About the TWGS soundtrack:
- written in the summer of 1961
- originally recorded between November and December, 1961
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Musicians:
Pomona Valley Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fred E. Graff
Frank Zappa--guitar
Kenny Burgen--saxophone
Doug Rost--rhythm guitar
Al Surratt--drums
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FZ was hired to write the music for The World's Greatest Sinner in June, 1961, and it was recorded later that year at Chaffey Junior College. This is Timothy Carey, producer, writter, director and main character of the film, interviewed by Mike Murphy and Johnny Legend (Psychotronics, 1990):
When I was working with Debbie Reynolds for the second time (in The Second Time Around, a western comedy) at 20th Century Fox, a fellow came up to me and complemented me on my acting. He said he was a composer and the guy he came with, his next door neighbor, played the guitar. I said, "What's your name?" He said, "Frank Zappa." So I said, "OK, I have something for you. We have no music for The World's Greatest Sinner. If you can supply the orchestra and a place to tape it, you have the job." And that's what he did.
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Dwight Bement was also involved in the sessions, as he told Patrick Neve:
It took FZ 2 months to write 15 minutes of music for the soundtrack. The recording session took 11 hours with the Pomona Valley Symphony. Frank conducted and one mic was used. It was placed above the podium. Aside from Al Sarratt and myself, I don't remember who else played. Maybe Ronnie, but I can't be sure.
I played several instruments during the session including clarinet, rhythm guitar, marimba, snare drum and contra-bass saxophone, a very rare instrument. I have no idea where Frank found it.
I spent a lot of time with FZ and Timothy Carey during post production both at Carey's home in El Monte and in Hollywood at the sound company, Glen Glenn.
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This is FZ on The Steve Allen Show, March, 1963 (most of Allen's comments edited out):
FZ: I did the score for The World's Greatest Sinner, the . . . (laughters) That's the name of the film. It's the world's worst movie, and I did the music for it. It's a Tim Carey production, Frenzy Productions. It's an, it's an independent company. (laughters) It's shot in El Monte.
Steve Allen: Who is in it?
FZ: Uh, Tim Carey and a cast of a thousand people that he found down Main St. or something (laughters).
Steve Allen: What instrumentation did you use, three harmonicas and a bicycle or what? (laughters)
FZ: Well uh, we have a 55-piece orchestra and we had a very unusual reed section, we had a contrabass clarinet, two bassoons, no, four bassoons, uh, two oboes, English horn, four flutes and piccolo, four trumpets, four horns, and four trombones and a tuba, and uh, I forget, there's a bunch of it . . . We recorded it in the Chaffey High School, no, the Chaffey College little theater in uh, Alta Loma, California . . . For twelve hours we recorded it.
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And Tim Carey again:
That's where our friendship stopped. Steve asked him what films he did. He said, "I did The World's Greatest Sinner, the world's worst film and all the actors were from skid row." It wasn't true. The press said I was the world's greatest ham, and that The World's Greatest Sinner was a travesty of the arts. Zappa didn't like that and he started to get on their bandwagon. The opening night at the directors guild, he was in complete awe. He walked into the window and banged himself in the head. He didn't even know there was a window there.
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All above info from the best site on FZ filmography:
http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/videogra ... inner.html -&-
http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/misc/1961-63.html#WGS -&-
http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/songs/Wo ... er_OS.html
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