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.
Summer Knows
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And unashamed, she sheds her clothes
The summer smooths the restless sky
And lovingly she warms the sand on which you lie
The summer knows, the summer's wise
She sees the doubts within your eyes
And so she takes her summer time
Twists the world 'round her summer finger
Lets you see the wonder of her arm?
And if you've learned your lesson well
There's little more for her to tell
One last caress, it's time to dress for fall
The summer knows, the summer's wise
She sees the doubts within your eyes
And so she takes her summer time
Tells the moon to wait and the sun to linger
Twists the world 'round her summer finger
Lets you see the wonder of her arms?
And if you've learned your lesson well
There's little more for her to tell
One last caress, it's time to dress for fall
The song "The Summer Knows" paints a picture of summer as a wise and all-knowing entity that takes its time to bring out the best in people. It describes how summer sheds its clothes without hesitation and smoothes the restless sky. The lyrics suggest that summer gives people no choice but to embrace its warmth and leisurely atmosphere.
The second stanza suggests that summer sees through the doubts within a person and takes time to teach them what they need to know. It twists the world 'round its summer finger and allows them to see the wonder of its arms. The song' lyrics imply that if one takes the time to learn its lessons well, there is little more for summer to tell. The final verse suggests that with one last caress, it's time to dress for fall.
Line by Line Meaning
The summer smiles, the summer knows
The summer season is happy and fully aware of itself
And unashamed, she sheds her clothes
The summer is shameless in its nakedness, providing warmth and light
The summer smooths the restless sky
The summer season calms the previously tumultuous sky
And lovingly she warms the sand on which you lie
The summer envelops you with its love and warmth as you relax on the beach
The summer knows, the summer's wise
The summer season is knowledgeable and wise beyond its years
She sees the doubts within your eyes
The summer can perceive your worries and doubts
And so she takes her summer time
The summer utilizes the season to the fullest
Tells the moon to wait and the sun to linger
The summer season commands the celestial bodies to stay longer
Twists the world 'round her summer finger
The summer season controls the world as if it were a mere toy
Lets you see the wonder of her arm?
The summer season lets you bask in its marvelousness and splendor
And if you've learned your lesson well
If you have fully appreciated and taken advantage of the summer season
There's little more for her to tell
There is nothing new that the summer season can teach you
One last caress, it's time to dress for fall
The summer season gives you one final embrace before its end, as you prepare for the fall season
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Michel Jean Legrand, Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SebMcLean
The summer smiles, the summer knows
And unashamed, she sheds her clothes
The summer smooths the restless sky
And lovingly she warms the sand on which you lie
The summer knows, the summer's wise
She sees the doubts within your eyes
And so she takes her summer time
Tells the moon to wait and the sun to linger
Twists the world 'round her summer finger
Lets you see the wonder of her arm?
And if you've learned your lesson well
There's little more for her to tell
One last caress, it's time to dress for fall
The summer knows, the summer's wise
She sees the doubts within your eyes
And so she takes her summer time
Tells the moon to wait and the sun to linger
Twists the world 'round her summer finger
Lets you see the wonder of her arms?
And if you've learned your lesson well
There's little more for her to tell
One last caress, it's time to dress for fall
June Bermingham
Wonderful arrangement by Henri Mancini of the beautiful Michel le Grande song,,, RIP, Henri and Michel,sadly missed!!
Albert Jacobs
Just haunting. It just lingers in your mind. The hallmark of a great composition.
MrStoneycool69
I really miss this music even though it was some years before my time, but it certainly reminded of days when music had character and integrity. So long Henry, your music lives on in the memories of those who remember your melodies.
Mrbrbusby .busby
The bard of Aliquippa. Such a remote region has produced two of the finest harmonists. The late Mancini and Keith Jarrett.
Regina Sena
Lindíssima música, perfeita saudade de minha juventude, voltei ao passado! 👏👏👏👏💖💖💖💖
Randall Sundeen
In all of my life I've considered myself a person of summer and no song encapsulates summer more than this song ànd with the exception of the composer no one treats this song better than MANCINI 😍!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelika D'Alessandro
What a great perfomance from a wonderful song!!
Lêda R.J. Chaves
Quantas vezes já ouvi essa música! Linda! As músicas do meu tempo, tão diferentes das de hoje.....
Walter Barcelos
A música melodiosa que faz a magia de nos transportar para lugares belíssimos de luz, paz e alegria são todas elas músicas divinas, eternas e inesquecíveis.
Ken Saari
Summer of 72, my best summer ever. Twenty-one years old, and went to summer school in Italy with my 2 best friends from college. Nothing could ever top that summer.