- Hugo Montenegro
Hugo Montenegro (
September 2 ,1925 -February 6 ,1981 ) was an American orchestra leader andcomposer offilm soundtrack s.Biography
Hugo Mario Montenegro was born in
New York City . He attendedManhattan College while studying composition and leading his own band for school dances.In the middle 1950s, he was directing, conducting, and arranging the orchestra for Eliot Glen and Irving Spice on their Dragon and Caprice labels. It was he who was directing the Glen-Spice Orchestra on
Dion DiMucci 's first release when Dion was backed by Dragon recording artists, the Timberlanes. Released on Mohawk #105 in 1957, the songs were "Out In Colorado" and "The Chosen Few", which were soon issued on the Jubliee label for better distribution.He was later hired by
Time Records as a musical director producing a series of albums for the label, and moved toLos Angeles in the early 1960s where he began working forRCA records, producing a series of albums andsoundtrack s formotion picture s andtelevision themes, such as two volumes of "Music FromThe Man From U.N.C.L.E. ", an album ofcover version s of spy music themes "Come Spy With Me" and an album of cover versions of theClint Eastwood " "The Man With No Name series ofspaghetti western s that led to major chart hits.Montenegro began scoring motion pictures with the instrumental music from "
Advance to the Rear " in 1964. Following the success of his albums, he was contracted byColumbia Pictures where he did such films asHurry Sundown (film) and twoMatt Helm pictures. Montenegro was also contracted to Coumbia's television production companyScreen Gems where he is most famous for his theme from the second season of the television series "I Dream of Jeannie ", his theme song "Seattle" and music from "Here Come the Brides " and "The Outcasts". During the mid‑60s he started producing some of the most renowned works from thespace age pop era, featuring electronics and rock in albums such as "Moog Power" and "Mammy Blue."Montenegro's electronic works were decisive and influential for the future generations of
electronic music ians, giving a retro/futuristic edge by the use of theMoog synthesizer , and helped to push its popularity.Fact|date=February 2008 He will be also remembered by his versions of classics such asEnnio Morricone 's "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly ."In the late 1970s severe
emphysema put an end to his musical career, and he died of the disease in 1981.External links
*
* Montenegro at Space Age Pop http://www.spaceagepop.com/monteneg.htm
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