Just like Star Trek, the original Spider-Man cartoon only ran for three seasons — on ABC instead of NBC. And, just like Star Trek, Spider-Man not only had an iconic theme song but some of the best background and incidental music ever. But can you get it on vinyl? And, I mean the original stuff — not the Ramones cover of the theme. I’m mostly interested in the background music. You know… this stuff:
And maybe also the stuff heard here and explained here:
This link comes courtesy of New Jersey listener-supported indie radio station WFMU. Nearly 20 years ago the station undertook a project to track down the 1967-’70 Spider-Man music — who made it, who’s on it and where it is now. They actually managed to get their hands on some of the master tapes from the final two seasons. You can hear them in that podcast link from 2007.
They also explain how the music differs from the first season to the final two. The music in the first season is believed to have been done largely by the folks who did the theme. The last two seasons featured what these days is referred to as public domain music. Back in the early ’70s they called it “needle-drop music” — created to be licensed to TV, movies and advertising.
For example, the needle-drop music Hanna-Barbera used for many of its classic-era cartoons came from Capitol, but nobody could remember where the Spider-Man stuff came from. So, music sleuths first tried to track down whatever was left of the company who made the cartoon. In this case, it was originally Grantray-Lawrence Animation — named for its founders Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson, and Robert L. Lawrence. It went bankrupt in 1968, and the work was taken over by Canadian company Kranz Films. This explains why the music is different in the second and third seasons when Kranz opted for needle-drop. These seasons also mark a rather radical departure in animation style — decidedly darker and more psychedelic.
The music for the second and third seasons of Spider-Man actually came from England. Bits of it were actually also used in Doctor Who and The Prisoner. But I’m interested in music from Season 1 (Sept. 1967 to Jan. 1968), which is far superior and iconic. The theme was written by Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) and Bob Harris (music). It was recorded at the former RCA Studios in Toronto, since demolished in 2010. The historic McClear Building at 225 Mutual St. (near Carlton and Jarvis) was used by RCA from the mid-’50s, when they bought it from CHUM, until 1979. During this time, Ringo Starr recorded his Thomas The Tank Engine parts there. Recording of the Spider-Man theme was done at RCA New York, but all the vocals were done in Toronto by a group of 12 vocalists, taken from CBC’s Billy Van (Hilarious House of Frightenstein!) Singers and Laurie Bower Singers. They sang over the New York music track.
There are more Canadian connections to Spider-Man. The entire run of the program features mostly Canadian voice actors. Even cooler, the cast of Spider-Man and the Rankin-Bass 1964 stop-motion classic Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer are virtually the same:
Paul Soles: Hermey the Dentist Elf / Spider-Man & Peter Parker
Paul Kligman: Donner & Comet / J. Jonah Jameson
Peg Dixon: Mrs. Claus / Betty Brant
Billy Mae Richards: Rudolph / Billy Connors (Lizard’s son)
The music from the first season — re-used for the remaining seasons, augmented by needle-drop stuff — was composed by Bob Harris and Ray Ellis. Ellis was a saxophonist who was already well-known for orchestrating Billie Holiday’s Lady In Satin from 1958. He also worked with Liza Minnelli, Emmylou Harris, Ben E. King, Lena Horne and Barbra Streisand. Ellis did more of this kind of work for Filmation from 1968 to 1982, often under the name of his wife, Yvette Blais, George Blais or Jeff Michael — Jeff and Michael being the names of the two sons of Filmation producer Norm Prescott.
Harris — not to be confused with either of the two Bob Harrises who played with Frank Zappa — is technically known as J. Robert Harris. He also wrote the theme for Stanley Kubrick’s 1962 film Lolita.
Both men are no longer with us. Harris passed in 2000 and Ellis in 2008. So, sadly, it appears their incredible background music has not ever been made available on vinyl — or in any physical format. We still don’t know, and probably never will know, who the musicians are on these tracks.
Your best bet is the YouTube stuff. Oh, and don’t be fooled — there are some things on Discogs which really look like they might be what you’re hunting for. They’re not. For example, there’s a 7″ on Buddah Records called Theme From Spider-Man by The Web Spinners. This isn’t even a cover, it’s a totally different — and awful — song. And, in 1967 The Human Beingz did an early cover of Hey Joe, issued with a B-side called Spider Man. This is not the theme— it’s about a man who spins a “web of lies.”
Somebody please find this original Spidey background music and put it out on vinyl. Meantime, here’s a playlist to get you inspired:
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
