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.
Sweetheart Tree
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A tree that will give you a sign
Come along with me to the Sweetheart Tree
Come and carve your name next to mine
They say if you kiss the right sweetheart
The one you've been waiting for
Big blossoms of white will burst into sight
They say if you kiss the right sweetheart
The one you've been waiting for
Big blossoms of white will burst into sight
And your love will be true evermore
In Henry Mancini's song 'The Sweetheart Tree', the lyrics talk about a legend associated with a tree in the forest that will give you a sign if you carve your name next to your sweetheart's. The song urges the listener to come along and carve their name next to the singer's name on the Sweetheart Tree. The next line is about how kissing the right sweetheart will result in everlasting love, and how big blossoms of white will burst into sight. The song repeats this line twice, emphasizing the idea that finding and kissing the right sweetheart will bring true love.
The Sweetheart Tree lyrics, though simple, carry a profound message. The song speaks about love, a theme that has been explored for centuries, and highlights the idea that true love is rare and worth searching for. Through the song, Mancini brought a new twist to the typical love song, making it more interesting by associating it with a legend.
Line by Line Meaning
They say there's a tree in the forest
There's a rumor that a specific tree exists within the forest.
A tree that will give you a sign
This tree supposedly has a special ability to provide meaningful direction.
Come along with me to the Sweetheart Tree
Let's go together to locate this tree.
Come and carve your name next to mine
Let's make our love official by carving our names into the tree's bark.
They say if you kiss the right sweetheart
Rumor has it that if you kiss the right person, something special will happen.
The one you've been waiting for
This person is typically someone who you've been anticipating being romantically involved with.
Big blossoms of white will burst into sight
A beautiful sight will arise if you correctly identify your ideal romantic partner.
And your love will be true evermore
Your love for this person will be genuine and long-lasting.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHNNY MERCER, HENRY N. MANCINI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind