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We're pretty sure a Kickstarter campaign is coming soon, in the mean time, hopefully this can whet appetites:
The Goldsmith Odyssey Production Report - The Jerry Goldsmith Companion, by Jeff Bond
https://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/12816895-production-report-the-jerry-goldsmith-companion-by-jeff-bond
After decades of writing about Jerry Goldsmith, author and film music historian Jeff Bond is preparing to deliver his definitive work on the subject: The Jerry Goldsmith Companion, a massive, two-volume set offering a thorough examination of the legendary composer's full career. In this Production Report, your humble hosts Yavar and David chat with Jeff about the process of creating the book, the degree to which the Goldsmith-themed liner notes he's written over the years informed the project, surprising discoveries made throughout the process, the different eras and defining traits of Goldsmith's career, and much more! It's a lively, music-filled conversation that we hope serves as a satisfying appetizer for the grandiose main course that lies ahead. Enjoy!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nightgalleryart/the-jerry-goldsmith-companion
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Listening to this there was mention about a 1949 Children's album Jerry did (Jeff did not find anything) - is there any info about that album floating around in the FSM board anywhere?
Anything on this board originates from this impressive two hour 2002 interview Jon Burlingame conducted with Jerry for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation:
https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/jerry-goldsmith
If you watch the first part you'll learn a lot of fascinating things from Jerry himself which are not mentioned anywhere else online: how he started learning composition, his first time scoring a film (in school, not Black Patch), and his first paid gig writing music (the mysterious "children's record"... as deeply grateful to Jon as I am for conducting this great interview, I'll never forgive him for failing to ask the obvious bare minimum follow up question on that to get the title of it). Jerry describes it (six and a half minutes into the interview) as his "first professional job", and says he was 19 years old at the time. He settles on saying it was 1948, after waffling between 1949 and 1950. So... probably one of those three years.
But I've searched online a while trying to find it with no luck (and I regularly have asked people about it, to see if Jerry told anyone else). And David has spent even longer than I searching for it. Nothing so far.
Yavar
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that opening cue from The Satan Bug just reminded me to listen to that score much more!!
Great conversation w. Jeff on the podcast. Looking forward for the 2 volumes. I like that there are options in terms of format.
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David asked Jeff to suggest some favorite Goldsmith pieces for opening and closing cues to our chat, and he named The Satan Bug and the finale of The Final Conflict. It just made sense to have the latter at the end since it's so climactic, so that left Satan Bug for the opening. But Jeff deserves the credit for that pick.  Glad you enjoyed it!
Yavar
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Right, it probably(?) didn’t include any original melodies of his own, but I’d still be excited to hear teenage Jerry Goldsmith arrangements if others’ melodies, personally.
This was only 2-3 years before his first original score for radio.
Yavar
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I’ve had a few nice email exchanges with Carol Goldsmith (she was originally going to join us for the 2020 Score Masters event with The Legacy of John Williams podcast, but had to back out at the last minute), and did dare to ask her once. No response, and I’m guessing it’s probably because she doesn’t know. Which makes sense I guess, since it was a quarter century or so before she met Jerry.
Yavar
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I took a quick look - there's nothing in USA copyright under Jerry or Jerrald around that time. Only thing I thought that might provide a clue is old LA newspaper ads - not sure how he would have found the job back then - probably word of mouth, unless someone put an add in a paper looking for a arranger/conductor. Not sure if Los Angeles City college had a campus paper, and if an ad would have been placed there or not.
Yeah, I've run into blank walls digging into official records, too. ASCAP - bupkis. BIM - bupkis. Industry mags stored on WorldRadioHistory - bupkis. It's college age Jerry, though, almost certainly going by Jerrald. I've dug through websites that post kids' records, the covers and mp3s, looking at anything from the time. Goldsmith debated whether it was '49 or '50 when he did it, but his 53 years later memory being imperfect, I usually bracket by at least a couple of years. Bupkis. As arranger/conductor, he might not even get credit on a children's record, though (on the covers, anyway).
