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.
Lullaby Of Birdland
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Always hear when you sigh
Never in my wordland
Could there be ways to reveal
In a phrase how I feel
Have you ever heard two turtle doves
Bill and coo when they love?
Music we make with our lips when we kiss
And there's a weepy old willow
He really knows how to cry
That's how I'd cry in my pillow
If you should tell me farewell and goodbye
Lullaby of Birdland whisper low
Kiss me sweet and we'll go
Flyin' high in Birdland
High in the sky up above
All because we're in love
The song Lullaby of Birdland by Henry Mancini is a romantic love song that expresses the emotions felt between two people in love. The lyrics describe the feeling the singer gets every time their lover sighs, as if they're hearing a lullaby from the famous Birdland jazz club. The singer expresses their inability to find words to describe how they feel other than to say it's like the kind of magic music that two turtle doves make when they're in love.
The second verse describes the emotions that would arise if the lover were to leave. The singer compares their weeping to that of a willow tree, known for its ability to shed leaves and almost appear to cry. The song concludes with the singer asking their lover for a kiss, promising to fly high with them in the love-filled skies above Birdland.
Overall, the song is an ode to the magic of love and the feelings it inspires, likened to the music and emotions found in the Birdland jazz club.
Line by Line Meaning
Lullaby of Birdland, that's what I
The melody of this song is so sweet and calming, it puts me in a dreamlike state
Always hear when you sigh
Whenever you let out a sigh, the tune of Lullaby of Birdland begins to play in my mind
Never in my wordland
In all my language and literature, there are no words to fully express my emotions
Could there be ways to reveal
It is impossible to communicate the depth of my feelings using traditional forms of expression
In a phrase how I feel
Even though I cannot put it into concise words, the love I have for you is all-encompassing and wonderful
Have you ever heard two turtle doves
Have you ever witnessed the affectionate cooing of two doves in love?
Bill and coo when they love?
They create the same type of musical magic that we make with our kisses
That's the kind of magic
It is a special and unique type of enchantment
Music we make with our lips when we kiss
Our love creates a symphony that can only be heard by the two of us
And there's a weepy old willow
The sad willow tree weeps and sheds tears, expressing its sorrow
He really knows how to cry
If I lost you, I would be just like the willow, releasing tears endlessly
That's how I'd cry in my pillow
When we're apart, I will sob quietly into my pillow, hoping that my tears will quiet my aching heart
If you should tell me farewell and goodbye
I cannot bear the thought of you leaving me
Lullaby of Birdland whisper low
Sing this song to me softly, as if I am a child being sent to sleep
Kiss me sweet and we'll go
Kiss me tenderly, and we will leave all of our earthly concerns behind, carried away on the wings of passion
Flyin' high in Birdland
We will soar through the heavens, free and unencumbered, basking in the joy of our love
High in the sky up above
We will fly higher than any bird, gazing down upon the beauty of the world below
All because we're in love
All of these wonderful things are possible because our love is boundless and infinite
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore
Written by: George Shearing, George David Weiss
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind