UPDATE (4/28/2023): I have revised the text of my original post below, detailing my journey of discovery through Goldsmith's work on this series. For those who aren't interested in those details, here at the top I am putting an up-to-date list of episodes of the series definitely *confirmed* to feature original music by Jerry Goldsmith, along with podcast episode links beneath the few we have covered thus far on The Goldsmith Odyssey:
+Confirmed by the Paley Center for Media which has a copy in their collection. *Carson Cohen confirmed, by examining in person written materials in the CBS Archives at UCLA.
---
I've been realizing more and more lately how important this show (full name: Westinghouse Studio One in Hollywood) was in Goldsmith's 50s output and development as a composer. In terms of what I've been able to confirm through extensive research, he only worked on episodes of this series during the second half of the tenth and final season (between February and September of 1958) but he scored at least NINE one hour episodes during that time period, which was sandwiched in between his longer stints spent writing original music for two other live anthology shows for CBS: his first gig working regularly on a series, Climax (1954-1958) and the more prestigious feature-length Playhouse 90 (1959-1960).
Initially, all I could find was the short but commercially-available suite from an episode called "The Fair-Haired Boy" (Season 10 Episode 22, aired 3/3/58), better known to film music collectors as the track "Jazz Theme #2" on the Goldsmith Twilight Zone CD. I have to date never had any luck in my search for the episode itself (please let me know if you have a copy or know someone who might -- moradi dot yavar at gmail dot com), but I can now report that that suite was only a small fraction of a *much* longer score, the written music for which did survive the ages and which a friend to The Goldsmith Odyssey podcast (Carson Cohen) discovered and has reconstructed using a combination of surviving cues re-performed for the CBS Music Library, plus MIDI realizations of all the cues not slated for recording by CBS back in the 50s. We are going to hold out a little longer in the hopes of getting a copy of the original program with story context and live orchestral performance, but rest assured we will cover Goldsmith's composition eventually in complete form, one way or another. For anyone interested in the podcast's early (back in 2018!) coverage of a fraction of the score, it was in the opening section of this episode: https://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/779305-episode-11-man-on-the-beach-1959-the-fair-haired-boy-1958
Then late in 2019 I stumbled upon "Tongues of Angels" (S10E24, aired 3/17/58) on YouTube, with a lovely score by Goldsmith bearing quite a debt to his debut score for a feature film composed only half a year earlier -- Black Patch. If you're familiar with that score (hopefully you all have the new RSNO recording produced by Intrada at this point) just listen to the opening cue of this:
Later in 2020 thanks to a post on the FSM board, I finally got to see "The Shadow of a Genius" (S10E26, aired 3/31/58) starring Boris Karloff, which someone kindly reuploaded onto YouTube:
This is of particular historical importance because along with the unsold pilot World in White, it's one of the early appearances of what became Jerry's rising three note Dr. Kildare motif (not the longer-lined theme)! We will be thoroughly covering both of these Dr. Kildare precursors on a Goldsmith Odyssey episode later this year, as a lead-up to our actual Dr. Kildare coverage.
And then I ran across a Bill Wrobel video uploaded back in 2017, where he has excerpts from another Studio One scored by Jerry Goldsmith -- "A Dead Ringer": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WkFXleAguU
Very Herrmannesque stuff, after that actual Herrmann main title! To my surprise I discovered that a central motif of this score actually got re-used in at least one cue of his Thriller score "Well of Doom" only three years later! These really were like mini-features for Goldsmith, even before he wrote original music for any Playhouse 90s. It's a huge leap forward compositionally, compared to the two episodes of Climax I've run across from him ("Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Trail of Terror"). Near the end of 2021, The Goldsmith Odyssey finally managed to acquire the entire TV episode, as well as another Studio One Goldsmith scored a month later called "The Desperate Age". We covered both of these episodes/scores on the podcast in 2022, playing every single cue from each score: https://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/10530292-episode-35-the-desperate-age-westinghouse-studio-one-1958 https://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/11401225-episode-36-a-dead-ringer-westinghouse-studio-one-1958
David also kindly uploaded both episodes to our new YouTube channel, so that our listeners have the option of viewing them in advance of listening to our discussions:
And additionally I did a lot of extra research and located or otherwise confirmed an additional FOUR original Goldsmith episodes written for this series. The Paley Center for Media has a copy (and confirms Goldsmith's credit) on what may be the earliest episode of Studio One he ever scored, "The Presence of the Enemy" (Season 10 Episode 19, aired 2/10/58): https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=cbs&p=287&item=T87:0381 They also have "The Man Who Asked for a Funeral" (S10E37, 6/23/58) which unlike the earlier episodes I uncovered is not actually listed on IMDb as a Goldsmith credit, currently: https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=&p=1&item=T83:0239
And finally Carson Cohen informed us of two other Studio One episodes with original Goldsmith scores, thanks to his finding official cue titles/time estimates in the CBS Archives at UCLA (just as he had previously done for "Tongues of Angels" which is how we discovered Goldsmith's involvement on that; in the interests of clarity this is not the same as him finding the original written cues as he did for "The Fair-Haired Boy"):
EDGE OF TRUTH (S10E29, 4/28/58) Jerry Goldsmith
Edge of Truth [:25] The Bribe [:50] An Idea [:48] Grandfather’s Boy [1:02] What to Do [:11] [Piano Concerto in Bb Minor - Tchaikovsky] [:30] The Pinch [:11] The Station [:11] Bad Time [:38] Trial Date [1:45] Elaine’s Sorrow [2:12] Bad Judgment [:30] New Witness [:39] The Meeting [:17] New Witness [:34] Resolution [2:06] Sad Lady [:50] Elaine’s Sorrow [:30] What’s Left [:14]
THE LADY DIED AT MIDNIGHT (S10E45, 9/1/58) Jerry Goldsmith
Jail Break [2:00] Always a Cop [:28] Pete Pilgrim’s Blues [1:00] Ad Lib Blues (arr. Sam Furman) [3:00] The Body [:24] Play On [:05] Remorse [1:15] The Trap is Set [:53] The Missing Link [:51] Suspicion [:50] Track Down [:35] Dead Villain [:23] The Long Ride [1:35]
And finally here's the official cue list for "The Tongues of Angels" in case anyone wants to follow along with the YouTube film, above -- note that some cues were repeated in whole or in part, and the cue lists represents this (with rough estimates of the length as-used:
THE TONGUES OF ANGELS Jerry Goldsmith
Tongues of Angels [:58] Missing Guest [:30] Instructions [:50] Night Talk [1:26] Night Talk [:15] Mother [:30] Mother [:30] Speech [:17] Sick Boy [:36] Worries [:15] Promise [:18] Sick Boy [:20] Secrets [1:25] Speech [:15] Young Talk [:55] Confession [1:00] Tongues of Angels [:40] Together [:20] Victory [1:15] Confession [:20] Bright Future [2:10]
--
I wonder if even more Goldsmith-scored Studio Ones will show up in the future...
You're welcome, zooba! I wish you weren't the only one to express any interest here.
I'm pretty sure that aside from the eight or so episodes by Goldsmith (who knows? info is sketchy and it might be a bigger number) there were other "name" composers who wrote for Studio One, I think including Bernard Herrmann. Based on those two composers alone, a box set of music from this show probably has some sales potential.