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Posted: |
May 11, 2023 - 7:05 AM
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By: |
ryanpaquet
(Member)
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I took a quick look - there's nothing in USA copyright under Jerry or Jerrald around that time. Only thing I thought that might provide a clue is old LA newspaper ads - not sure how he would have found the job back then - probably word of mouth, unless someone put an add in a paper looking for a arranger/conductor. Not sure if Los Angeles City college had a campus paper, and if an ad would have been placed there or not.
Yeah, I've run into blank walls digging into official records, too. ASCAP - bupkis. BIM - bupkis. Industry mags stored on WorldRadioHistory - bupkis. It's college age Jerry, though, almost certainly going by Jerrald. I've dug through websites that post kids' records, the covers and mp3s, looking at anything from the time. Goldsmith debated whether it was '49 or '50 when he did it, but his 53 years later memory being imperfect, I usually bracket by at least a couple of years. Bupkis. As arranger/conductor, he might not even get credit on a children's record, though (on the covers, anyway).
Makes me wonder if it was just a simple 45 release vs. an album. It's hard to say but it's an interesting challenge/mystery that I am sure will be solved one day. I suppose trying to figure out what Children's labels would have been active in that area at the time might help narrow it down - but I imagine there were quite a few. May not have been a label in the area - Golden Records was established in 1948, and based in NYC - wonder if they would have records/knowledge.
I reached out to Peter Muldavin to see if they had any insight - will let you know if I hear anything back.
(https://www.kiddierekordking.com/contact.html) Author of:
https://www.amazon.ca/Complete-Guide-Vintage-Childrens-Records/dp/1574325094
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I took a quick look - there's nothing in USA copyright under Jerry or Jerrald around that time. Only thing I thought that might provide a clue is old LA newspaper ads - not sure how he would have found the job back then - probably word of mouth, unless someone put an add in a paper looking for a arranger/conductor. Not sure if Los Angeles City college had a campus paper, and if an ad would have been placed there or not.
If Jerry was just a 19 year old arranger/conductor, I wouldn't be surprised if his credit was only in the fine print on the back cover or something like that. Maybe even just on the insert! I also doubt he would be mentioned in any ads -- his name as an arranger certainly wouldn't help sell anything in the late 40s!
Makes me wonder if it was just a simple 45 release vs. an album. It's hard to say but it's an interesting challenge/mystery that I am sure will be solved one day.
LPs were introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, and 45s were introduced shortly after by RCA. I suppose it's *possible* Jerry's "children's record" was in one of those formats, but since they were so new it seems unlikely. I suspect we are looking for 78s, or some other common commercial format of the 1940s.
It's also possible that this project of Jerry's wasn't something that got wide distribution. Maybe it was privately produced rather than being done for some kind of major record label. Back in the 1990s my mom took me to a live performance by an eclectic musical group called Sheer Pandemonium. They were selling their CDs after the concert and my mom bought one. There was a song at the end of it called "Rattlin' Roarin' Willie" which was sort of an Irish jig sort of song and quite a bit of fun. I've searched for that CD/album online so many times, and there's no record of its existence (but I think my mom still has the CD). The internet just doesn't have a record of everything, and it’s possible that even if Jon had asked Jerry the record title and Jerry remembered the record title, we wouldn’t be able to find any evidence of said record online, having that title!
Yavar
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Agreed 100% Yavar.
Peter did get back to me, they are vacation until the 17th but are going to research it when they get back. Can't think of a better children's music expert to have on the task - will be curious if they can dig up anything. If they do, they should definitely be on the podcast. 
Well, this is excellent, Ryan! Your tentacles and ideas reach in other directions from mine, and I'm very glad your stretching them out.
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Yes, thanks Ryan! Fingers crossed... if someone can dig up Jerry Goldsmith's first professional music gig, we will definitely want to have them on the podcast.
Yavar
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Haha, yup that's the name. Now I remember, thanks Schiffy!
Yavar
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