Randy Van Horne
Encyclopedia
Randy Van Horne was an American
singer and musician
. Van Horne's musical group, the Randy Van Horne Singers, performed the theme songs for many classic Hanna-Barbera
cartoons including The Flintstones
, Top Cat
, The Jetsons
, and The Huckleberry Hound Show.
. Van Horne dropped out of high school
during World War II
and enlisted in the United States Army
. He returned to school after the war and attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland, and the University of Texas at El Paso
to study music
.
Van Horne married his first wife, Tanya Ingwersen, in the mid-1950s. They had one son, Mark. The marriage ended in divorce
. He married and divorced three more times during his life.
studio musician. He formed his first musical group, the Encores, in the early 1950s with three other musicians. The Encores broke up in the late 1950s.
He went on to create the Randy Van Horne Singers in the late 1950s following the breakup of the Encores. Several members of the Randy Van Horne Singers would eventually become successful solo recording artists, such as Marni Nixon
. The group was known for its easy style of music and remained predominantly a studio musical group. However, the Randy Van Horne Singers did make occasional television
performances, such as on The Nat King Cole Show
in 1957.
The group became most famous for recording the theme songs for several high profile Hanna-Barbera
cartoons, including The Flintstones
and The Jetsons
. They were hired by Hanna-Barbera’s music composer, Hoyt Curtin
, to complete the theme songs. However, the group also continued to record for commercials and radio station
spots and jingles. Many of the jingles were written by Randy Van Horne.
The Randy Van Horne Singers also recorded several albums including Other Worlds Other Sounds in 1958 with Juan Garcia Esquivel
, a Latin musician famous for his "space age pop
" style of music.
The Randy Van Horne Singers officially disbanded in the early 1970s but Van Horne reincarnated the group after 2000, which continues under direction of Alan Wilson.
Van Horne continued to perform in clubs in the Los Angeles area. He also worked as the bandleader
of a group called the Alumni Association, which was made up of musicians from the Big Band
era. Van Horne created a symphonic suite
called The Running of the Bulls, which premiered at La Mirada Civic Theatre in 1981.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. Van Horne's musical group, the Randy Van Horne Singers, performed the theme songs for many classic Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
cartoons including The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
, Top Cat
Top Cat
Top Cat is a Hanna-Barbera prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes on the ABC network. Reruns are played on Cartoon Network's classic animation network Boomerang.-History:...
, The Jetsons
The Jetsons
The Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...
, and The Huckleberry Hound Show.
Early life
Randy Van Horne was born on February 20, 1924, in El Paso, TexasEl Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. Van Horne dropped out of high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. He returned to school after the war and attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland, and the University of Texas at El Paso
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Texas System. Its campus is located on the bank of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. The school was founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy,...
to study music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
.
Van Horne married his first wife, Tanya Ingwersen, in the mid-1950s. They had one son, Mark. The marriage ended in divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
. He married and divorced three more times during his life.
Career
Randy Van Horne's career began in the late 1940s as a Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
studio musician. He formed his first musical group, the Encores, in the early 1950s with three other musicians. The Encores broke up in the late 1950s.
He went on to create the Randy Van Horne Singers in the late 1950s following the breakup of the Encores. Several members of the Randy Van Horne Singers would eventually become successful solo recording artists, such as Marni Nixon
Marni Nixon
Marni Nixon is an American soprano and playback singer for featured actresses in movie musicals. She has also spent much of her career performing in concerts with major symphony orchestras around the world and in operas and musicals throughout the United States.-Biography:Born Margaret Nixon...
. The group was known for its easy style of music and remained predominantly a studio musical group. However, the Randy Van Horne Singers did make occasional television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
performances, such as on The Nat King Cole Show
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
in 1957.
The group became most famous for recording the theme songs for several high profile Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
cartoons, including The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
and The Jetsons
The Jetsons
The Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...
. They were hired by Hanna-Barbera’s music composer, Hoyt Curtin
Hoyt Curtin
Hoyt Stoddard Curtin was an American composer and music producer, the primary musical director for the Hanna-Barbera animation studio from its beginnings with The Ruff & Reddy Show in 1957 until his retirement in 1986, except from 1963-1973, when the primary music director was Ted Nichols...
, to complete the theme songs. However, the group also continued to record for commercials and radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
spots and jingles. Many of the jingles were written by Randy Van Horne.
The Randy Van Horne Singers also recorded several albums including Other Worlds Other Sounds in 1958 with Juan Garcia Esquivel
Juan García Esquivel
Juan García Esquivel often simply known as Esquivel!, was a Mexican band leader, pianist, and composer for television and films. He is recognized today as one of the foremost exponents of a sophisticated style of largely instrumental music that combines elements of lounge music and jazz with Latin...
, a Latin musician famous for his "space age pop
Space age pop
Space age pop is a general and loosely based term for a music genre associated with certain Mexican and American composers and songwriters in the Space Age of the 1950s and 1960s. It is also called bachelor pad music or lounge music...
" style of music.
The Randy Van Horne Singers officially disbanded in the early 1970s but Van Horne reincarnated the group after 2000, which continues under direction of Alan Wilson.
Van Horne continued to perform in clubs in the Los Angeles area. He also worked as the bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
of a group called the Alumni Association, which was made up of musicians from the Big Band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
era. Van Horne created a symphonic suite
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
called The Running of the Bulls, which premiered at La Mirada Civic Theatre in 1981.