"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is the theme to the 1966
film of the same name, which was directed by
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...
. Included on the
film 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 o ...
as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (main title)", the instrumental piece was composed by
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 ...
, with
Bruno Nicolai conducting the orchestra. A
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
by
Hugo Montenegro
Hugo Mario Montenegro (September 2, 1925 – February 6, 1981) was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio M ...
in 1968 was a pop hit in both the US and the UK.
[Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications), page 66.] It has since become one of the most iconic scores in film history.
Ennio Morricone version
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 ...
was an Italian composer who created music for hundreds of films. In the 1960s, director Sergio Leone was impressed by a musical arrangement of Morricone's and asked his former schoolmate to compose music for one of his films, ''
A Fistful of Dollars
''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, a ...
''. This led to a collaboration between the two on future Leone films, many of which came to be referred to as "
Spaghetti Western
The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...
s". After a steady percussion beat, the theme to ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' begins with a two-note melody sounding like the howl of a coyote. Additional sounds follow, some of which
symbolize characters and themes from the film. This instrumental composition plays at the beginning of the film. Morricone commented that his frequent collaborator guitarist
Bruno Battisti D'Amario Bruno Battisti D'Amario (born 1937) is an Italian classical guitarist, teacher and composer.
D'Amario is known for his performances on film scores by Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota, and became Professor of Classical Guitar at the Santa Cecilia Con ...
was "able to conjure up extraordinary sounds with his guitar" recording the composition.
The music is complex and features soprano recorder, drums, bass ocarina, chimes, electric guitar, trumpets, whistling, and lyrics sung by a choir including simple words like "wah wah wah", "go go go eh go", "who who who", etc.
Largely due to the memorable quality of the main theme, the film's soundtrack peaked at #4 on the
''Billboard'' 200 album chart, and it stayed on this chart for over a year.
Hugo Montenegro version
Hugo Montenegro
Hugo Mario Montenegro (September 2, 1925 – February 6, 1981) was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio M ...
was an American composer and orchestra leader who began scoring films in the 1960s. After hearing the music from ''
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...
'', he decided to create a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of the theme. Musician
Tommy Morgan
Thomas Morgan Edwards (December 4, 1932 – June 23, 2022) was an American harmonicist and session musician, who had been active since the 1950s. He was considered one of the most heard harmonica players in the world, playing in over 500 fea ...
is quoted in Wesley Hyatt's ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' as saying that Montenegro's version "...was done in one day. I think it was all day one Saturday at
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
."
Similar to Morricone's original composition, Montenegro and a few session musicians sought to recreate this record using their own instrumentation. The opening two note segment was played on an
ocarina
The ocarina is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from c ...
by Art Smith; Morgan provided the sounds that followed on a
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
. He was quoted as saying: "I knew it was live, so I had to do this hand thing, the 'wah-wah-wah' sound."
Hyatt's book states that Montenegro himself "grunted something which came out like 'rep, rup, rep, rup, rep'" between the chorus segments.
Other musicians heard on the record include Elliot Fisher (
electric violin
An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...
),
Mannie Klein
Emmanuel Klein (February 4, 1908 – May 31, 1994) was an American jazz trumpeter most associated with swing.
Career
Born in New York City, New York, Klein began recording with The Ambassadors for Vocalion in 1924, worked with Paul Whiteman in 1 ...
(
piccolo trumpet) and
Muzzy Marcellino Maurice "Muzzy" Marcellino (November 27, 1912 – June 11, 1997) was an American singer and musician, known primarily for his clear, melodious style of whistling.
Marcellino was born in San Francisco. He began playing with the Lofner-Harris Orchest ...
, whose
whistling
Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...
is heard during the recording.
Much to the surprise of Montenegro and the musicians who worked with him, this cover of the film theme became a hit
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
during 1968. It peaked at #2 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on 1 June 1968, held off the top spot by another song from a film,
Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...
's "
Mrs. Robinson
"Mrs. Robinson" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, '' Bookends'' (1968). Written specifically for the 1967 film ''The Graduate'', the song was released as a single on April 5, 1968, by Columbia Re ...
" (from the 1967 film ''
The Graduate
''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Wil ...
''). It spent three weeks atop the ''Billboard''
Easy Listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
chart during the same time frame.
In September 1968, Montenegro's version reached the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and began a steady climb, eventually reaching the top of the chart on 16 November and remaining there for four weeks.
Other uses
Detailing this piece in a description of the film soundtrack, the website CD Universe states that it is "so familiar as to be a cultural touchstone. Even an abbreviated sound byte of the theme is enough to conjure images of desolate desert plains, rolling tumbleweeds, and a cowboy-booted figure standing ominously in the distance." It has been used frequently to convey these sorts of images on radio, film and television in the years since the film's release. ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' has used the opening notes of this theme in multiple episodes over the years.
Numerous musicians have, in full or in part, borrowed from this piece.
Bill Berry
William Thomas Berry (born July 31, 1958) is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guitar ...
, former drummer of the band
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
, played what was dubbed an "Ennio whistle" on the track "
How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us
"How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us" is a song by R.E.M. released as the fourth and final single from their tenth studio album ''New Adventures in Hi-Fi'' in 1997. It was released in Germany and Japan was the final R.E.M. single and music vi ...
", from their 1996 album ''
New Adventures in Hi-Fi
''New Adventures in Hi-Fi'' is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major-label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia, and the following day in ...
''. The
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
n
punk rock group
Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
were known to play a recording of this piece at the beginning of their concerts, while at the end of their shows, a snippet of "
The Ecstasy of Gold
"The Ecstasy of Gold" ( it, L'estasi dell'oro) is a musical composition by Ennio Morricone, part of his score for the 1966 Sergio Leone film ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly''. It is played while Tuco (Eli Wallach) is frantically searching a ce ...
" was played.
The song was used in Argentinian and Portuguese TV commercials for
Camel Cigarettes
Camel is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the United States and by Japan Tobacco outside the U.S.
Most current Camel cigarettes contain a blend of Turkish tobacco and Virg ...
in 1981. The theme was used in 2014 for commercials for the
Nissan Altima and also was used in 2015 for a
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
Dancow 1+ milk commercial in Indonesia.
Comedian
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
whistled the opening notes during the "Shoe-Throwing Mother" monologue of his 1983 ''
Delirious
Delirious may refer to:
* A state of delirium
Film and television
* Delirious (1991 film), ''Delirious'' (1991 film), an American comedy directed by Tom Mankiewicz, starring John Candy
* Delirious (2006 film), ''Delirious'' (2006 film), an Americ ...
'' television special.
References
External links
Montenegro 7" vinyl (UK)Discogs
Montenegro 7" vinyl (US)Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The
1966 songs
1966 compositions
1968 singles
Ennio Morricone songs
Hugo Montenegro songs
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
1960s instrumentals
Film theme songs
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
RCA Records singles
Dollars Trilogy