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.
The House of the Rising Sun
Henry Mancini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They call The Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many other poor boys
And god, I know, I'm one
My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new blue jeans
My father was a gamblin' man
Down in New Orleans
A suitcase and a trunk
And the only time he'll be satisfied
Is when he's all drunk
Oh mother, tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the house of the rising sun
Well I've got one foot on the platform
And the other on the train
I am going
Back to New Orleans to wear that ball and chain
There is a house in New Orleans
They call The Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many other poor boys
And god, I know, I'm one
The House of the Rising Sun is a song about a young man who has fallen into a life of vice and ends up at the infamous house of ill repute that they call The Rising Sun. The song is told from the point of view of the singer who is reflecting on his own experiences, warning others not to fall into the same trap.
The first verse describes The Rising Sun as a notorious place where many other poor boys have met their downfall. The singer then shares that his father was a gambler who was probably involved with the establishment. The chorus has a warning to listeners to not follow the same path and end up spending their lives in sin and misery. In the second verse, the singer states that he has one foot on the platform and the other on the train heading back to New Orleans where he expects to face punishment for his actions in the form of a ball and chain.
Line by Line Meaning
There is a house in New Orleans
The city of New Orleans has a famous establishment called The Rising Sun.
They call The Rising Sun
The establishment's name is based on the legend of a place where people go to ruin their lives.
And it's been the ruin of many other poor boys
Countless young men have had their lives destroyed after going to The Rising Sun.
And god, I know, I'm one
The artist is admitting that he too has succumbed to the destructive influence of The Rising Sun.
My mother was a tailor
The artist's mother worked as a seamstress.
She sewed my new blue jeans
His mother made his new pants for him.
My father was a gamblin' man
His father was a habitual gambler.
Down in New Orleans
His father lived in New Orleans, a city known for its gambling establishments.
And the only thing a gambler needs is
Gamblers don't require much to ply their trade.
A suitcase and a trunk
All a gambler needs is a few items of luggage.
And the only time he'll be satisfied
Gamblers are rarely satisfied.
Is when he's all drunk
One of the few times a gambler may be truly content is when he's had too much to drink.
Oh mother, tell your children
The singer is exhorting mothers to teach their children wisely.
Not to do what I have done
He is warning them against following in his footsteps and ending up ruined.
Spend your lives in sin and misery
The alternative to staying away from The Rising Sun is to lead sinful and miserable lives.
In the house of the rising sun
This phrase is a metaphor for a life of ruinous behavior and bad choices, represented by the establishment called The Rising Sun.
Well I've got one foot on the platform
The artist is ready to leave town.
And the other on the train
He is about to board a train for New Orleans.
I am going
He has decided to return to the place of his downfall.
Back to New Orleans to wear that ball and chain
The artist is resigned to the fact that he will fall back into old habits and be shackled once again by the consequences of his actions.
Contributed by Scarlett D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.