The problem is that I'm fairly certain (as with Playhouse 90 after it) it was entirely a live TV show, with the music performed live on set as the actors performed. So the only stuff to survive in music-only form would probably be stuff later re-recorded for CBS music library use (which is why we got the wonderful Playhouse 90 scores "Tomorrow" and "A Marriage of Strangers" on the Prometheus Jerry Goldsmith: The Early Years Volume One release, albeit both of them in fairly incomplete form -- they were completely different performance-wise from the music in the programs themselves). I'm strongly guessing this was the case with 1958's "Fair-Haired Boy" (aka "Jazz Theme #2"):
In comparison, the much lengthier "Jazz Theme #1" on the Goldsmith Twilight Zone CD was the original recording for an unaired pilot made the following year (Man on the Beach) -- matches the program perfectly. The only way to confirm this for Jazz Theme #2 would be to lay hands on the episode itself, but alas I haven't had any luck finding it. The good news is that a friend has reconstructed the remainder of the score in MIDI, and we plan to premiere it on The Goldsmith Odyssey at some point in the future
Thanks so much, Yavar, for posting these links to some recently unearthed Jerry Goldsmith-scored TV shows.
One-by-one, the myriad of pieces in the musical jigsaw puzzle that is Jerry's early career are being discovered, shown on vintage cable TV channels, and then placed on various internet sites like YouTube for us all to view.
You are the Detective Columbo of the Goldsmith heritage! Three cheers for you!!! You've found some things I never knew about. Keep on digging. To borrow a old McDonald's hamburger commercial phrase, "I'm lovin' it."
Bumping this thread for the major updates I made to my original post, which now lists NINE confirmed original Goldsmith scores for the series! The Goldsmith Odyssey podcast managed to acquire two of these several months ago, and we plan to cover them on our next podcast recording. One of them -- "A Dead Ringer" -- is why I originally created this thread, searching for the whole thing because someone had put up excerpts of it on YouTube. Well now that I've heard the whole thing I can tell you all that it's EXCELLENT and on the level of his work for Thriller (in fact I'd say it's even better than a few of his Thriller scores). There isn't nearly as much to "The Desperate Age" from a month later, so we will be covering that one much more superficially.
Fascinating. These early television anthology scores are some of my favorite Goldsmith stuff. Thanks for being our faithful Goldsmith obsessive, Yavar!
Carson is a friend of the show who does, and has, had access to these archives, and is enough of a musician to even make some mock-ups of music only found in written format. We've mentioned him a few times on The Goldsmith Odyssey, so it's easy to fall into referring to him as if he's known by all. He has done a lot with finding these Library Cues I tried to pull together using the isolated scores on the Twilight Zone discs, but he has real access, to more cues and more complete ones, and he has been very willing to share his work with us, and even check on things when we've asked.
Unfortunately, we met him right before COVID, since which access has been limited.
How does a person gain access to the CBS Archives @ UCLA? Could anybody 'walk-in' and look at music manuscripts and sound recording elements?
Honestly, I don't know, but it sure sounds like it! It certainly doesn't seem to be one of those walled off, Academics Only vaults that can so frustrate anyone interested, but not currently in university. Even across the vast US, via email, some of these places have proven more accessible than I would have expected.
Again, well done in your enthusiastic investigations to unearth this information on early JG. Amazing what there is to add to his historical works. I’ll be updating my site very soon.
Carson is a friend of the show who does, and has, had access to these archives, and is enough of a musician to even make some mock-ups of music only found in written format. We've mentioned him a few times on The Goldsmith Odyssey, so it's easy to fall into referring to him as if he's known by all. He has done a lot with finding these Library Cues I tried to pull together using the isolated scores on the Twilight Zone discs, but he has real access, to more cues and more complete ones, and he has been very willing to share his work with us, and even check on things when we've asked.
Unfortunately, we met him right before COVID, since which access has been limited.
It's possible, as an apparent fan of The Twilight Zone and its music, that ZardozSpeaks might know him as one third of poster "Dan Hollis".
How does a person gain access to the CBS Archives @ UCLA? Could anybody 'walk-in' and look at music manuscripts and sound recording elements?
