Where the Boys Are
Encyclopedia
The kind of cool modern jazz (or west coast jazz
) popularized by such acts as Dave Brubeck
, Gerry Mulligan
, and Chico Hamilton
, then in the vanguard of the college music market, features in a number of scenes with Basil. Called "dialectic jazz" in the film, the original compositions were by Pete Rugolo
.
MGM
had bolstered the film's success potential by giving a large role to Connie Francis
, the top American female recording star and a member of the MGM Records
roster. Francis had solicited the services of Neil Sedaka
and Howard Greenfield
, who had written hit songs for her, to write original material for her to perform on the film's soundtrack including a "Where the Boys Are" title song. Sedaka and Greenfield wrote two potential title songs for the film, but producer Joe Pasternak
passed over the song Francis and the songwriting duo preferred in favor of a lush '50s style movie theme. Francis recorded the song on 18 October 1960 in a New York City recording session with Stan Applebaum arranging and conducting.
Besides the original English lyrics, Francis recorded "Where the Boys Are" in six other languages:
The different versions of the track would provide her with a #1 hit in some fifteen countries. "Where the Boys Are" was comparatively less successful in the English speaking world: its US peak was #4 while the track peaked on both the UK and Australian charts at #5, its UK charting being in conjunction with the B-side "Baby Roo" (the B-side of the US single "No One" was ranked separately reaching #34), and in New Zealand "Where the Boys Are" reached #4. However, "Where the Boys Are" is a convincing candidate to be Connie Francis' signature tune.
Lisa Hartman
performed "Where the Boys Are" for the 1984 remake
; Lorna Luft
who co-starred in the 1984 film also recorded a disco
version issued in the name Lorna. Also in 1984 Tracey Ullman
recorded "Where the Boys Are" for her You Caught Me Out
album. A 1990 recording of "Where the Boys Are" by Linda Martin
reached #19 in Ireland. "Where the Boys Are" was also remade by the Czars
whose version was released on the 2005 album Sorry I Made You Cry.
Two Finnish male vocalists have recorded songs which set new lyrics to the tune of "Where the Boys Are": Matti Heinivaho had a 1961 single release with "Tuolla Jossain" (there somewhere) and "Milloin Saapuu Hän" (when he arrives) was introduced by Kari Tapio
on his 1992 album Yön tuuli vain; the last-named was remade by Anne Mattila for her 2004 album Unihiekkaa.
Besides the theme song, Francis sang another Sedaka-Greenfield composition: "Turn on the Sunshine", in the film.
The film's soundtrack also features "Have You Met Miss Fandango". The song was sung by co-star Barbara Nichols
and featured music by Victor Young
and lyrics by Stella Unger.
MGM did not release a soundtrack album for Where the Boys Are.
, was released in 1984
by TriStar Pictures
. The film was unsuccessful critically and commercially, but bears the distinction of being the first film released by TriStar.
West coast jazz
West Coast jazz refers to various styles of jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a sub-genre of cool jazz, which featured a less frenetic, calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music tended to be more heavily arranged,...
) popularized by such acts as Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
, Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan
Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...
, and Chico Hamilton
Chico Hamilton
Chico Hamilton , is an American jazz drummer and bandleader.-Early life through 1960s:Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California. He had a fast-track musical education in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso...
, then in the vanguard of the college music market, features in a number of scenes with Basil. Called "dialectic jazz" in the film, the original compositions were by Pete Rugolo
Pete Rugolo
Pietro "Pete" Rugolo was an Italian-born jazz composer and arranger.-Life and career:Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily, Italy. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settled in Santa Rosa, California...
.
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
had bolstered the film's success potential by giving a large role to Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
, the top American female recording star and a member of the MGM Records
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
roster. Francis had solicited the services of Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka is an American pop/rock singer, pianist, and composer. His career has spanned nearly 55 years, during which time he has sold millions of records as an artist and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard...
and Howard Greenfield
Howard Greenfield
Howard Greenfield was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building...
, who had written hit songs for her, to write original material for her to perform on the film's soundtrack including a "Where the Boys Are" title song. Sedaka and Greenfield wrote two potential title songs for the film, but producer Joe Pasternak
Joe Pasternak
thumb|right|250px|Pasterrnak receiving his star on [[Hollywood Boulevard]] from [[Johnny Grant |Johnny Grant]] with [[Gene Kelly]] on the left on July 29, 1991....
passed over the song Francis and the songwriting duo preferred in favor of a lush '50s style movie theme. Francis recorded the song on 18 October 1960 in a New York City recording session with Stan Applebaum arranging and conducting.
