Intrada Soundtrack Forum

I remember seeing a posting somewhere, I can't remember where now, that had "Jerry Goldsmith RIP" as it's subject line. Thinking it was a sick joke of some sort, I did a little searching and came across the news that Goldsmith had indeed passed away. For the first time in my life, someone that had great importance to me and contributed so much to enjoy in my life had left. I spent many days, after learning of his death, listening to Goldsmith's scores while having tears well up in my eyes with the sad recognition that never again would I see a new film with the credits listing Goldsmith as the creator of that film's music nor ever again hear his musical style that I devoted over thirty years admiring and enjoying. It's a loss that still hurts and always will.

And let's not forget that we lost Elmer Bernstein not long after Jerry. What a sad summer for film music.

And Basil and Shirley, too -- at young ages.

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"Questions are a burden to others; answers a prison for oneself"
"Unlike me, many of you have accepted the situation of your imprisonment and will die here like rotten cabbages."
"Everyone votes for a dictator."
THE PRISONER

It was a long time ago, so I may not be remembering this correctly, but I seem to recall a few prank postings of prominent composer deaths on a few boards before Jerry's passing. My first reaction of disbelief may have been tied to that. Or I might be wrong.

I knew of health issues peripherally, I wasn't really posting at FSM until several months later. I had bought the Goldsmith Fox box and was still rutting through it's treasure trove of unreleased material. I was still working in the east valley of Phoenix when a buddy from my time living in Memphis e-mailed me the news. He was a science fiction fiction fan, I had turned him onto Goldsmith's genre material. I had just logged in at work, immediately got on the internet and read the news. That same afternoon, the mailroom brought me a shipment of titles I had ordered from SAE, all Jerry. I played several that night. I'll say this, I left a few new listeners in the burgs of Memphis and Phoenix before I moved back home.

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WE HAVE COME TO VISIT YOU IN PEACE AND WITH GOOD WILL.

Yes, that summer was, indeed, a close of a major chapter in film music.