No other sport in America
has a following like it.
Be it High School football
in Texas, college football
in Florida or the
Mid-West, or the National
Football League, no other
sport garners the
attention and passions of
its fans like the game of
football. Perhaps
its because there are so
few games per season.
Perhaps its because the
levels of strategy and
nuance go unapproached by
any other mainstream
sport. Perhaps it's
because the teams are
often likened to armies
and its players like
warriors. Then out
of climactic clashes on
the field rise mythic
heroes who capture the
imagination. Perhaps
these are some of the
reasons why football in
America has gone from
competition to
institution. As
someone once said,
"Baseball might be
America's past-time, but
football is America's
passion."
Because
sports is drama, it is natural
that adding compelling music
behind opening ceremonies,
highlights, or tributes is so
effective. Because
sports is entertainment, it is
also natural that feature films,
television specials and
documentaries should be made
about football in such great
abundance. Today, the link
between sports and music is
cemented.
Over the
last 50 years, as television has
grown exponentially, many
sporting events and programs
have become identified by the
music written for or employed by
them. The Olympics,
Wimbeldon, ABC's Wide World of
Sports, ESPN Sportcenter, and
Monday Night Football are just a
handful of iconic sports
institutions that many can
immediately identify just by
hearing their respective musical
themes.
From the
jittery newsreels of the 1930s
to SportsCenter - music has been
an integral part of making
sports highlights much more than
"news stories." That music
has helped to elevate mere
highlights and final scores into
an elaborate tapestry of
modern-day-myths.
While
sports in the new millennium is
almost a completely different
thing than it was 80 years ago,
at its core remains the desire
to compete, the will to
overcome, the hunger to be
called a "winner."
THE MUSIC OF THE NFL
Over the
course of some fifty years, NFL
FILMS has released countless
video productions. For
those who know and love the
game, the work of Steve Sabol
and the talented and creative
staff of NFL FILMS have become
classic pieces of Americana.
The imaginative visuals, the
voice-talent of John Facenda and
the music of composer Sam Spence
were melded together by Sabol in
such a way that the sports
documentary was changed forever.
While the elegantly gruff voice
of John Facenda and the melodic
pen of Sam Spence have "jogged
off the field" for the last
time, the tradition of NFL FILMS
continues. Still under the
eye of Steve Sabol, the musical
tradition is now carried by two
composers: TOM HEDDEN and
DAVID ROBIDOUX. While the
legacy of SAM SPENCE is forever
archived in the release of
AUTUMN THUNDER: 40 YEARS
OF NFL FILM MUSIC both HEDDEN
and ROBIDOUX's talent are but
introduced.
Since the
release of AUTUMN THUNDER back
in 2004, the two have gone to
deliver many scores and
memorable themes for NFL FILMS
productions. Their works
have aired on most of the major
networks and now on their own,
the NFL NETWORK. The
official music for the game
seems to be in very good hands.
THE FILM MUSIC OF FOOTBALL FILMS
Hollywood
has had a love-affair with the
NFL for decades and can be
traced even further back to the
1920s to movies about the
college game like: ONE
YARD TO GO, 70,000 WITNESSES or
the Marx Brothers' HORSE
FEATHERS. Through the
decades audiences have been
moved and inspired by
football-films like BRIAN'S
SONG, RUDY, REMEMBER THE TITANS,
THE GRIDIRON GANG. INVINCIBLE
and WE ARE MARSHALL. Their
have been films that have given
glimpses into the locker-room
and into the lives of the men
who play the game such as: PAPER
LION, NORTH DALLAS FORTY, ALL
THE RIGHT MOVES, THE PROGRAM,
ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, VARSITY BLUES
and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.
The game
of American football has
provided Hollywood with ample
material from which to build
both inspiring and sobering
tales. And perhaps even
more than any other
sports-film-genre, the scores
for football films are the most
memorable.
