Recently, a piece on National Public Radio discussed “songs of summer.” This concept resonates deeply, as many associate specific songs with memorable moments in their lives. These “songs of summer,” particularly from younger years, are powerfully linked to significant life events. Childhood milestones, finishing school, starting careers, marriage, and raising families all seemed to unfold with these sweet, memorable melodies as a backdrop, though they subtly faded into the background of daily life, never truly disappearing.
Listening to NPR journalists and a pop music expert discuss music genres, song vibes, and how a melody becomes a “song of summer” through ubiquity, struck a chord. The idea that “everybody could marinate in it at the same time” during summer perfectly captured the collective experience of summer anthems.
One “song of summer” indelibly etched in my youth is “Theme from A Summer Place,” by Percy Faith. Recorded in September 1960, its summer of prominence was 1961. That summer, my family moved to a new suburban house built the previous spring. My sister and I finally had our own bedrooms. Being older, she also possessed a coveted stereo, constantly playing records. One frequent play was the Columbia 45 of Percy Faith’s “Theme from A Summer Place.” Radio airwaves echoed this recording that summer. Unbeknownst to me, this beautiful, evocative melody originated from a Hollywood film released in late 1959. I simply enjoyed the song and Percy Faith’s rendition. It resurfaced in my mind upon returning to school after summer, noticing the sudden allure of the girls in my sixth-grade class.
My movie-going experiences as a child in the 1950s were less than ideal. My parents lacked the patience for my theater behavior. However, my grandmother, a saint, persevered, at least initially. She obtained permission to take me to see Disney’s Pinocchio. We bused downtown to the theater. Within thirty minutes, I descended into hysterical crying. My grandmother’s logic and reasoning were futile. We left, bused home, and nightmares ensued for days. Troubled, my grandmother discussed this with my parents. The solution: another Disney film, Bambi, to overcome my apparent emotional aversion to children’s movies. The same scenario unfolded, this time within fifteen minutes. My grandmother, exasperated on the bus ride home, declared, “Mikey, I just don’t understand you.”
Ideas for swingandbeyond.com posts arise from diverse sources, but the music itself is always the core inspiration. It must possess an appealing or worthwhile quality. This could be a remarkable jazz solo, like Lester Young’s on “Oh, Lady Be Good” or Coleman Hawkins’s “Body and Soul.” Or perhaps a perfect blend of song, arrangement, and solos, exemplified by Artie Shaw’s “Star Dust.” Superb vocals, such as Sarah Vaughan’s “Lush Life,” also captivate. However, often it’s the irresistible pull of a lovely melody that sparks inspiration.
Lobby poster for A Summer Place movie, highlighting Max Steiner's score
Beautiful melodies often hide in plain sight, buried beneath the surface of Hollywood films. Vintage films occasionally reveal musical gems, subtly presented. A prime example is the exquisite “Blues for Brando,” barely audible in The Wild One, where Marlon Brando plays a sensitive(?) motorcycle gang leader.
Among my enjoyable film genres are “potboilers”—intentionally sensational, like 1950s pulp magazines. Sexual innuendo is a frequent plot device, often unintentionally humorous today. A Summer Place, released in 1959, falls into this category. I likely encountered it on Turner Classic Movies. Starring Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee as young lovers, and Richard Egan and Dorothy McGuire as their parental counterparts. Arthur Kennedy, Hollywood’s go-to character actor for mean, drunken villains, plays the cuckolded spouse with relish.
A Summer Place is visually stunning and well-produced. Director Delmer Daves guides the actors effectively. Yet, the film’s most enduring element is its beautiful instrumental theme, composed by Max Steiner.
Percy Faith’s Connection
Coincidences, especially unexpected ones, fascinate me. I’ve previously mentioned the generous hospitality of friends in suburban Chicago, Wilmette. Their former house, sold last year for a smaller nearby home, was in a charming neighborhood. The house, seemingly built in the 1920s, was comfortable and spacious. The area, ideal for walking, boasted manicured lawns, tree-lined brick streets, and a beautiful Lake Michigan beach nearby.
