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Danny Elfman is a film and TV composer with over 50 film scores, including Batman. He began as a performer in his brother’s avant-garde theater group and later formed the rock band Oingo Boingo. He shared composition rights with Steve Bartek and was the lead singer and lyricist. The band disbanded in the early 1990s as Elfman began producing more film scores. He is known for his partnership with Tim Burton and Sam Raimi and has composed for a range of films, including Charlotte’s Web and Milk. Elfman has no formal training but is a fan of classical music, citing Hermann and Prokofiev as his favorites.
Danny Elfman is a composer of film and television scores. Since the 1980s, he has composed over 50 films, the most famous being the one for Batman. His style has often been described as Wagnerian, although Danny Elfman acknowledges that he is more influenced by Hermann. His scores often echo the deep romantic overtones of 19th and early 20th century composers.
Danny Elfman began his career as a performer in his brother Richard’s avant-garde theater group called The Mystic Knights of the Oingo-Boingo. While Richard continued to work on films, Danny Elfman distilled the group into a rock band in the late 1970s.
The new new wave group, Oingo Boingo enjoyed some popularity. However, the band were primarily cult favorites. Only the much later song, “Deadman’s Party,” ever reached the top 40 charts for rock bands.
Danny Elfman shared the composition rights with his partner and lead guitarist, Steve Bartek, who now orchestrates many of Elfman’s scores. Danny Elfman was lead singer, backup guitarist and lyricist for Oingo Boingo. His lyrics contribute to the band’s cult popularity, as they are often humorous and ironic themes such as death and madness.
The band drew influence from ska and featured a horn section. Elfman is also a talented trombonist. The music was different from other new wave, as it emphasized live performance rather than digitizing most of their music as many 1980s bands did. The live performances were thrilling as they were unpredictable and unique.
Oingo Boingo disbanded in the early 1990s as Danny Elfman began producing more film scores. Subsequent concerts clearly demonstrated that the band did not practice regularly. As a film composer, Danny Elfman first composed the score for his brother Richard’s film The Forbidden Zone, which is now regarded by many Oingo Boingo fans as a cult classic. He also scored Black Beauty in 1985, but it was his pairing with Tim Burton that would make him internationally known as a film composer.
Tim Burton, an avid Oingo Boingo fan, wanted Danny Elfman to write for his films. Their first two films, Peewee’s Big Adventure and Beetlejuice, were moderately successful. Burton was tapped to direct Batman, and as a result both director and composer received considerable attention, with Danny Elfman winning a Grammy for Best Original Theme for a Motion Picture.
Since then, Elfman has composed virtually all of Burton’s films, receiving an Oscar nomination for his score for Big Fish. The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride, feature both composition and vocal performances by Danny Elfman. His gift as a lyricist is also evident in his wonderful and strange songs for the recent Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.
Elfman is also known for his partnership with Sam Raimi, who directed the Spider Man series. Not all of his work focuses on action or horror films, and some scores represent his range as a composer, including those for films Charlotte’s Web and Milk. Elfman’s scores also represent diversity, as evidenced by two of his most popular themes from The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives.
The prolific composer has sometimes been considered an outsider in the world of film composition, although that is changing. However, Elfman has often stated that he has no desire to compose a symphony. Unlike many other composers, he has no formal training but is a fan of classical music, citing Hermann and Prokofiev as his favorites. Elfman’s vast and ever-expanding catalog of work will likely continue to exert a strong influence in the worlds of music and film.