It's likely that a library card at least was required to access those materials even pre-Covid, but I get the impression that one didn't need to be connected to UCLA to get one. Right now they only let those folks have access -- people with a "Bruin card"... but in the past I think it may have just perhaps been necessary to be a resident of southern California. I lived in LA for several years and San Diego for even more, and I wish I'd known about their holdings at the time.
Again, well done in your enthusiastic investigations to unearth this information on early JG. Amazing what there is to add to his historical works. I’ll be updating my site very soon.
Fascinating. These early television anthology scores are some of my favorite Goldsmith stuff. Thanks for being our faithful Goldsmith obsessive, Yavar!
My pleasure, gentlemen -- you should both really enjoy the next regular Goldsmith Odyssey episode, which we are recording this weekend.
10. Studio One - “Brotherhood of the Bell” (Season 10 Episode 14, aired 1/6/58) ** 11. Studio One - “The Other Place” (Season 10 Episode 15, aired 1/13/58) *** 12. Studio One - “Trial by Slander” (Season 10 Episode 16, aired 1/20/58) **** 13. Studio One - “The Left Handed Welcome” (Season 10 Episode 36, aired 6/16/58) *****
** Bill Wrobel confirmed by examining in person written materials in the CBS Archives at UCLA.
*** episode dated 1-13-58. Goldsmith cues here.
**** airdate 1-20-58. The first cue used is “Opening: Studio One in Hollywood” by Bernard Herrmann (1:30 duration). Another cue is cue #467-R “The Lovers” by Goldsmith (CBS VII 57-A).
***** Box # 1813 [Note: I also pulled this box on June 20, 2003] Contents include cue sheets for a Studio One episode, “The Left Handed Welcome” dated 6-16-58. It was supervised by Jerry Goldsmith. The first cue is “After the Senior Prom” by Jimmy Duncan. Another cue is I-7 # 1 “Homecoming” by Goldsmith ):10 duration). I-10 # 2 is “Riches” by Goldsmith (:25). I-21 # 3 is “Promise” by Goldsmith (:07)
Sounds more like the last two episodes in that list were stock, not original scores by Goldsmith.
While I mainly wanted to see the Studio One version of "Brotherhood of the Bell" just for itself, one wonders how Goldsmith's score compared between that and the latter version.
Were original scores for Playhouse 90 really played live? Did the actors hear it or was it piped into the control room? In the episodes with stock music, I'm assuming the actors didn't hear that playing.
Don’t know how I missed this thread earlier, but just wanted to say thanks for the continuing archeology! We are all richer for your efforts, Yavar and David.
Were original scores for Playhouse 90 really played live? Did the actors hear it or was it piped into the control room?
For live TV in general, not all, but mainly, yes, the music was performed live to performance in another room, while some were pre-recorded as the . We have some probable specific examples of each. For Playhouse 90 - "The Tunnel," Bill Wrobel noted, of the UCLA records: "score dated 12-10-59 (also, strangely, the airdate is 12-10-59) Score no: CPN5857. FS. Format: MS." That fits with a live performance. "A Dream of Treason" was broadcast on January 21, 1960, but in the UCLA archives, Bill Wrobel noted: On container, "PH 90/59-9-3/Dream of Treason/Good Takes," which []suggests recordings done on September 3, 1959, but that's also pretty early vs. the broadcast, so it's not definitive either way, but does reflect the possibility of pre-recording if, say, this choice of productions was delayed for some reason.
In the episodes with stock music, I'm assuming the actors didn't hear that playing.
I think the actors wouldn't have heard music in either case. It was being fed directly into a mixing board from the separate room, and having an additional source of the same music from the performers' mics would have caused some issues.
Don’t know how I missed this thread earlier, but just wanted to say thanks for the continuing archeology! We are all richer for your efforts, Yavar and David.
I think I can speak for both of us when I say: it's our pleasure, Joe! We love digging into this stuff as much as our Goldsmith Odyssey listeners do... maybe even moreso, because we're a little obsessed! But it's good to feel appreciated, so thank you and you're welcome.
