Here’s one of the most popular instrumentals on the charts: “Theme from A Summer Place” by Percy Faith and his Orchestra.

They were in love once but went on to marry the wrong people. And now they meet again…The film A Summer Place (1959) starred Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire, Sandra Dee, and Troy Donahue. “Theme from A Summer Place” was written by Mack Discant and Max Steiner. It was first called the “Molly and Johnny Theme,” as it was the love theme for the characters rather than the main title theme. Percy Faith and his Orchestra recorded the “Theme from A Summer Place” in 1960, and it was a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks and is the longest-running #1 instrumental on the Billboard chart. It went to #2 in the U.K. and #1 in Italy.

Over the years, “Theme from a Summer Place” has been used as background music for many films — particularly those set in the early 1960s. Sometimes, it’s used as eerie “peaceful music” in horror films to give a false sense of security. Anyway, the list of films featuring the piece, to name just a few, are The Crowded Sky, Claudelle Inglish, Susan Slade, The Omega Man, National Lampoon’s Animal House, My American Cousin, Back to the Beach, Batman, Cobb, Ocean’s Eleven, Rose Red, Final Destination, Dark Shadows, Beautiful Creatures, and recently the 2017 film The Shape of Water.

TV shows have featured “Theme from a Summer Place” as well. Some of these include Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Simpsons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mad Men, and 30 Rock.

For More Golden Oldies Music

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop music, rock and roll hits, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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