Besides the original English lyrics, Francis recorded "Where the Boys Are" in six other languages:
- German: "Wenn ich träume"
- French: "Je sais qu'un gars"
- Japanese: "Atashi-no"
- Italian: "Qualcuno mi aspetta" (five weeks at #1 in Italy from 13 May 1961)
- NeapolitanNeapolitanNeapolitan may refer to:* Neapolitan, of or pertaining to the city of Naples, Italy and sometimes its wider Duchy or Province of Naples** Previously a nationality, during the time of the Kingdom of Naples or the Neapolitan Republics* Neapolitan cuisine...
: "C'è qualcuno" - Spanish: "Donde hay chicos"
The different versions of the track would provide her with a #1 hit in some fifteen countries. "Where the Boys Are" was comparatively less successful in the English speaking world: its US peak was #4 while the track peaked on both the UK and Australian charts at #5, its UK charting being in conjunction with the B-side "Baby Roo" (the B-side of the US single "No One" was ranked separately reaching #34), and in New Zealand "Where the Boys Are" reached #4. However, "Where the Boys Are" is a convincing candidate to be Connie Francis' signature tune.
Lisa Hartman
Lisa Hartman
Lisa Hartman is an American actress and singer.After some minor television appearances, Lisa Hartman starred in the short-lived Bewitched spin-off, Tabitha during 1977-78...
performed "Where the Boys Are" for the 1984 remake
Where the Boys Are '84
Where the Boys Are '84 is a 1984 remake of the 1960 teen sex comedy film Where the Boys Are, starring Lisa Hartman, Lorna Luft, Wendy Schaal and Lynn-Holly Johnson...
; Lorna Luft
Lorna Luft
Lorna Luft is an American television, stage, and film actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and Sid Luft, and the half-sister of singer and actress Liza Minnelli.-Biography:...
who co-starred in the 1984 film also recorded a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
version issued in the name Lorna. Also in 1984 Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman is a British stage and television actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author ....
recorded "Where the Boys Are" for her You Caught Me Out
You Caught Me Out
You Caught Me Out is the second studio album by singer-actress-comedienne, Tracey Ullman. It was released on Stiff Records in 1984 throughout Europe...
album. A 1990 recording of "Where the Boys Are" by Linda Martin
Linda Martin
Linda Martin is an Irish singer and television presenter. She is best known in Europe as the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1992, with the song "Why Me?", and in Ireland as a member of the 1970s/1980s band, Chips.-Chips:Martin started off her musical career when she joined the band Chips...
reached #19 in Ireland. "Where the Boys Are" was also remade by the Czars
The Czars
The Czars was an alternative rock band, formed in 1994 in Denver by John Grant and Chris Pearson. They released six studio albums, one EP, and three singles in the duration of their career. After the release of Goodbye in 2004, five of the six members of The Czars left the band over the span of...
whose version was released on the 2005 album Sorry I Made You Cry.
Two Finnish male vocalists have recorded songs which set new lyrics to the tune of "Where the Boys Are": Matti Heinivaho had a 1961 single release with "Tuolla Jossain" (there somewhere) and "Milloin Saapuu Hän" (when he arrives) was introduced by Kari Tapio
Kari Tapio
Kari Tapani Jalkanen , better known by his stage name Kari Tapio, was a Finnish schlager and country & western singer. He was one of the most popular singers in Finland for decades, selling over 826,000 certified records during his career and posthumously.Tapio was born in Suonenjoki, Finland...
on his 1992 album Yön tuuli vain; the last-named was remade by Anne Mattila for her 2004 album Unihiekkaa.
Besides the theme song, Francis sang another Sedaka-Greenfield composition: "Turn on the Sunshine", in the film.
The film's soundtrack also features "Have You Met Miss Fandango". The song was sung by co-star Barbara Nichols
Barbara Nichols
Barbara Nichols was an American actress who often played brassy comic roles in a number of films in the 1950s and 1960s.-Early life and Career:...
and featured music by Victor Young
Victor Young
Victor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
and lyrics by Stella Unger.
MGM did not release a soundtrack album for Where the Boys Are.
Legacy
A remake, Where the Boys Are '84Where the Boys Are '84
Where the Boys Are '84 is a 1984 remake of the 1960 teen sex comedy film Where the Boys Are, starring Lisa Hartman, Lorna Luft, Wendy Schaal and Lynn-Holly Johnson...
, was released in 1984
1984 in film
-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
by TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film production/distribution studio and subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
. The film was unsuccessful critically and commercially, but bears the distinction of being the first film released by TriStar.