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.
Don't You Forget It
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hums an April breeze
I love you
Echo the hills
I love you
The golden dawn agrees
As once more she sees
It's spring again
And birds on the wing again
Start to sing again
The old melodies
I love you
That's the song of songs
And it all belongs
To you and me
I love you
Hums an April breeze
I love you
Echo the hills
I love you
The golden dawn agrees
As once more she sees
Daffodils
It's spring again
And birds on the wing again
Start to sing again
The old melodies! (Mellow, melodies)
I love you
That's the song of songs
And it all belongs
To you and me
And it all belongs
To you and me
The lyrics to Henry Mancini & His Orchestra and Chorus's song Don't Forget It are a romantic ode to love that is recognized and celebrated by nature itself. The lyrics speak of the beauty of spring, birds bursting into song, and the hum of an April breeze as all echoing the sentiment of love. The song is a melodic celebration of love that belongs to both the singer and the subject of the song. The repetition of the phrase "I love you" conveys a sense of intensity and depth of emotion.
The lyrics are steeped in metaphor, using natural phenomena to describe the singer's love for the person they are addressing. The "April breeze" they hum is likened to a soothing melody that inspires love. When the hills "echo," it is as if they are singing along with the singer, adding their voices to the celebration of love. Finally, the "golden dawn" is a metaphor for the bright future that is promised by the mutual love that the singer and their beloved share.
Overall, this song is a beautiful and timeless tribute to love that is as true today as it was when it was first released. The lyrics are poetic and soulful, and Mancini's music perfectly embodies the emotions they express.
Line by Line Meaning
I love you
My affection for you is boundless
Hums an April breeze
The gentle wind of April carries the same tune
Echo the hills
The mountains repeat and amplify my heartfelt message
The golden dawn agrees
Even the sun, as it rises every morning, affirms my love
As once more she sees
As the sun sees the blossoming flowers of spring for yet another year
Daffodils
The yellow flowers, whose beauty is often praised in literature and art
It's spring again
A time of renewal and rebirth, full of optimism and hope
And birds on the wing again
The birds return and take flight once more after the long, cold winter
Start to sing again
Their melodies fill the air with joy and happiness
The old melodies!
The timeless tunes of yesterday, that still hold a special place in our hearts
That's the song of songs
Of all the songs that have ever been written or sung, this one is the most special
And it all belongs
This love, this song, and everything else that we share, is exclusively ours
To you and me
We are the only two who truly understand the depth and breadth of our love
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Al Stillman, Henry Nicola Mancini
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind