The Music from Peter Gunn

{{Short description|1959 soundtrack album by Henry Mancini}}

{{Infobox album

| name = The Music from Peter Gunn

| type = soundtrack

| artist = Henry Mancini

| cover = Petergunn.jpg

| alt = The album cover for the soundtrack album "The Music from Peter Gunn"

| released = January 1959

| recorded = August 26, 31, and September 4, 29, 1958

| studio = Radio Recorders (Hollywood){{cite book |last1=Schmitt |first1=Al |last2=Droney |first2=Maureen |title=Al Schmitt - On The Record: The Magic Behind the Music |date=2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, Maryland, USA |isbn=9781538137666 |page=36}}

| genre =

• Jazz
• cool jazz{{cite book|first= Bob |last= Stanley |year= 2022 |title= Let's Do It - The Birth of Pop Music: A History|chapter= The Strength of Strings: Film Soundtracks |publisher= Pegasus Books|location= New York|page= 539}}

| length = 39:52

| label = RCA Victor

| producer = Simon Rady

| prev_title = Sousa in Stereo

| prev_year = 1958

| next_title = Combo!

| next_year = 1960

| misc =

}}

{{Infobox album

| name = More Music from Peter Gunn

| type = soundtrack

| artist = Henry Mancini

| cover = Jazz-MoreMusicFromPeterGunn-VinylAlbumCover-LowRez.jpg

| alt = Cover art for More Music from Peter Gunn (1959)

| released = 1959

| recorded =

| studio = RCA Music Center of the World (Hollywood)

| genre = Jazz

| length = 49:01

| label = RCA Victor

| producer = Dick Peirce

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

| misc =

}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = Allmusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r27094|pure_url=yes}} |title=Allmusic review}}

}}

The Music from Peter Gunn is a soundtrack album to the TV series Peter Gunn, composed and conducted by Henry Mancini, and released in January 1959 on RCA Victor. It was the first album ever to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1959. The album was followed by More Music from Peter Gunn, released on RCA Victor in July 1959. In 1998 the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#m {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}

The opening theme music is notable for its combination of jazz orchestration with a straightforward rock 'n roll beat. In his autobiography Did They Mention the Music? Mancini stated:

The Peter Gunn title theme actually derives more from rock and roll than from jazz. I used guitar and piano in unison, playing what is known in music as an ostinato, which means obstinate. It was sustained throughout the piece, giving it a sinister effect, with some frightened saxophone sounds and some shouting brass. The piece has one chord throughout and a super-simple top line.Did They Mention the Music?, Henry Mancini with Gene Lees, Published by Contemporary Books, Inc., 1989, page 87

The Music from Peter Gunn was selected by the Library of Congress as a 2010 addition to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".{{cite web | url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/registry-by-induction-years/2010/ | title=The National Recording Registry 2010 | access-date=March 13, 2017 | publisher=Library of Congress}}

The theme from Peter Gunn has been featured in the films The Blues Brothers, Sixteen Candles, and The Lion King 1½.