InTune

A Musical Tribute to Acting Legend Paul Newman

Posted on Oct 04, 2008 by Monica in Movies

Broadway has dimmed its lights this week for acting legend Paul Newman, who passed away from cancer at 83. Here at Musicnotes.com, we were talking about what kinds of movies we remembered seeing him in, and that we were probably going to go rent a movie to watch this weekend in homage of Paul Newman. I was doing a little bit of research on his acting background, and was surprised to see that Paul Newman was also a musical performer, producer and director. Newman lent his musical talents for the movie Road to Perdition and Cool Hand Luke. Hard to believe his first acting credits were on television from 1952.

As a tribute to Paul Newman, I wanted to share with you some of the TV and movie theme music we have from the shows that he had appeared in. If you see a little green icon next to the song, that means that the song is one of our Music Notes Editions. I picked out a few of those in this list, because when you download the Music Notes Editions, you also get the rights to publicly perform the arrangement without having to worry about licensing or permission. That way, if you decide to use the song in your next concert, you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement.

• The Entertainer by Scott Joplin – This song appeared in the early 1970s movie The Sting. The movie was a throwback to the 1930s about a con man seeking revenge starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Newman played the character of Henry Gondorff, a professional "grifter" who teamed up with Redford’s character (Johnny Hooker) to con a crooked banker. The film won several Oscars and other awards.
• Theme Song from The Exodus – Produced in 1960, this film is about the founding of the state of Israel. Newman played the character of Ari Ben Canaan. The song was composed by Ernest Gold and has lyrics by Pat Boone.
• Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head -  Written by songwriter legend Burt Bacharach (who you may recall from his recent work with American Idol singers), this instantly recognizable tune was featured in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Newman starred in this 1969 western as Butch Cassidy with Robert Redford as The Sundance Kid.
• Just a Closer Walk with Thee – This American gospel classic was featured in the movie Cool Hand Luke starring Paul Newman as Luke, who plays a rebellious prisoner. A popular quote from the movie is: "What we have here is a failure to communicate."
• Rhiannon (Will you Ever Win?) -  Newman played the character of Reggie "Reg" Dunlop in the movie Slap Shot, a sports film about hockey players that debuted in 1977. Rhiannon, also known as "Will you Ever Win?", was written by Stevie Nicks for Fleetwood Mac in 1976.
• The Girl from Ipanema – Translated into English from Portuguese, this song was part of the soundtrack for The Color of Money. Newman played Fast Eddie Felson who taught Vincent Lauria, played by Tom Cruise, the ropes of pool hustling.
• Selections from Disney’s Cars – One of Paul Newman’s last performances was his voice talents for the character Doc Hudson in Disney’s animated movie Cars. Produced in 2006, this animated film had an impressive cast with a long list of stars that also featured the late George Carlin as Fillmore. This music book features several songs from the film including Life is a Highway and Sh-Boom (Life Could be a Dream).

It’s hard to believe that Paul Newman acted in over 75 films and TV shows over the years, and it’s even harder to believe that he’s gone. For more information about this acting great, read the IMDB profile page for Paul Newman or his charity work featured on the site Newman’s Own.

Rest in peace "Old Blue Eyes," we’ll miss you.

Tags: movie sheet music, theme songs