THE THEMES OF FALL
As the
sounds of leather, grass, and
dirt mix together, as
modern-day synthetic-compounds
clash among the commanding
shouts of coaches, quarterbacks,
and linebackers...as unified
cheers of thousands rise high
above the walls of stadiums
across the land, the themes of
Fall will be played by marching
bands, over P.A. systems, and
broadcasted to millions
worldwide. In honor of that
tradition, this Tracksounds'
features an growing index of
reviews of the music that
underscore the vast pantheon of
football tales that have come
straight from the field and from
the pen of the Hollywood
screenwriter. Also featured are
composer interviews and a
collection of football
sound-clips.
Music from Autumn Thunder
Music from The Power and the
Glory
The Picture, The Music, & The Story
An
interview with Composer David Robidoux
"There are certain cornerstones that a part
of NFL Films' music. There are always big melodies. It's always
dramatic. We always follow along with what is dramatic and what is
going on in Hollywood now."
Released by
Cherry Hill Records (2004) Rating 9/10
For
over 40 years now, NFL
Films has produced
some of the
most-watched sports
documentaries and
specials in television
history. Kinetic
snapshots taken from
countless-Sundays of
football have
been preserved by
visionaries Ed and
Steve Sabol and their
team of creatives. Those
snapshots are
inexorably joined to
the music of composer
Sam Spence, Tom Hedden
and David Robidoux.
For the sports fan,
much of the music
attached to the myriad
of Super Bowl shows,
team documentaries or
player tributes, are
just as recognizable
as some of Hollywood's
famous musical themes.
I can remember staying
up all night on Super
Bowl Eve's of the past
watching highlights of
all the Super Bowls
ever played, listening
to the stirring music
of Sam Spence and
powerful voice of John
Facenda. For years I
have wanted to get my
hands on this
wonderful music and
finally have with the
release of POWER AND
THE GLORY. NFL
Films and Tommy Boy
Records have come
together to produce a
football-fanatic's
dream compact
disc...and from a
score-lovers point of
view, not a bad
compilation of some
great thematic music.
Strong thematic music
and football are just
a given these days.
Every television
network that airs NFL
games knows it.
Fox's football motif
has been
well-established since
its debut in the
mid-nineties.
CBS looked to
enigmatic duo of E.S.
Posthumus to pen their
NFL coverage theme and
most recently, NBC
contracted, the
maestro himself, John
Williams to provide
their Sunday Night
Football theme.
With the birth of the
NFL's own network last
year, a serious
challenge lay before
them in musically
carving out a distinct
personality for
itself. But we
are talking NFL Films
here...the entity that
essentially started it
all.
Released by
Varese Sarabande Records (2006) Rating 6/10
No stranger to sports-themed films is composer
Trevor Rabin. With films such as GLORY ROAD,
COACH CARTER, and REMEMBER THE TITANS on his trophy
shelf, Rabin jumps onto the field again,
this time with director Jananou for THE GRIDIRON
GANG.
Inspirational sports movies area a dime a dozen.
Some are more effective than others. The same could
be said for the music accompanying such movies. One
composition that stands head and shoulders (and
waist and knees) above the rest is Jerry Goldsmith’s
score to the film RUDY. His music played an integral
role in the storytelling, elevating the finished product to dramatic heights that would have
otherwise been impossible.
Picking up where he seems to have left off from his
work for MICHAEL JORDAN TO THE MAX, JOHN DEBNEY
brings a strong dance-edge to the score for THE
REPLACEMENTS. Preceded by a number of pop tunes
from, predominantly, the Seventies and Eighties, we
find ten tracks produced by Debney- ranging from the
aggressive "The Dallas Game" (6) to the surprisingly
sentimental "Falco" (7). The vast majority of the
score selections are of a contemporary vein with
strong synthesized rhythms, blaring guitars, loops
and samples. The group Font 48 also performs several
of Debney compositions.
shows,
team documentaries or
player tributes, are
just as recognizable
as some of Hollywood's
famous musical themes.
compilation of some
great thematic music. 
