Here's one I wouldn't have thought to look for. I'm not sure how many of you know the 1964 surf movie Endless Summer. It was the best known film by Bruce Brown, his sixth surf movie but the only one to be released to regular theaters (his earlier films were shown in rented halls and auditoriums). It was a huge film and part of the reason for the first big surf craze. (Booo!) A few years later he did a motorcycle flick, On Any Sunday (1971), a documentary on the different types of motorcycle racing and assorted cycle oriented pastimes.
Brown had great soundtracks to at least three of his films prior to On Any Sunday. Two early films, Slippery When Wet (1958) and Barefoot Adventure (1960), had soundtracks by sax man Bud Shank, a West Coast jazz guy. Endless Summer had a soundtrack by the Sandals, an instrumental band that wasn't really in the surf scene but provided some nice mellow vibe type surf-lite tunes. Think cocktails on the patio rather than a full-on keg party, the latter being more typical of a party that surfers would actually attend.
The soundtrack to On Any Sunday is a whole different monster. Credited to Dominic Frontiere, the band consisted of studio musicians including at least two members of the Wrecking Crew, Tommy Tedesco and Carol Kaye. What type of music is it? Shit, it's a hodge podge of classic wah-wah inflected early seventies guitar with fuzz, horns, killer drums and funky bass. If you know the genre library music (anonymous jams licensed for background music) that's what these remind me of. Here's just a couple, but head to Melting Pot for the story of how the host was turned onto the record, what other record it sounds like and the big role Carol Kaye plays. It's a really good post.
Dominic Frontiere - Sunday Drivin' mp3 at Melting Pot
Dominic Frontiere - Stretchin' Out mp3 at Melting Pot
Dominic Frontiere - Two more at Melting Pot
Watch:
On Any Sunday - Trailer at YouTube
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