Charming house in Wilmette, Illinois, where Percy Faith resided during his NBC Chicago years
Internet sleuths, classic American music enthusiasts, recently unearthed a valuable historical resource: online registration cards from the 1940 Selective Service Act. Filled out by registrants, these cards contain a wealth of information. Percy Faith’s draft registration card is shown. Beyond basic details, it includes employment and home address. Percy Faith’s address caught my eye: it was the same Wilmette house where I had been a guest.
Percy Faith (1908-1976), born and raised in Toronto, Canada, was the eldest of eight. Parents Abraham Faith and Minnie Rottenberg. He played violin and piano as a child, performing in theaters and Massey Hall. Burn injuries to his hands led him to conducting. His orchestras reached vast audiences via radio.
Percy Faith's 1942 draft registration card, revealing his Chicago address
Starting with stations CKNC and CKCL, Faith was a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) live music fixture from 1933-1940. He then moved to Chicago, leading the orchestra for NBC’s Carnation Contented Hour. From 1948-49, he led the orchestra for CBS radio’s The Coca Cola Hour (The Pause That Refreshes), collaborating with accordionist John Serry, Sr.
Faith became a US citizen in 1945. He recorded extensively for Voice of America. After a stint at Decca Records, he joined Mitch Miller at Columbia Records, producing numerous albums and arranging for Columbia pop stars like Tony Bennett, Doris Day, and Johnny Mathis. By 1960, when Percy Faith recorded “Theme from A Summer Place,” he was a Columbia Records success story.
Percy Faith portrait in 1942, showcasing his early career
Musical Essence of “Theme from A Summer Place”
Percy Faith’s “Theme from A Summer Place” arrangement and performance adhere to swing era traditions of showcasing beautiful melodies. Subtlety, simplicity, and relaxed understatement define his approach.
It begins with a brief introduction: piano and flute unison, establishing a gentle rhythmic ostinato. Note the soft shuffle rhythm (12/8 meter). This piano style was popular in late 1950s pop music. Bass, guitar, and drums enter halfway through.
Musical score excerpt, highlighting the string arrangement in "Theme from A Summer Place"
The first chorus features glistening unison strings atop the rhythmic ostinato, purely stating the melody. French horns add a soft rhythmic counterline. Flutes join as horns play the secondary melody, strings now providing rhythmic pizzicato. Strings return with the main melody, flutes briefly reappear.
A modulation leads to subtly harmonized strings playing the melody against more active French horn lines—the arrangement’s warm, mellow climax. Flutes briefly contrast instrumentally, then strings swirl through the finale.
I appreciate the vibe of Percy Faith’s “Theme from A Summer Place.” “Marinating in it” with loved ones, especially on balmy August afternoons with a drink, is a pleasure. It’s definitively one of my songs of summer.
This recording was digitally remastered by Mike Zirpolo.
Notes and Links:
(*) Max Steiner (1888-1971), a Hollywood film music pioneer. Documentaries:
https://www.torontofilmmagazine.com/post/watch-max-steiner-maestro-of-movie-music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZwPDd2N7yM
More on Max Steiner: https://swingandbeyond.com/2023/01/02/southern-scandal-stan-kenton-1945-billy-may-and-the-swing-era-orchestra-1970/
(1) “Oh, Lady Be Good” – Lester Young: https://swingandbeyond.com/2017/02/17/lady-be-good-1936-lester-young-and-count-basie/
(2) “Body and Soul” – Coleman Hawkins: https://swingandbeyond.com/2016/11/01/body-and-soul-1939-coleman-hawkins/
(3) “Star Dust” – Artie Shaw: https://swingandbeyond.com/2017/10/21/star-dust-1940-artie-shaw/
(4) “Lush Life” – Sarah Vaughan: https://swingandbeyond.com/2018/03/10/lush-life-1956-sarah-vaughan/
(5) “Blues for Brando”: https://swingandbeyond.com/2019/02/05/blues-for-brando-1953-leith-stevens-shorty-rogers-with-bud-shank-milt-bernhart-and-bob-cooper/
(6) Percy Faith early career info from Wikipedia.
More spirit-lifting August music:
“Afternoon in August” (1947) Billy Butterfield/Bill Stegmeyer; (1960) Glen Gray/Shorty Sherock
Repost Number One: “Summertime” (1945) Artie Shaw/Eddie Sauter
“Never Should Have Told You” (1936) Benny Goodman with Margaret McCrae
