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Michael Viner's THE INCREDIBLE BONGO BAND (Mr. Bongo MRBCD043)
For soundtrack fans, this release has 3 tracks of specific interest. Two of the tracks were composed for 1972's THE THING WITH TWO HEADS scored by Robert O. Ragland.
- (From the liner notes by Angus Batey - 2001) -
"After shooting had been completed MGM decided THING needed a chase scene. One was tacked on, but new music had to be recorded to accompany the sequence. Enter Viner and his friend, Perry Botkin Jr., an Academy-nominated songwriter (he penned Nadja's Theme), and producer of longstanding. The pair conceived THE INCREDIBLE BONGO BAND, and went into MGM's studio to record the track. The Bongo Band was according to Botkin and Viner, "a lark", but the music took on a life of it's own. The two tracks recorded and released on THE THING soundtrack album, "Bongo Rock" and "Bongolia", were so successful that they were paired up and released as a 7" single which, like the soundtrack, appeared on MGM's Pride imprint in 1972.
To everyone's astonishment, the single started selling. And kept on selling. And carried on selling some more, eventually topping the US R&B singles and Canadian pop charts, going on to sell over two million copies."
But for fans of vintage pro-wrestling, (and who isn't), the real gem here is, "Let There Be Drums", the theme to ATLANTIC GRAND PRIX WRESTLING.
(Not too many people know about this. I think it was a regional thing.)
There is more background on THE THING WITH TWO HEADS in the booklet but I got tired of typing. Perhaps more later.
Perry Botkin Jr., and Perry Botkin Sr., have both scored movies. There is additional information and comments by Botkin as well.
Botkin did the theme to MORK & MINDY. Nadja's Theme from the 1976 Olympics (co-written with Barry DeVorzon), is better known to us as Cotton's Theme from BLESS THE BEASTS AND THE CHILDREN.
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