Born in Los Angeles, he entered the film industry in 1976, initially as an actor. He made his film scoring debut in 1980 for the film Forbidden Zone directed by his older brother Richard Elfman. He has since been nominated for four Academy Awards and won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for Tim Burton's Batman and an Emmy Award for his Desperate Housewives theme. Elfman was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 2002 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music.
He is the son of novelist Blossom Elfman and the brother of director Richard Elfman.
Elfman was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Blossom Elfman (née Bernstein), a writer and teacher, and Milton Elfman, a community in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles. He spent much of his time in the local movie theatre, adoring the music of such film composers as Bernard Herrmann and Franz Waxman.
Stating that he hung out with the "band nerds" in high school, he started a ska band. After dropping out of high school, he followed his brother Richard to France, where he performed with Le Grand Magic Circus, an avant-garde musical theater group. Violin in tow, Elfman next journeyed to Africa where he traveled through Ghana, Mali, and Upper Volta, absorbing new musical styles, including the Ghanaian highlife genre which would eventually influence his own music. Elfman contracted malaria during his one-year stay and was often sick. Eventually he returned home to the United States, where he began to take Balinese music lessons at the CalArts. He was never officially a student at the institute, nonetheless, the instructor encouraged him to continue learning. Elfman stated, "He just laughed, and said, 'Sit. Play.' I continued to sit and play for a couple years." At this time, his brother was forming a new musical theater group, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. The group performed the music for Richard's debut feature film, Forbidden Zone. Danny Elfman composed his first score for the film and played the role of Satan. By the time the movie was completed, they had taken the name Oingo Boingo and begun recording and touring as a rock group.
In 1985, Tim Burton and Paul Reubens invited Elfman to write the score for their first feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Elfman was apprehensive at first because of his lack of formal training, but with orchestration assistance from Oingo Boingo guitarist and arranger Steve Bartek, he achieved his goal of emulating the mood of such composers as Nino Rota and Bernard Herrmann. In the booklet for the first volume of Music for a Darkened Theatre, Elfman described the first time he heard his music played by a full orchestra as one of the most thrilling experiences of his life.[citation needed] Elfman immediately developed a rapport with Burton and has gone on to score all but two of Burton's major studio releases: Ed Wood, scored by Howard Shore, which was under production while Elfman and Burton were having a fight, and Sweeney Todd, an adaptation of the 1979 Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical. He also, more recently, accompanied Tim Burton in the composition of music for "Almost Alice", the soundtrack for Alice in Wonderland.
Burton has said of his relationship with Elfman: "We don't even have to talk about the music. We don't even have to intellectualize – which is good for both of us, we're both similar that way. We're very lucky to connect" (Breskin, 1997).
In 2021 he released "Big Mess", his first non-soundtrack album since 1984's "So-Lo", which is often considered to rather be an Oingo Boingo album due to the presence of many other band members.
Elfman has three children: Lola, born in 1979; Mali, born in 1984; and Oliver, born in 2005. On November 29, 2003, Elfman married film actress Bridget Fonda. In 1997 he scored A Simple Plan – his only score for one of her films to date (although he did compose a cue for the film Army of Darkness, in which Fonda has a cameo). He is the uncle of actor Bodhi Elfman who is married to actress Jenna Elfman, known most notably in her role as Dharma in the TV series Dharma and Greg.
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Danny Elfman Lyrics
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In a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams
For the story that you are about to be told
Began in the holiday worlds of old
Now, you've probably wondered where holidays come from
If you haven't, I'd say it's time you begun
For holidays are the result of much fuss
Well, you see now, quite simply that's all that they do
Making one unique holiday, especially for you
But once, a calamity ever so great occurred
When two holidays met by mistake
The opening of Danny Elfman's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is a haunting yet captivating melody that sets the stage for the fantastical story to come. The first verse immediately immerses the listener in the beginning of the story, taking us back to a time long ago in a dream-like place that we may have seen before. It is clear that the tale that is about to unfold is one of fantastical proportions, and the opening lines set the tone for a mythical and otherworldly journey.
The second verse, sung in a more upbeat melody, breaks the fourth wall and directly addresses the listener. It poses the question of where holidays come from, and implies that if the listener hasn't thought about it before, then it's time they do. The lyrics explain that holidays are not just magical occurrences that happen, but rather the result of much hard work and fuss from the holiday worlds that create them for us. It puts the idea of holidays into perspective; it is not just a day that we celebrate, but the result of a collective effort from a mystical world.
The last two lines of this verse set up the premise for the story itself. It tells us that a calamity occurred when two holidays met by mistake. This mysterious event will lead us into the rest of the story and provide the foundation for the fantastical journey that will unfold.
Overall, the opening of Danny Elfman's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" captures the essence of the whimsical, yet dark storyline to follow. It immerses the listener into this strange and magical world and sets the tone for the journey ahead.
Line by Line Meaning
'Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems
It was a distant past, so far away that it appears even more extended.
In a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams
It's a location that you may have visualized in your thoughts sometimes.
For the story that you are about to be told
The narration that you are going to listen to.
Began in the holiday worlds of old
Originated from the previous times of the holiday realms.
Now, you've probably wondered where holidays come from
You must have thought about the origins of holidays.
If you haven't, I'd say it's time you begun
If you didn't contemplate it, then it's the appropriate moment to initiate.
For holidays are the result of much fuss
The holidays are the effect of exertions and commotions.
And hard work for the worlds that create them for us
Also, the worlds that form holidays put a lot of effort into making them for us.
Well, you see now, quite simply that's all that they do
It's quite uncomplicated to understand that creating holidays is solely what they do.
Making one unique holiday, especially for you
Generating an exceptional holiday that is specifically for you.
But once, a calamity ever so great occurred
Yet in the past, a massive mishap happened.
When two holidays met by mistake
When two different holidays unintentionally coincided.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DANNY ELFMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind