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| Composer: Ennio Morricone |
In my headphones, a piano runs, whisked along by
violins, and it lifts my spirit and weeping eyes to the ghost of Ennio Morricone.
He was a film composer who left this earth a little better, his gift is a body of
work that leaves most modern-day composers envious. His music was
diverse, from Western to Gangland, to the use of electric guitar and harmonicas.
His work has been covered by the metal band Metallica and reintroduced by
directors like Quentin Tarantino. Morricone changed the feel of the modern-day
western by the music he scored. It was urgent and uplifting; it came in long
sweeps or in short hard telegraphs that ushered in villains and heroes alike.
It was some of the most beautiful music ever composed, at least for this long-time
listener.
As a writer, I mourn the passing of Ennio Morricone,
because this man and his music have been with me since I was a kid. It might seem
a thousand years ago, but it was 1975 when I decided to be a writer, and it was
also when I started listening to Ennio Morricone. We had an RCA cabinet stereo
back in 1975, with a turntable, headphone jack, cassette player recorder and
speakers that were about 30 watts each. The AM/FM radio even ran on tubes. Today this thing
would be an antique. I spent a lot of time beside that RCA, on my belly, feet
crossing and uncrossing, listening to an inspirational ballad called The Ecstasy
of Gold. 
My connection with music and writing is something I
have talked about before, but what I am telling you here is a little more personal,
because this was where it started. The soundtrack at the beginning of my writing
journey started with Ennio Morricone's The Good the Bad and the Ugly. When I
listened to his music, mental movies would unfold in my mind. Purposely, in
front of me, a binder filled with loose leaf paper whose lines were etched with
the stories that came, only to be interrupted by a rough sketch.
In that old binder I wrote a horror story, in which a
young man named David fights to get back to civilization after his best friend,
John, is killed by a demonic creature they have awakened. Thew story’s title
was: David vs. The Zombie, and it was a stupid story filled with the usual
tropes, but the music of Ennio Morricone inspired it. And for the record, while
David vs. The Zombie wouldn’t wholly pass the plagiarism sniff test; it was still
a beautiful thing. First, because of the music that still calls to me 45 years
later. Secondly, because back then, the well overflowed with ideas, and these
were the purest muses in this writer’s life.
I wore a groove into that soundtrack, and it led me to
more Morricone, to soundtracks like, Once Upon a Time in America and John
Carpenter’s The Thing. Man, I got some mileage out of that last one, what a
foreboding lonely soundtrack. Understandably, I loved the movie too.
As I write this, revisiting that first soundtrack, I
am reminded of other artists that would join the score and change the rhythm
and the beat of my writing—pushing me to get it out. Sometimes even demanding.
So, I bid thee a goodnight and raise my glass to Ennio
Morricone, who played a significant part in the soundtrack in my writing life.
Your musical spirit lives on as long as the earth exists.
--Ennio Morricone
November 10, 1928 - July 6, 2020
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