Mancini was born Enrico Nicola Mancini in the Little Italy neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the steel town of West Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. His parents emigrated from the Abruzzo region of Italy. Mancini's father, Quinto, was a steelworker, who made his only child begin flute lessons at the age of eight. When Mancini was 12 years old, he began piano lessons. Quinto and Henry played flute together in the Aliquippa Italian immigrant band, "Sons of Italy". After high school, Mancini attended the renowned Juilliard School of Music in New York. In 1943, after roughly one year at Juilliard, his studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the army. In 1945, he participated in the liberation of a South German concentration camp.
Mancini recorded over 90 albums, in styles ranging from big band to classical to pop. Eight of these albums were certified gold by The Recording Industry Association of America. He had a 20 year contract with RCA Records, resulting in 60 commercial record albums that made him a household name composer of easy listening music.
Mancini's range also extended to orchestral and ethnic scores (Lifeforce, The Great Mouse Detective, Sunflower, "Tom and Jerry: The Movie", Molly Maguires, The Hawaiians), and darker themes ("Experiment In Terror," "The White Dawn," "Wait Until Dark," "The Night Visitor").
Mancini was also a concert performer, conducting over fifty engagements per year, resulting in over 600 symphony performances during his lifetime. Among the symphony orchestras he conducted are the London Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He appeared in 1966, 1980 and 1984 in command performances for the British Royal Family. He also toured several times with Johnny Mathis and with Andy Williams, who had sung many of Mancini's songs.[citation needed]
Mancini had experience with acting and voice roles. In 1994 he made a one-off cameo appearance in the first season of the sitcom series Frasier, as a call-in patient to Dr. Frasier Crane's radio show. Mancini voiced the character Al, who speaks with a melancholy drawl and hates the sound of his own voice, in the episode "Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast?" Mancini also had an uncredited performance as a pianist in the 1967 movie Gunn, the movie version of the series Peter Gunn, the score of which was originally composed by Mancini himself.
Mancini was nominated for an unprecedented 72 Grammys, winning 20 Additionally he was nominated for 18 Academy Awards, winning four. He also won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for two Emmys.
Mancini won a total of four Oscars for his music in the course of his career.
Mancini died at the age of 70 in Beverly Hills/Los Angeles, California of pancreatic cancer. He was working at the time on the Broadway stage version of Victor/Victoria. At the time of his death, Mancini was married to singer Virginia "Ginny" O´Connor, with whom he had three children. Ginny Mancini went on to found the Society of Singers a non profit organization which benefits the health and welfare of professional singers worldwide. Additionally the Society awards scholarships to students pursuing an education in the vocal arts and holds the annual Ella Awards.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers(ASCAP) Foundation "Henry Mancini Music Scholarship" has been awarded annually since 2001.
Darling Lili
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come to see us a little while
Stage door Johnnies wait for her
Our voice encore her
They just adore her style
Darling Lili, doesn't dream of the heart
She keeps on breaking with just a smile
Toddle off and let her be
Leave that darling, darling Lili, to me
Darling Lili, doesn't dream of the heart
She keeps on breaking with just a smile
But you'd better just forget her
Toddle off and let her be
Leave that darling, darling Lili, to me
The song "Darling Lili" by Henry Mancini is a love song, sung from the perspective of someone who is enamored with a woman named Lili. The song describes Lili as an angel from heaven, who is only going to be in their lives for a short while. The singer warns the "stage door Johnnies" who are waiting for Lili that they will only be disappointed by her. The singer claims to be the only one who can truly appreciate her style and personality.
The lyrics describe Lili as someone who doesn't dream of love, but who has a way of breaking hearts with just a smile. The singer acknowledges that Lili is not interested in anything serious, but still defends her from the other men who are pursuing her. The song concludes with the singer asking for Lili to be left to them, to be guarded and protected from others.
Overall, the song is a classic love song with a protective edge. It romanticizes the idea of being the only one who truly understands someone, and the desire to protect them from others who may not appreciate or understand them.
Line by Line Meaning
Darling Lili, is an angel from Heaven
Lili is an extraordinary woman, so virtuous and divine, one would assume she came directly from heaven.
Come to see us a little while
She has graced us with her presence for a short time, and all we can do is bask in her aura.
Stage door Johnnies wait for her
Many fans, particularly young men, gather to see her at the stage door, hoping to get a glimpse of her.
Our voice encore her
We, the performers, love her so much that we sing her praises even after her performance is over.
They just adore her style
Her fans are so smitten with her that they love everything she stands for and admires her charisma and personality.
Darling Lili, doesn't dream of the heart
Lili is a woman who doesn't have the hope of being in love.
She keeps on breaking with just a smile
She charms people effortlessly, and even though she doesn't mean to lead them on, people can't help but fall for her, which breaks their hearts in the end.
But you'd better just forget her
It is futile to pursue Lili, as she doesn't have the heart to love someone.
Toddle off and let her be
Rather than pursuing her, it is better to let her be and respect her wishes.
Leave that darling, darling Lili, to me
If anyone is meant to be with Lili, it is the artist, and he believes that he can handle and understand her in a way that nobody else can.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HENRY NICOLA MANCINI, JOHN H. MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind