Joseph Harnell (born Joseph Hittelman; August 2, 1924 – July 14, 2005) was an American composer, musician, and music arranger.

Early life

His father was a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

performer who also played in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...

ensembles. Harnell began playing piano at age six and was performing in his father's ensembles by age 14. He attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

on a music scholarship in the early 1940s, and in 1943 joined the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, playing with

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

's Army Air Forces Band. He studied with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

when stationed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and then under

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music, dance, and musical theatre conservatoire based in South East London. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. Trini ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. After his discharge in 1946, he studied at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue and Music festival, festival in the towns of Lenox, Massachusetts, Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony ...

under

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

and

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

Music career

Eschewing the art-music world, Harnell sought work in pop and jazz, working as a for-hire pianist after returning to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1950. He played in Lester Lanin's band at this time and found work as an accompanist for singers such as

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor, and entertainer. He is best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", " Louise", " Mimi", and " Thank Heaven f ...

, and

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

. From 1958 to 1961, he was

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

's full-time accompanist and arranger for the albums ''Anything Goes:Cole Porter'' and ''Peggy Lee & the George Shearing Quartet''. In 1962, he was hurt in a

car crash A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

, and while he recovered,

Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

asked him to work on writing potential hits in the then-hot genre of bossa nova. Harnell's biggest success was with his

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

of "

Fly Me to the Moon "Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apo ...

", which was a hit in the US in 1963 (number 14

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, number 4 AC) and which won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. The song also peaked at number 6 in Harnell's hometown, on WMCA in New York, on January 16, 1963. The album from which it was taken went to number 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Harnell went on to release nearly 20 easy listening albums, on Kapp, Columbia, and

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

among others. Harnell was also an integral part of ''The Dinah Shore Chevy Show'' as the "house pianist" on many episodes. Often at the end of a show Shore would gather round Harnell at the piano and she and her guests that evening would make requests of him for a song they wanted to sing. Some of those guests were John Raitt, Gisele MacKenzie, and very often, Janet Blair. It was a low key and warm way to bring the show to its conclusion. The show ran on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. Starting in 1964, Harnell worked with

Grey Advertising Grey Group is a global advertising and marketing agency with headquarters in New York City, and 432 offices in 96 countries, operating in 154 cities. It is organized into four geographical units: North America; Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asi ...

as a

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

writer, and from 1967 to 1973, he worked as musical director of ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' is an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland in 1961 before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went i ...

''. In 1973, Harnell moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

and worked in

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

and television composition, composing for ''

The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction film, science fiction Action-adventure fiction, action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson (producer), Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel Cyborg (novel), ''Cyborg'' by ...

'', ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

'', including "The Lonely Man Theme" with which all episodes of ''The Incredible Hulk'' ended, playing over David

Bruce Banner The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

walking down yet another lonely road, ''

Alien Nation ''Alien Nation'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Rockne S. O'Bannon (later known for ''Farscape''), comprising film, television, and other media productions about alien refugees living on Earth. The series began with ...

'', and '' V'', for which he received an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

nomination in 1983. Harnell also wrote the famous signature tune for the United Artists logo introducing

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

movies in the early 1980s, during the MGM merger with United Artists, as well as the theme music for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

daytime soap '' Santa Barbara''. Following this he became a faculty member at

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

's Thornton School of Music as an instructor in film score composition.

Personal life

Harnell

self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

entitled ''Counterpoint'' in 2000, co-authored with television producer/director Ira Skutch.Joe Harnell and Ira Skutch. ''Counterpoint: The Journey of a Music Man''. Philadelphia:

Xlibris Xlibris is a self-publishing and on-demand printing services provider, founded in 1997 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. In 2000, ''The New York Times'' stated it to be the foremost on-demand publisher. The current president i ...

, 2000. , . Harnell's first marriage was to Winnifred Selak, a tap dancer from Canada. Harnell and his family had been residents of

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held ...

. His son,

Jess Harnell Jess Harnell (born December 23, 1963) is an American voice actor. His roles include Wakko Warner in ''Animaniacs'', Captain Hero in '' Drawn Together'', Jerry in the first two seasons of '' Totally Spies!'', Ironhide in the first three ''Tr ...

, is a voice actor and singer, best known as the voice of Wakko Warner on the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

-produced animated television series ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...

'',

Crash Bandicoot ''Crash Bandicoot'' is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony's PlayStation console. It has seen numerous installments created by various developers and published on multiple platforms. The series c ...

in the Crash Bandicoot franchise, and the announcer of

America's Funniest Home Videos ''America's Funniest Home Videos'', also called ''America's Funniest Videos'' (abbreviated as ''AFV''), is an American video clip television series on ABC, based on a recurring segment on the Japanese variety show '' Fun TV with Kato-chan and ...

, which he has announced since 1998. His youngest son, Jason, is a jazz drummer and educator who has performed, recorded and toured with many jazz musicians including

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...

. Joe's grandson, Jeremy, is a composer and visual artist working under the name JC Harnell (aka Sons of Wolves), and a 2011 winner of the Peoples Music Award for Best Abstract/Experimental Artist.

Death

Harnell died on July 14, 2005, in

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...

, at the age of 80. His cause of death was revealed as

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

Discography

As a leader

*''The Piano Inventions Of Jo Harnell'' ic( Jubliee, 1955) *''The World's Greatest Love Themes'' (

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

, 1959) *''I Want To Be Happy'' (Epic, 1960) *Fly Me To The Moon And The Bossa Nova Pops (Kapp, 1963) *''More Bossa Nova Pops'' ( Kapp, 1963) *''The Piano Brilliance Of Joe Harnell'' (Epic, 1963) *''The Rhythm And The Fire'' (Kapp, 1965) *''Golden Piano Hits'' ( Columbia, 1966) *''Bossa Now!'' (Columbia, 1967) *''Moving On!!'' (

, 1969) *''Harnell'' ( Capitol, 1977) *''V (Original Soundtrack Recording)'' (Super Tracks Music Group, 1998) *''The Incredible Hulk (Original Soundtrack Recording)'' (Super Tracks Music Group, 1999)

Compilations

*''The Best of Joe Harnell'' (Kapp, 1966) *''The Film Music of Joe Harnell'' (Five Jays, 1992)

Sideman appearances

* Janis Martin: ''The Female Elvis: Complete Recordings 1956-60'' ( Bear Family reissue, 1987) *

: ''

Things Are Swingin' ''Things Are Swingin' '' is an album by singer Peggy Lee with music arranged and conducted by Jack Marshall. Track listing # "It's a Wonderful World" ( Harold Adamson, Jan Savitt, Johnny Watson) – 2:14 # "Things Are Swingin'" (Peggy Lee, ...

'' (Capitol, 1958) *Fay DeWitt: ''Through Sick and Sin'' (

, 1961) *Peggy Lee: '' Olé ala Lee!'' (Capitol, 1961) *Peggy Lee: '' Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee'' (Capitol, 1961) *

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusic/ref> Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City ov ...

: ''Sings Rootin' Songs'' (Hires, 1963)

References

External links

*
Joe Harnell Albums: songs, discography, biography
on rateyourmusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Harnell, Joe 1924 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American male composers Columbia Records artists American easy listening musicians Epic Records artists Kapp Records artists Musicians from the Bronx Musicians from Teaneck, New Jersey University of Miami alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II