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.
Medley
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are you listening
In the lane
Snow is glistening
A beautiful sight
We′re happy tonight
Walking in a winter wonderland
Here to stay is a new bird
He sings a love song
As we go along
Walking in a winter wonderland
In the meadow we can build a snowman
Then pretend he is Parson Brown
He'll say: Are you married?
We′ll say: No man
But you can do the job
When you're in town
Later on
We'll conspire
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid
The plans that we′ve made
Walking in a winter wonderland
Winter wonderland
In the meadow we can build a snowman
And pretend that he′s a circus clown
We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman
Until the other kiddies knock him down
When it snows
Ain′t it thrilling
Though your nose gets a chilling
We'll frolic and play
The Eskimo way
Walking in a winter wonderland
Yeah we′re walking in a winter
Yeah we're walking in a winter
We′re walking in a winter wonderland
Wonderland
Winter wonderland
These lyrics are from the popular holiday song, "Winter Wonderland." The song is written from the perspective of someone enjoying the winter season with their loved one. The first verse describes the setting of a snowy winter night, with the sound of sleigh bells ringing and snow glistening in the lane. The singer mentions feeling happy while walking with their partner in this winter wonderland.
In the second verse, the lyrics mention a new bird that has appeared and sings a love song as they continue walking in the winter wonderland. The third verse describes the activity of building a snowman and pretending it to be a Parson who asks if they are married. The singer responds with "no man," but the snowman can do the job if he’s in town. The fourth verse takes them to later in the evening, dreaming by the fire and facing unafraid the plans that they have made together.
The bridge describes a playful moment between the two as they build another snowman, this time dressed up as a circus clown. They have fun with the snowman until other children come along and knock it down. The final verse mentions the thrilling feeling of snowfall, despite the resulting chill in the air. They decide to frolic and play in the classic Eskimo way, as they continue their walk along the winter wonderland track.
Line by Line Meaning
Sleigh bells ring
The sound of bells on a horse-drawn vehicle are heard
Are you listening
Asking if the person can hear the sleigh bells
In the lane
On the street
Snow is glistening
The snow is sparkling due to the reflection of light
A beautiful sight
The snow is a visually pleasing scene
We′re happy tonight
The people in the song are in good spirits
Walking in a winter wonderland
The people in the song are strolling through the snow-covered streets
Gone away is the bluebird
The bluebird has migrated for the winter
Here to stay is a new bird
Another bird has taken the place of the bluebird for the winter
He sings a love song
The new bird is chirping a romantic tune
As we go along
The people in the song are walking with the new bird
In the meadow we can build a snowman
There is enough snow on the ground to build a snowman
Then pretend he is Parson Brown
The people in the song are pretending the snowman is a reverend
He'll say: Are you married?
The pretend snowman is asking if they're married
We′ll say: No man
The people in the song are saying they're not married
But you can do the job
The people in the song are giving the pretend Parson Brown the okay to perform the marriage ceremony
When you're in town
The pretend Parson Brown can do the job when he's available
Later on
At a later time
We'll conspire
The people in the song are secretly planning something
As we dream by the fire
The people in the song are having visions by the fire
To face unafraid
To confront without fear
The plans that we′ve made
The people in the song made secret plans while building the snowman
When it snows
During a snowfall
Ain′t it thrilling
Isn't it exciting?
Though your nose gets a chilling
Even though your nose gets cold
We'll frolic and play
The people in the song will joyfully jump and play
The Eskimo way
In the style of Eskimos
Yeah we′re walking in a winter
Affirming that they're actually walking in the snow
We′re walking in a winter wonderland
The people in the song are still walking in the snow-covered streets
Wonderland
A place of wonder and magic
Winter wonderland
A magical place during the snowy winter season
Writer(s): David Saylor, Rosa Giron Avila, Jonathan Marc Dewsbury
Contributed by Cooper A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Karu 9010
I played the baritone saxophone with my hometown's local concert band and this was one of my favourite song medleys to play. It has made me consider joining a new concert band and playing the bari sax again. Hearing this again has brought back great memories.
Blank_Space 2804
I play the trumpet and I must say that this is one of the most awesome pieces of music to play
Dominick Neville
It was a little tricky at first, but now I can ace it all the time. This is my 8th year playing Trumpet, so It didn't take me long.
Caitlin Wong
I play flute, and I love the sweetheart tree section so much!!!
Deadly Bladesmith
@Maria Nugget I like that part too. When I played this piece I played Trumpet. I play Tuba now. I can play most instruments.
AV Games
I play solo on sweetheart tree, I am saxophone
Maria Nugget
Caitlin Wong I am a flute too but my favorite (already) is the baby elephant walk.
Krackon Ankles
I love this song!!!
Nickie
Green Squid I'm with ya bud.
Error Cute
saxophone+Henry manchini=THE TRUE JAZZ