▶︎ Ah, that Robinson Crusoe theme!

Some lovely genius has posted to YouTube the opening 20 seconds of Les aventures de Robinson Crusoe (1964), a European series that was shown in Australia on ABC-TV. If you were there, you'll recognise the theme music, a stirring melody that I've never forgotten.

Internet Movie database lists three series composers, Robert Mellin, Gian Piero Reverberi and Georges Van Parys. A reviewer, Rob Neal, writes:

It is also worth noting that the haunting score is also now available in an expanded CD from Silva Screen. The original soundtrack was in mono, but it seems there was such a demand for this piece, that the composers recently recreated a medley with a full orchestra in stereo.

This was another of those series that the ABC used to show in the afternoons during school holidays. Sir Francis Drake was another: I wrote about it (and its equally haunting theme) last year.



[YouTube link]
[Soundtrack and series DVD at Amazon.co.uk]

▶︎ Close 'N Play!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After my post about Ol' Fatso by Augie Rios a commenter wrote: Don't know how, but I had the 45 of this in my "Close & Play" when I was a child.

I didn't know how, either, mainly because I'd never heard of a Close & Play, which turns out to be a record player for kids: CLOSE 'N PLAY AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH - CLOSE LID... RECORD PLAYS.

That would've been an exceptionally groovy present for a kid in the 60s or 70s.

▶︎ You study 'em hard and hopin' to pass...

CNN.com shows how to make James Brown sound tedious:

CNN Special Investigations Unit Classroom Edition: James Brown: Say it Proud ...

Teachers: Please preview this program, as its content may not be appropriate for all students.

Grade Level: 9-12, College

Subject Areas: Fine Arts, Social Studies

Objectives

The CNN Special Investigations Unit Classroom Edition: James Brown: Say it Proud and its corresponding discussion questions and activity challenge students to:

1. Examine the legacy of James Brown;
2. Identify the historical context of key events in Brown's life;
3. Design an exhibit for a memorial to James Brown.

Discussion Questions...

[Link]

▶︎ Eddie White, songwriter and actor

In my post about Acker Bilk's instrumental The Harem, I mentioned Eddie White, the prolific New York songwriter (1919-1996). He had collaborated at different times with each of its three composers, particularly Mack Wolfson (although not on The Harem).

I wondered whether this was the same Eddie White (aka Edward R. or Eddie R. White) whose filmography at Internet Movie Database includes a role in Robert Duvall's Angelo My Love (1983).

Singer-composer John Sprung emailed to confirm that the songwriter and bit-part actor were indeed the same Eddie White. 

In fact, John was at the premiere of Angelo My Love with Eddie, who knew John's father, a counselor at an orphanage where Eddie was a ward.

John also alerted me to Yesterday's Cake, Eddie's autobiography that was published by Vantage Press in 1985 (second-hand copies sometimes appear at AbeBooks or eBay).

The title refers to Eddie's time in an orphanage where the kids were given day-old cakes from the bakeries.

The Discogs.com page on Eddie White has more details of his diverse career including comprehensive lists of his credits.