Fingers crossed for re-recordings one day if it might be possible...
That's certainly the hope! There's rich material here to mine for more than one Goldsmith Anthology volume (remember Studio One was a one hour show, so the scores are typically twice as long as say a GE Theater or Twilight Zone score).
Were original scores for Playhouse 90 really played live? Did the actors hear it or was it piped into the control room?
For live TV in general, not all, but mainly, yes, the music was performed live to performance in another room, while some were pre-recorded as the . We have some probable specific examples of each. For Playhouse 90 - "The Tunnel," Bill Wrobel noted, of the UCLA records: "score dated 12-10-59 (also, strangely, the airdate is 12-10-59) Score no: CPN5857. FS. Format: MS." That fits with a live performance. "A Dream of Treason" was broadcast on January 21, 1960, but in the UCLA archives, Bill Wrobel noted: On container, "PH 90/59-9-3/Dream of Treason/Good Takes," which []suggests recordings done on September 3, 1959, but that's also pretty early vs. the broadcast, so it's not definitive either way, but does reflect the possibility of pre-recording if, say, this choice of productions was delayed for some reason.
You'd think they wouldn't add to the complications of live video with live music, but maybe replacing the latter was a work in progress. Inre "Dream of Treason" are we certain it was a live show? There were filmed episodes for PH90 prior to 1959 (ie The Dungeon 1958) which would have been scored earlier than the broadcast.
You'd think they wouldn't add to the complications of live video with live music, but maybe replacing the latter was a work in progress.
When you think about it it kind of makes sense, because the score may be written to rehearsal timings which can change on the spot when actually performed by actors.
Inre "Dream of Treason" are we certain it was a live show? There were filmed episodes for PH90 prior to 1959 (ie The Dungeon 1958) which would have been scored earlier than the broadcast.
So we actually discuss this subject quite a bit in an upcoming recorded episode of The Goldsmith Odyssey which David is working on editing right now. Our score is "Shape of the River", the final Playhouse 90 that Goldsmith tackled in mid 1960. After the first season or so (which Goldsmith didn't work on at all), Playhouse 90 transitioned from live to almost entirely "live to tape". This meant that major mistakes (like a corpse accidentally standing up and walking off stage while still visible in the shot) could be fixed, but it still has a strong quality of "live TV" in that there are preserved flubs and such. They would basically shoot entire acts at a time on tape, and then edit them together for later broadcast. It was still quick-and-dirty and on a tight budget, so they couldn't afford to refine and fix little mistakes, like someone tripping over a stair or briefly misspeaking and then correcting themselves, or even someone forgetting their line and improvising a bit.
Now occasionally some filmed segments might be incorporated as well, and those would be more "locked" for lack of a better term. But it's interesting to note that with some other Playhouse 90s we covered early in the podcast -- "A Marriage of Strangers" and "Tomorrow" -- the timings and performances of music in-episode are *very* different (and seem to sometimes respond to the actors in the moment) from the cues from these two scores released on the Prometheus CD, Jerry Goldsmith: The Early Years Volume One (which almost certainly used later re-recordings for library music purposes, done in Europe). If these episodes had been filmed and *then* scored in post-production with a recording session, then those performances would presumably have existed on tape in a way that perfectly matched the film. That's the case with the Perry Mason score "The Case of the Blushing Pearls" from 1959 -- it's the exact same performance/recording as on the Prometheus album. And presumably that would be the case for The Lineup score "Wake Up to Terror", if only we had that filmed episode of television available to check the music against. But the two Playhouse 90 scores, from the last two seasons of the show, don't match up to the films in the slightest.
We are pretty sure the episodes of Studio One which Jerry scored (all in 1958 to our knowledge, before he transitioned to Playhouse 90) were done live (as was the case on his preceding anthology series assignment, Climax), but even if done "live to tape" it doesn't seem like they were scored in post-production, but performed live while the actors were performing.
