Theme From "A Summer Place"

February–April 1960

It's not uncommon for a song from a movie to become a big hit. But here's an instrumental movie theme that was not only a hit, it was a monster smash that spent 9 weeks at the top. The movie was A Summer Place, and no matter how old you are, you'll instantly recognize Percy Faith's rendition of the tune:

It's one of those pieces of music that is so ingrained in our culture – in movies, TV, commercials, etc. – that it's easy to forget it actually had to come from somewhere, originally. Frankly, I have no desire to see the film – although its director, Delmer Daves, also gave us the classic western 3:10 to Yuma, this romantic drama is not remembered as fondly. The musical theme has far surpassed the film itself in our cultural environment.

The tune was written by Max Steiner, whom you may know as the composer for the film Gone with the Wind, but the famous version definitely bears the Percy Faith stamp. A lifelong opponent of good taste, Faith made a career out of producing campy, "lite" orchestral versions of popular tunes – he's known as one of the premier champions of the "easy listening" genre. This sort of music used to be a lot more successful on a widescale, commercial level. These days it's relegated to a niche market, and even banks and grocery stores don't play it anymore. (Strangely, neither do elevators – did they ever?)

Except, apparently, in China, where muzak is ubiquitous and always, always too damn loud. Tourist spots of cultural importance or natural beauty (as well as the bus rides to and from them) are all too often accompanied by a sort of easy listening music which is so sickening it makes me pine for Percy Faith. It is actually difficult for me to understand the appeal of this music. It is supposed to be soothing and calming (I guess) but for me it has the exact opposite effect of irritating me to no end. A misty mountainside or a river at night is serene enough for me without a sappy piano ballad telling me how serene it is. I guess it's pretty much my ultimate pet peeve – being subjected to bad music against my will. It's one of the main reasons I disliked working at corporate retail stores in high school and college.

So listening again to "A Summer Place," well... it's not so bad, I guess. But 9 weeks at number one... wow, people. The times they have a-changed.

F