Pink Panther Theme

"The Pink Panther Theme" was written by Henry Mancini as the opening title music to the film comedy of the same name, which starred Peter Sellers as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau. The song evolved from a single cartoon cell conceived of the feline character featured in the opening credits, and Mancini only provided a tempo to the animators, rather than a complete score as was usual in the business. The accents of the brass section and the now-famous "dead ant" cadence had an immediate appeal to moviegoers, while jazz musician Plas Johnson was specifically recruited by Mancini for the now-legendary tenor sax solo. Mancini quickly realized that the music was also perfect for the jewel thief's character in the film (played by David Niven), so the opening music became the recurring theme throughout the movie. Mancini's recording is easily the most widely known, though a jazz treatment recorded by alto sax great Phil Woods with trumpeter Carl Saunders merits attention as well.