Frank Comstock facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frank Comstock
Frank Comstock (2004)
Background information
Born	(1922-09-20)September 20, 1922 San Diego, California, U.S.
Died	May 21, 2013(2013-05-21) (aged 90) Huntington Beach, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Composer, arranger and conductor
Instruments	Trombone
Years active	1939–2009

Frank G. Comstock (born September 20, 1922 – died May 21, 2013) was a talented American composer, arranger, conductor, and trombonist. He created music for many popular TV shows and movies. You might know his work best from the cartoons Rocky and His Friends (1959–1964). He also earned an Emmy nomination in 1971 for his music on the TV show Adam-12.

Frank Comstock also worked on many music recordings. He arranged music for eight albums by a group called the Hi-Lo's. He also helped create music for many famous singers. His own instrumental album from 1962, Project: Comstock - Music from Outer Space, became a classic. It was even re-released on CD in 2004. Later in his career, he wrote new big-band arrangements for Brian Setzer's albums in 2007 and 2009.

He began his career arranging music for dance bands like Sonny Dunham's and Benny Carter's. From 1943 to 1955, he worked with Les Brown and his famous band. After World War II, dance bands became less popular. Frank Comstock then started working at Warner Brothers. His music arrangements for Doris Day's screen tests impressed the studio. This led to him becoming a staff arranger, where he wrote music for large studio orchestras. He passed away in 2013.

Early Life and Music Training

Frank Comstock didn't have much formal music training. He took a few trombone lessons. His junior high school music teacher helped him write his first arrangements for the school's dance band. Even while in high school, Frank sold his music arrangements to local dance bands in San Diego.

After high school, his friend, trumpeter Uan Rasey, got a job with Sonny Dunham's well-known dance band. Uan recommended Frank to Sonny Dunham, who then hired him. When Sonny Dunham's band stopped performing, Frank was recommended to Benny Carter. Benny Carter was a musician and arranger himself. He soon trusted Frank with many of the music arranging tasks.

Working with Les Brown

In 1943, Frank Comstock's reputation grew. He became an arranger for Les Brown and His Band of Renown. Many people believed his arrangements were a big reason for the band's success. Frank officially left the band in 1947. However, he continued to arrange music for Les Brown until Brown's death in 2001.

Frank Comstock and singer Doris Day became lifelong friends while working together in Les Brown's band. Doris Day often spoke about their friendship. She said, "From day one in Les Brown's band, Frank became my friend. Years and years have passed but Frank and I talk on the phone and laugh a lot. More often than not, we talk about the Les Brown days."

Doris Day left Les Brown's band in 1946 to work in radio and record music. After moving to Hollywood, she told Frank about the great opportunities in radio, movies, and television. Frank soon left Les Brown's band too. He started arranging music for Doris's first radio shows, like Your Hit Parade. His arrangements for Doris Day's screen tests at Warner Brothers led to him getting a job there.

The Warner Brothers Years

Frank Comstock joined Warner Brothers in 1947. He worked as a freelance arranger, orchestrator, and conductor. He quickly learned how to adapt his dance band experience to large orchestras. At first, he arranged individual dance numbers for musicals. Soon, he began orchestrating and conducting music for big movies.

At the height of his movie career, Frank Comstock played a major role in creating the music for films like Calamity Jane, The Music Man, and Finian's Rainbow. These were all big hits for Warner Brothers. Back then, movie credits were very short. They usually only listed famous actors, composers, and studio bosses. Even so, Frank Comstock's work was so important that he received credits for many of his movies.

Gus Levine and Frank Comstock often worked together on orchestrating films. They collaborated on The Music Man and Finian's Rainbow. During the making of Finian's Rainbow, Gus Levine became ill. Frank Comstock ended up orchestrating almost the entire movie by himself. Even though Finian's Rainbow was nominated for an Oscar for its music, Frank Comstock didn't receive a credit for his hard work.

Here is a list of some movies Frank Comstock helped with:

Music for Disney Theme Parks and Cartoons

Frank Comstock also worked as a freelance arranger for Disney. He helped create some of the music you can still hear at Disney Theme Parks today. He worked with Disney Theme Park Music Director James Christensen.

Here are some of his contributions to Disney:

• The Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade
• Tokyo Disneyland opening music
• Walt Disney World Family Concerts
• Disney Street Band - Medleys of Disney film music (for all Disney parks)
• Christmas parades (for all Disney parks)
• Walt Disney World Candlelight Services

He also worked on music for Disney television specials. He even created a new score for the animated short Toot, Whistle, Plunk & Boom. Frank Comstock also scored four "Mr. Magoo" animated shorts for MPA Productions, including Magoo Express.

