The Peter Gunn Theme Song

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A Man with a Gun, a Theme Song, and an Extra N

Peter Gunn had a theme song, and it's been re-made and remixed since his television show debuted in 1958. Once it hit the airwaves, a new hit song began making its way through musical genres year after year. From the Duane Eddy smash in 1960 through mashups made last year, the Peter Gunn theme has called to music fans young and old with one simple appeal: you, too, can have a theme song like a super-spy. (I even heard it recently in a credit card commercial depicting hackers breaking into a computer/vault.)

If you just want to listen to some different versions of the song, try this blog post about the Peter Gunn theme song. If you want more, stay and explore the different versions and covers spanning the past 50 years. Here's a list of what's you will find:

The Original ThemeTen Video Versions or Peter Gunn
Guitar and Bass TabsSample Dozens of Versions
Vote for Your FavoriteLearn the Words
Tell Me about Peter Gunn

The Original Peter Gunn Theme by Henri Mancini 

The Orchestral Hit that Started It All

The Jazz Sound From Peter Gunn

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This is the original version, from which all others have sprung. Sure, Duane Eddy twanged it into a monster hit a couple of years later, but Mancini and his orchestra started the whole thing with the television theme show.

YouTube Videos of the Peter Gunn Theme 

From the Famous to the Freestyle

Ah, what's a television theme without something to watch? Check out these videos of the Peter Gunn theme song to get a better idea of the different versions out there.
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Be patient, please--the Henry Mancini and Art of Noise versions have a bit of set-up at their respective beginnings, but they are both well worth the wait. The Roy Buchanan version really moves. And, yes, that is a choir singing the instrumental version.

"Peter Gunn Theme" Henry Mancini, Pete Candoli, etc.

Runtime: 264
247357 views
149 Comments:


Art of Noise - Peter Gunn

Runtime: 346
381121 views
219 Comments:


The Blues Brothers - Peter Gunn Theme

Runtime: 228
218920 views
Comments:


Runtime:
views
Comments:


Remo Four - Peter Gunn 1966

Runtime: 192
35612 views
73 Comments:


roy buchanan - peter gunn theme

Runtime: 229
103302 views
78 Comments:


Jimi Hendrix - Peter Gunn Catastrophe

Runtime: 141
8600 views
8 Comments:


VERSATILE BRASS - PETER GUNN THEME

Runtime: 470
930 views
1 Comments:


Peter Gunn Theme - Sanford alligator band

Runtime: 236
7947 views
9 Comments:

curated content from YouTube

Lyrics to Sarah Vaughan's Cover of Peter Gunn 

Sarah Vaughan says, "Bye, Bye" to Peter Gunn

Sarah Vaughan Sings Peter Gunn

Sarah Vaghan first recorded Bye, Bye, the actual title of the song that adds lyrics written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans to the Peter Gunn theme song, in 1964. Most versions don't include these lyrics, and some that do include both titles as most people don't identify the song as Bye, Bye

Every night your line is busy,
All that buzzin' makes me dizzy.
Couldn't count on all my fingers
All the dates you had with swingers.

Bye-bye.
Bye, baby.
I'm gonna kiss you goodbye
And walk right through that doorway.

So long.
I'm leaving.
This is the last time we'll meet
On the street going your way.

Don't look surprised
You know you've buttered your bread.
So now it's fair you should stare
At the back of my head.

If you write a letter to me
My former friend
Don't you end
With an R.S.V.P.

I'm goin' bye-bye
I'm moving!
Tomorrow I may be splittin'
To Britain or Norwas

I'm sayin' bye-bye
Bye, baby!
Now that I've heard all that jazz
Whereas I've had it, I've had it

I'm through now with you now
So baby it's au revouir
Adios, ciao, ciao, goodbye

Listen to Full Versions of The Peter Gunn Theme 

From Henry Mancini to The Cramps

You can listen to eleven full cover versions of the Peter Gunn theme right here, thanks to the amazing folks at Grooveshark.com and Clearspring Widgets.

Sample Cover Versions of Peter Gunn 

From the 50s and 60s through Today

What kind of page about a song would this be if you couldn't have a listen? You can listen to samples and buy the mp3s that you like right here. This set includes the Grandmaster Flash rap Style which is laid over the Peter Gunn theme song, as well as the Sarah Vaughan song with lyrics. You'll also find jazz, retro rock, and another dozen versions of the song, as well as Henry Mancini's original theme.

Which Version of Peter Gunn Do You Like Best? 

Are you a Henry Mancini fan or did Art of Noise make the song?

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Guitar and Bass Tabs for the Peter Gunn Theme Song 

Since the essence of the song is the repeated notes in the background, these tabs are necessarily short and sweet. You'll have to get sheet music for the wailing melody.

The guitar notes:

The bass notes:

Modern Interpretations and Other Uses 

Peter Gunn's Theme Song Gets Updated

Peter Gunn Theme (Peter's Gunn)

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Peter Gunn

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Peter Gunn

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Peter Gunn

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Recent posts about the Peter Gunn Theme Song 

Discover what other people are writing about the various cover versions of the Peter Gunn theme. For all that the song was written for a minor television hit, musicians keep finding new things to love about the song.
Before “Happy Days” Jumped the Shark, Peter Gunn Walked the Seal
As Peter leads this seal on a leash against a score of circus music into the police station, I feel like the drunk who, stunned by the sight, tells the captain, ?Book me?. Is this the tipping point for the series? Has Peter Gunn? jumped ...
.:: Keypicking ::. • View topic - Peter Gunn, Nashville, and the Tube?
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:46 pm. Posts: 1720. Referrals: 2. Location: Houston Feedback: Post Peter Gunn, Nashville, and the Tube? What a mix - The Art of Noise and Duane Eddy....put some bourbon in your tea, eh? ...
Thompson's Bank of Communicable Desire: The Official Thompson's ...
There's nothing definitive about this list, obviously, nor any pretension to it: I just want to draw your attention to the music described below, all of which I think is worthy of close listening, and some of which perhaps doesn't get the .... 'The Pink Panther', 'A Shot in the Dark', 'Moon River', the 'Peter Gunn' theme... all are present and deliriously incorrect. The opening take on 'Days of Wine and Roses' sets the whole album up perfectly: it sounds like however many ...
Sick Keyboard Drumming! James Bond + Peter Gunn Themes
An arrangement of Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" theme and the "James Bond Theme", arranged, produced and performed (100% LIVE) by Brandon Bush (aka Harmony) using GROOVE BIAS drum sounds, by Impact Soundworks! All percussion you hear is ...

Tell Me about Your Peter Gunn Memories. 

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I'd love to know how you feel about Peter Gunn--when did you first hear the song? Did you watch the TV show? Play Spy Hunter as a kid? Share your favorite things about the Peter Gunn theme song and let me know if I've missed a great cover song or unusual take on the music. Thank you!

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More History for the Peter Gunn Theme Song 

The song was written as the accompaniment to a new style of detective show. It brought jazz into the middle-class home and caught the fancy of Americans who had never before paid much attention to the genre. If you'd like a fantastic history of how the Peter Gunn Theme influenced rock, punk, and electronic music since it was introduced, visit Rock'n'Soul.

Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC (produced by Revue Productions) and later ABC (produced by MGM Television) television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator (and also writer and director on occasion) was Blake Edwards. A total of 114 thirty-minute episodes were produced.

The series is remembered most for its music, especially "The Peter Gunn Theme," which won an Emmy Award and two Grammys for Henry Mancini and has become a jazz-rock standard.

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