Hugo Montenegro facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hugo Montenegro
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Newport Navy Band director Frank Rodowicz (left) and Hugo Montenegro at Newport Naval Base, 1944
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Hugo Mario Montenegro |
| Born | September 2, 1925 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 6, 1981 (aged 55) Palm Springs, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Film scores |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, conductor, arranger |
Hugo Mario Montenegro (born September 2, 1925 – died February 6, 1981) was an American musician. He was a talented orchestra leader and composer of music for movies. He is best known for his amazing versions of music from "Spaghetti Western" films. These were Western movies made in Italy.
His most famous work is his cover of the main theme from the 1966 movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. This song was originally by Ennio Morricone. Hugo Montenegro also wrote the music for the 1969 Western film Charro!, which starred Elvis Presley.
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Hugo Montenegro's Life and Music
Hugo Montenegro was born in New York City in 1925. He spent two years serving in the U.S. Navy. During this time, he helped arrange music for the band at the Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island.
After his time in the Navy, he went to Manhattan College. He studied how to compose music. He also led his own band for school dances.
Starting His Career
In the mid-1950s, Hugo began leading and arranging music for orchestras. He worked with different record labels. He even directed the orchestra for Dion DiMucci's very first song in 1957.
Later, he became a musical director for Time Records. He produced many albums for them. In the early 1960s, he moved to Los Angeles. There, he started working for RCA Victor.
Music for Movies and TV
Hugo Montenegro became very busy creating music for movies and TV shows. He made albums with music from the TV show The Man From U.N.C.L.E.. He also released an album of spy music themes called Come Spy With Me.
He became famous for his versions of Ennio Morricone's music. This included songs from Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy" Western films. These albums became very popular.
Hugo started writing original music for movies in 1964. He composed scores for films like Hurry Sundown (1967) and Lady in Cement (1968). He also worked on the Matt Helm spy films.
One of his notable projects was writing the music for the 1969 Elvis Presley Western movie Charro!. He also contributed music to the 1970 British film Toomorrow. His last movie scores were in 1977.
TV Themes and Electronic Sounds
Hugo Montenegro also worked for Columbia's TV company, Screen Gems. He is well-known for the theme song from the second season of I Dream of Jeannie. He also composed the theme song "Seattle" and music for Here Come the Brides.
He created music for The Partridge Family (1970) too. In the mid-1960s, he started using new electronic sounds. He included rock elements in his albums like Moog Power.
The Moog Synthesizer and Big Hits
Hugo Montenegro's electronic music was very important. He used the Moog synthesizer to create unique sounds. He helped make this instrument popular. His music had a cool, futuristic feel.
He is best remembered for his version of the main theme from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. This song was a huge hit for him. It reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also spent four weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in 1968. Over a million copies of the song were sold.
His version of the main theme from Hang 'em High also did well. In 1968, his song "Aces High" was one of the top hits of the year.
Later Years
In the late 1970s, Hugo Montenegro had a serious lung illness called emphysema. This made him stop his music career. He passed away from this illness in 1981. He is buried in Palm Springs, California.
Discography Highlights
Hugo Montenegro released many albums throughout his career. Some of his notable works include:
- Original Music From The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1965)
- Come Spy with Me (1966)
- Music From A Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More & The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1968)
- Moog Power (1969)
- Love Theme From The Godfather (1972)
