Book Review: Earle Hagen's autobiography

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=2 style="border-right: 1px solid #555555;" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="0e348633.png"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bruce Babcock Home Page"><IMG SRC="105af1e0.jpg" border=0 width="175" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Concert Music"><IMG SRC="15bb41e0.png" border=0 width="180" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <div> <A HREF="biography.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biography"><IMG SRC="0f5821e0.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A><A HREF="compositions_for_television.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Compositions for Television"><IMG SRC="0f6821e0.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A><A HREF="work_in_feature_films.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Work in Feature Films"><IMG SRC="0ff821e0.jpg" border=0 width="130" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <div> <A HREF="recordings.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Recordings"><IMG SRC="103961e0.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A><A HREF="teaching_and_lecturing.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Teaching and Lecturing"><IMG SRC="104731e0.jpg" border=0 width="115" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A><A HREF="articles_by_bruce_babcock.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Articles by Bruce Babcock"><IMG SRC="0fa961e0.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <div> <A HREF="awards_and_honors.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Awards and Honors"><IMG SRC="0fb731e0.jpg" border=0 width="115" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A><A HREF="id11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tribute from Mentor Earle Hagen"><IMG SRC="0fc731e0.jpg" border=0 width="115" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A><A HREF="more_about_bruce_babcock.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More about Bruce Babcock"><IMG SRC="0fd731e0.jpg" border=0 width="115" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact the Site"><IMG SRC="102af1e0.jpg" border=0 width="175" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Book Review: Earle Hagen's autobiography</div> <bR> <bR> <div> A Book Review by Bruce Babcock, written for CUE, the publication of the Film Music Society</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Memoirs of a Famous Composer - Nobody Ever Heard Of </div> <div> by Earle Hagen</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Xlibris Corporation, ISBN 0-7388-5720-3</div> <div> Hard cover, soft cover and E-book</div> <div> Available from www.Xlibris.com & www.amazon.com</div> <bR> <bR> <div> The self-deprecating title of Earle Hagen's recently published memoir belies the impact that he had on American popular culture for over half a century. His name may not be known by many but his music is recognized by everyone who owns a television.  He enjoyed successful careers in jazz, film and television while working with many of the biggest icons of show business and having a great time doing it, all the while raising two sons and remaining married to his beloved Lou for fifty nine years. I have been fortunate to know Earle Hagen as a mentor, colleague and friend since 1974. Earle's story telling gifts are legendary, and he has written a very entertaining and often hilarious account of his many faceted career, which will be of interest to anyone with even a passing interest in jazz, big bands, films or television. </div> <bR> <div> Among the iconic performers you will read about are Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, Danny Thomas, Andy Griffith and Dick Van Dyke. Co-workers and colleagues well known to film music buffs include Alfred Newman, David Raksin, Hugo Friedhofer, Cy Mockridge, Herb Spencer, Eddie Powell, Jerry Goldsmith, Lalo Schifrin and Quincy Jones. Also documented is Earle's long friendship and creative association with Sheldon Leonard, including the inside story of the creation of “I Spy,” which launched the television career of a young comedian by the name of Bill Cosby.</div> <bR> <div> How does one become associated with so many artists at the top of their professions? Certainly not by accident. Referring to Newman, whom he called “Pappy,” Earle said, “He was, quite simply, the best. Nothing ever left that recording stage (20th Century Fox) that wasn't polished to perfection.” Clearly, they were kindred spirits.</div> <bR> <div> Many musicians are aware that Earle wrote “Harlem Nocturne,” which became a jazz standard recorded by well over one hundred different artists. Many others are aware of the themes composed for, among others, “The Andy Griffith Show” and the “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” Not many are aware that in 1944, while still in the service, Earle studied with concert composer Ernst Toch at the cost of $22 per lesson, at a time when he barely made that amount in a month. That's dedication. Lou worked overtime in her secretarial job to help make it possible. That's devotion. Never content to rest on his laurels, twenty five years later, at the height of his career, Earle was still studying, this time with serial composer George Tremblay, and incorporating his newfound knowledge into his television work.  Earle was also among the first to incorporate rock into television scoring, particularly in “The Mod Squad.”</div> <bR> <div> All film composers have a publishing company, and Earle is no exception. Earle's company is named “EDJ,” after his wife Eloise and sons Deane and Jim. This choice reveals a lot about the man. So does the following anecdote. From 1961 through 1968 the Hagen house in Encino was the site for some of the hippest jazz bashes ever. Six hundred plus guests were entertained annually by a big band of stellar, ever changing personnel, which never stopped playing. What was the occasion? A veritable “who's who” in the jazz world donated their services every year to raise money for the California Educational Clinic, a school for exceptional children.</div> <bR> <div> Another of Earle's many careers was the teaching of the mechanics and psychology of scoring for films. Earle literally “wrote the book” on the subject of film music, “Scoring for Films” (1971), and later followed it up with a second volume, “Advanced Techniques” (1986). Both books have been used by thousands of college students throughout the country. The truly fortunate had the opportunity of studying with Earle in classes for professionals held in his living room or, in later years, via the BMI Film Scoring Workshop in Hollywood. The BMI Workshop included students from all around the world.</div> <bR> <div> I took Earle's class, taught in his home, in 1974. The tuition was two dozen golf balls. I had first become aware of Earle through the end credits of “The Andy Griffith Show” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show” in the early sixties (when I was about ten years old). As an alto sax player in high school, I was the featured soloist on “Harlem Nocturne.” To say I was in awe of the man upon first meeting him would be an understatement. I never imagined that I would later compose episodes of “Matlock” and “Diagnosis: Murder,” starring Andy Griffith and Dick Van Dyke respectively.</div> <bR> <div> An interesting aspect of Earle's career was his choice of co-workers. During the years in which he had several series on the air at once, he needed other composers to share the load. He could have chosen inexperienced ghost writers, supervised their work, and appropriated some or all of their royalties, as many others have done. But this would not have served the cause of the series. Earle chose to hire composers who were already giants in the field such as Academy Award winner Hugo Friedhofer and jazz legends Shorty Rogers, J.J. Johnson and Billy May.</div> <bR> <div> Attention to detail was the hallmark of Earle's work. As his orchestrator on two series, I can tell you first hand of his absolutely complete and clear sketches. His techniques was no doubt honed during his years with Al Newman and refined through 3,000 television episodes of television. But there is more to Earle's legacy than simply quantity of output. Any problem that the picture might present would be solved in an expert manner. There were no short cuts.</div> <bR> <div> A great example of this is the Floating Gardens of Xochomilco in Mexico City sequence from an “I Spy” episode. The sequence, shot m.o.s.,  was eight minutes long and contained seven boats, each containing a mariachi band with a different instrumentation, each moving in and out of frame. Any other composer would have used one or possibly two generic mariachi tunes back to back behind the whole sequence. Earle wrote and recorded seven different pieces of music, each tailored to the instrumentation of the specific bands, each matching visually when on camera, and each dubbed to fade in and out to match the visuals. </div> <bR> <div> We won't be seeing this kind of attention to detail in television music again anytime soon. At some point composers stopped being thought of as collaborators and became more like vendors. We won't be seeing careers like Earle's or producers like Sheldon Leonard again anytime soon, either. In their twenty year professional association they had one meeting about financial matters. Sheldon never came to a spotting, scoring or dubbing. The results speak for themselves. Great things are possible, and indeed likely, when you hire experienced professionals with strong points of view and then get out of the way. If you hire entry level employees, remove the musicians and a reasonable schedule from the equation, and then micro manage every aspect of the process, you will not get great results. </div> <bR> <div> “I Spy” still represents some of the best and most imaginative scoring for television ever. It is available on DVD now and is well worth a look to remind us just how good television scoring can be. It is also worth noting that Earle scored each of his 3000+ television episodes in Los Angeles with union musicians. </div> <bR> <div> Earle's book is not just entertaining but is an important read for anyone in the music business interested in balancing a career with a personal life. Earle was not only an Oscar nominee and an Emmy winner, he maintained close lifelong friendships with many of the people he worked with. He kept a difficult, pressure packed schedule and set a high standard of excellence for himself and his colleagues. He also never stopped learning.  And he did it all with a sense of humor and a fierce devotion to family and friends. Earle has indeed written the “memoirs of a famous composer,” and readers will find it an informative and fun look at a golden age of entertainment.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> NEXT:</div> <bR> <div> A book review by Bruce Babcock about  "<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="News Gothic MT" >Counterpoint - The Journey of a Music Man,"the autobiography of Joe Harnell </FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="159" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 131 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="book_review18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Book Review: Joe Harnells Autobiography"><IMG SRC="0d5642c0.jpg" border=0 width="100" height="44" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A><IMG SRC="0d42d500.jpg" border=0 width="45" height="80" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="0d6911b0.jpg" border=0 width="145" height="27" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>   <script language="Javascript"> // do not make any changes to anything past this point or tracking script will not work var data; document.cookie='__support_check=1'; if (location.host) { var domain_name = '&d=' + location.host; } else { var domain_name = '&d=unknown'; } if (document.referrer) { var referrer_website = '&r=' + document.referrer; } else { var referrer_website = '&r=unknown'; } if (navigator.appName) { var browser_name = '&b=' + escape(navigator.appName); } else { var browser_name = '&b=unknown'; } if (navigator.userAgent) { var full_browser_info = '&fbi=' + escape(navigator.userAgent); } else { var full_browser_info = '&fbi=unknown'; } if (navigator.appVersion) { var app_version = '&aV=' + escape(navigator.appVersion); } else { var app_version = '&aV=unknown'; } if (navigator.javaEnabled()) { var java_enabled = '&jE=' + navigator.javaEnabled(); } else { var java_enabled = '&jE=unknown'; } if (screen.width) { var screen_width = '&sw=' + screen.width; } else { var screen_width = '&sw=unknown'; } if (screen.height) { var screen_height = '&sh=' + screen.height; } else { var screen_height = '&sh=unknown'; } if (screen.colorDepth) { var color_depth = '&cd=' + screen.colorDepth; } else { var color_depth = '&cd=unknown'; } data = 'a=track' + domain_name + referrer_website + browser_name + full_browser_info + app_version; data = data + java_enabled + screen_width + screen_height + color_depth; document.write('<img border=0 hspace=0 vspace=0 src="http://stats.directnic.com/tracker.php?' + data + '">'); </script> <noscript> <img border=0 hspace=0 vspace=0 src="http://stats.directnic.com/tracker.php?a=noscript"> </noscript>   </div> </td> </tr></table></body>