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.
On The Atchison
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I figure that it's engine number forty nine
She's the only one that'll sound that way
On the Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe
See the old smoke risin' 'round the bend
I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend
Folks around these parts get the time of day
Here she comes
Whoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
Hey, Jim you'd better get the rig
Whoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
She's got a list o' passengers that's pretty big
And they'll all want lifts to Brown's Hotel
'Cause lots o' them been travelin' for quite a spell
All the way from Philadelphiay
On The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
All aboard, all aboard
Here she comes
Whoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
Hey, Jim you'd better get the rig
Whoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
She's got a list o' passengers that's pretty big
And they'll all want lifts to Brown's Hotel
'Cause lots o' them been travelin' for quite a spell
All the way from Philadelphiay
On The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
The lyrics to Henry Mancini and His Orchestra & Chorus's song The Girl From Ipanema are not related to the song's title. Instead, the lyrics describe a train, specifically Engine Number 49 on the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe Railway line. The song paints a vivid picture of the train, with the singer hearing its whistle down the line and seeing its smoke rising around the bend. The train is quite popular in the area, as it is the only one with a distinct whistle, and many people use it to travel to Brown's Hotel.
The lyrics also note that the train is carrying a large number of passengers who have been traveling for quite some time, many of them all the way from Philadelphia. The singer presumably knows the driver of the rig that will be used to transport the passengers from the train to the hotel, telling him to "get the rig" in preparation for their arrival. Through these lyrics, the song captures the excitement and anticipation of seeing a train arrive, as well as the convenience it provides to travelers.
Line by Line Meaning
Do ya hear that whistle down the line?
Can you hear the sound of the train's whistle approaching from a distance?
I figure that it's engine number forty nine
I believe that the locomotive pulling the train is engine number forty nine.
She's the only one that'll sound that way
Engine number forty nine has a unique sound that distinguishes it from other locomotives.
On the Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe
This train is traveling on the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe railroad line.
See the old smoke risin' 'round the bend
Smoke from the train is visible as it rounds a corner up ahead.
I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend
The train seems to be aware that it will be stopping to pick up passengers.
Folks around these parts get the time of day
People in this area are accustomed to the train's arrival and departure times.
From The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe
This train operates on the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe railroad line.
Here she comes
The train is approaching.
Whoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
An expression of excitement and anticipation.
Hey, Jim you'd better get the rig
Jim, it's time to prepare to transport passengers from the train station.
She's got a list o' passengers that's pretty big
The train has many passengers who need transportation to their destinations.
And they'll all want lifts to Brown's Hotel
The passengers will require transportation to Brown's Hotel.
'Cause lots o' them been travelin' for quite a spell
Many of the passengers have been traveling for a long time and are tired.
All aboard, all aboard
It's time for passengers to get on the train.
All aboard, all aboard
It's time for passengers to get on the train.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Don Grainer
Sad to see this quality kind of tranportation is no more. My dad worked on the railroad and we had free passes to travel. Took several vacations via the train. Loved every minute of it. Best way to go!
Bill Brower
I used too hear this at work. Being a Supervisor,I had the "power" to stop to listen. Loved it the first time I heard it from '68 - 78. Got the LP in '77. The "train" rhythm and the "sneaky" sax,and the solo are the best parts for me. Thanks for posting. I've been hoping for this since '08 !
Christopher S. O'
Great video of the Santa Fe passenger trains before Amtrak. The Santa Fe was one of the railroads that loved passenger train service. I travel long distance by Amtrak, it beat the damned bus, fighting traffic in urban/suburban metro areas, beat the hassle & drudgery of flying domestically and the airport hassles. When I'm home in the San Diego area, I ride on the Pacific Surfliners to & from Los Angeles & Oxnard,CA, alternating between the 2 cities, in Los Angeles I take Metrolink to the San Fernando/Sylmar Metrolink Station & then catch the 239 bus to my final destination for my Los Angeles visit and my Ventura visit, I get off in Oxnard, catch the Gold Coast Transit bus 6 to my final destination in Ventura for my Ventura visit(Shorter trip from Oxnard Amtrak/Greyhound station to my final Ventura destination) the trip is relaxing, enjoyable & far less stressful. Train travel is the way to travel.
Rodney McGiveron
I know the Union Pacific song is legendary but so is this.....And the sheer genius of Mancini makes it even better ...
george benson
Love that song and the AT&SF. They had arguably the greatest passenger trains in North America. Thanks for sharing.
Surfliner450
Fun Fact: The footage in this video is from the amazing railroad film "Passenger Train" from 1954
Buncle Duncle
Wasn’t even alive during this time, but I gotta say
Those were the good days.
Dragons, Unicorns and Trains
I agree
Kleenex Box
no they weren't
it was legal to hijack a plane
don't act like there were ever glory days, every decade was terrible to live in. There was never a place in time where the world was good.
we're always either dying from a disease, at war with each other, or suffering from a recession.
Buncle Duncle
@Kleenex Box hijacking a plane has never been legal?