9:30 p.m. ET from September 17, 1965, to April 22, 1966, co-sponsored by Alberto-Culver' ...
'' (sitcom)
* ''
The Beverly Hillbillies
''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family from ...
'' (sitcom)
* ''
Quark
A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All commonly o ...
'' (series)
* ''
3rd Degree (game show)
''3rd Degree!'' is an American game show that aired in syndication from September 11, 1989, to June 8, 1990, with repeats continuing until September 7, 1990. The show was a panel game much in the vein of an earlier game show called ''Make the Conn ...
''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Botkin, Perry Jr.
1933 births
2021 deaths
20th-century American composers
21st-century American composers
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
American film score composers
American music arrangers
American television composers
Grammy Award winners
American male film score composers
Male television composers
Musicians from New York City