Television Work

Frank Comstock is most famous for the main theme and background music for Rocky and His Friends. But he also wrote music for many other popular TV shows in the 1970s and 1980s. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1971 for his music on the Adam-12 episode Elegy for a Pig.

Here are some TV series where he was a composer or conductor:

• Rocky and His Friends
• Adam-12 (all 112 episodes)
• Dragnet (1967, 4 seasons)
• Happy Days (4 seasons)
• Laverne and Shirley (4 seasons)
• Blansky's Beauties
• Ensign O'Toole
• McHale's Navy
• F-Troop
• Pete Kelly's Blues
• The D.A.'s Man
• Temple Houston
• The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour

He also arranged music for many TV variety shows:

• The Bob Hope Show with Les Brown and His Band of Renown (for 15 years)
• The Steve Allen Show (for 2 years)
• The Judy Garland Show
• The Andy Williams Show
• The Carol Burnett Show
• The Jimmie Rodgers Show (as Music Director)
• The Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor Special

Music Recordings

Most of Frank Comstock's recordings were first released on vinyl records. Today, many of them have been reissued on CD. You can also find them on music streaming services.

Dance Band Recordings

Because of a musicians' union recording ban during that time, only a few of Frank Comstock's arrangements for Benny Carter and Stan Kenton were officially recorded.

Les Brown and His Band of Renown recorded many of Frank Comstock's arrangements. This happened throughout Les Brown's 50-year career. For example, 17 out of 25 songs on the Les Brown CD Best of the Capitol Years feature Frank's arrangements. Some of these songs include:

• "On The Alamo"
• "Perfidia"
• "Moonlight In Vermont"
• "Midnight Sun"
• "Lover"
• "Harlem Nocturne"
• "Tangerine"
• "Ridin' High"
• "Nina Never Knew"
• "Swingin' Down the Lane"
• "This Nearly Was Mine"
• "Invitation"
• "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi"
• "Frenesi"
• "Just You, Just Me"
• "Leap Frog"
• "Goodnight Sweetheart"

Orchestral Recordings

Frank Comstock's 1962 instrumental album, Project Comstock: Music from Outer Space, is considered a classic. It was re-released on CD in 2004. This album features new versions of old songs and original music by Comstock. It also used some early electronic instruments. His two other instrumental albums, A Young Man's Fancy (1954) and Patterns (1955), have also been reissued on CD.

Most of the music on the Finian's Rainbow soundtrack CD was arranged by Frank Comstock. He also arranged the "March of the Cards" track on the Cincinnati Pops CD A Disney Spectacular. His original song "The Jade Express" and his arrangement of "Joanna" are on Lionel Newman's Exciting Hong Kong album. You can find these on streaming and music download sites.

With The Hi-Lo's

Frank Comstock arranged and conducted the first eight albums for the vocal group The Hi-Lo's. The first four albums were released by Starlite Records. They have been put together on a 2-CD re-release.

• Listen to the Hi-Lo's
• The Hi-Lo's On Hand
• The Hi-Lo's I Presume
• The Hi-Lo's Under Glass

The rest of Frank Comstock's Hi-Lo's albums were released by Columbia Records.

• Suddenly It's The Hi-Lo's
• Now Hear This
• Ring Around Rosie - The Hi-Lo's with Rosemary Clooney
• Love Nest

Backing Arrangements for Singers

Frank Comstock arranged and conducted albums for many famous singers. These include Frankie Laine's Torchin' and You Are My Love LPs. He also did many backing arrangements for Doris Day. Other artists he worked with include Rhonda Fleming, Alan Copeland, Andy Williams, Rosemary Clooney, June Hutton, Herb Jeffries, Margaret Whiting, Connie Haines, Jo Ann Greer, Bob Hope, Steve Lawrence, The Norman Luboff Choir, and The Ames Brothers.

His orchestra also backed instrumental albums. He provided arrangements for Herm Saunders' That Celestial Feeling and for Ted and Dick Nash's Star Eyes - The Artistry of Ted Nash and The Brothers Nash albums.

You can hear Frank Comstock's orchestral arrangements on movie soundtrack albums. Examples include Barbra Streisand's "Just Leave Everything to Me" from Hello Dolly!, Doris Day's "A Woman's Touch" from Calamity Jane, and Marilyn Monroe's "Running Wild" from Some Like It Hot.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra

In 2007, musician Brian Setzer discovered Frank Comstock's work. He asked Frank to create new arrangements for his albums Wolfgang's Big Night Out and Songs from Lonely Avenue.

See also

• List of music arrangers