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.
In the Arms of Love
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd never let you go
As the hours go by I'd show you why we've waited for this
As two lovers whisper low
If I could feel that magic kiss your lips invite
Imagine the joys I'd know
The day has died away, let's find a hideaway
In the arms of love tonight
The day has died away, let's find a hideaway
And share the promise of a new tomorrow
In the arms of love tonight
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
The lyrics of Henry Mancini's song "In the Arms of Love" express the feelings of a person who is deeply in love with someone and longs to hold them in their arms. The singer wishes to express their love physically by holding the other person close and showing them why they have waited for this moment. The lyrics suggest that there is magic in the kiss of the person they love and that experiencing that magic would bring the singer great joy. The last two lines of the song suggest that being in love is like having a promise of a new tomorrow, something to look forward to every day, and the singer wishes to be in the arms of their loved one tonight to share in that promise.
The lyrics of "In the Arms of Love" are beautifully poetic and capture the essence of what it means to be in love. The song's gentle melody, composed by Henry Mancini, complements the lyrics perfectly and creates an atmosphere of romance and longing. The song has been covered by several artists over the years, including Barbra Streisand, Andy Williams, and Engelbert Humperdinck, among others.
Line by Line Meaning
If I could hold you in the arms of love tonight
If only I could embrace you with my affection right now
I'd never let you go
I would always want to keep you close
As the hours go by I'd show you why we've waited for this
As time passes, I would prove to you why this moment was worth waiting for
As two lovers whisper low
As we speak quietly like two people deeply in love
If I could feel that magic kiss your lips invite
If I could experience the enchantment invited by your kiss
Imagine the joys I'd know
Just think about the happiness I would feel
The day has died away, let's find a hideaway
Now that the day has ended, let's retreat somewhere private
And share the promise of a new tomorrow
And pledge to each other future happiness
In the arms of love tonight
In a state of affection and tenderness this very moment
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Hm, hm, hm, hm
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Hm, hm, hm, hm
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Henry N Mancini, Jay Livingston, Raymond B Evans
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind