LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT high
RATING
It was only a matter of time before some proper cheese made it's way out and 'Baby Elephant Walk' pushes the cheesometer needle into the red. It's one of those pieces of instrumental easy listening, along with 'Spanish Flea' and 'Wheels Cha Cha' that we all know, usually without any clear idea as to why. It seems to have permeated society quite thoroughly and this is clearly a credit to Mancini, it's composer.
Henry Mancini was one of Hollywood's most successful composers. His career spanned 40 years, over 400 films and touched on almost every genre that passed through Hollywood. He is probably best known for his theme from the film "The Pink Panther' and justly so.
'Baby Elephant Walk' is certainly of a similar calibre, although not quite as well known. He produced it for the 1962 film 'Hatari' and it went on to become an international hit. The scene where the song plays is, unsurprisingly, one where a baby elephant is taken for a walk. The music fits this perfectly. It is light and jokey, suggesting childhood, it's tempo is walking-perfect and the horns give a certain elephanty feeling. No wonder that many others have chosen to re-recorded it.
I need to also note that there is a particularly fine moment in the 'Dancing Homer' episode of the Simpsons, where Homer uses this music as his theme when he dances as mascot for the local baseball team. Yet another perfect use of the music.
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