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Ron Goodwin

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ron Goodwin was born in 1925 in Plymouth and died in 2003. He was an English composer and conductor who became known above all for his film music. He learned piano and trumpet at an early age, formed a band of his own at school, Ron Goodwin and the Woodchoppers, and studied trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music in London. In 1943 he became a copyist and arranger at the music publisher Campbell, Connelly and Company, and later also for the BBC.

Music and breakthrough

In the 1950s he arranged and conducted hundreds of recordings for more than fifty artists, including Petula Clark and Jimmy Young, which produced more than a hundred hits. At the same time he released records of his own with Ron Goodwin and his Concert Orchestra and wrote music for documentaries. He wrote his first feature film score in 1958. When Lawrence P. Bachmann became a producer at MGM British Studios in 1959, Goodwin was given the music for most of those films.

Influence

He wrote music for more than seventy films in a career of more than fifty years. Well known are Where Eagles Dare, Battle of Britain, 633 Squadron, the Miss Marple films with Margaret Rutherford, and Frenzy. His style is orchestral, melodic and full of tension, suited to adventure and war films. In the 1980s he concentrated on live concerts and appeared as a guest conductor with, among others, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the main theme of 633 Squadron and notice the brass and the rhythmic drive that seems to propel the aeroplanes.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists