{"id":177868,"date":"2026-02-24T11:27:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T11:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/177868\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T11:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T11:27:07","slug":"film-composer-danny-elfman-brings-tim-burton-scores-to-dallas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/177868\/","title":{"rendered":"Film composer Danny Elfman brings Tim Burton scores to Dallas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201dThe Simpsons\u201d theme song<\/a> has existed for so long that even the few people who have never seen an episode would recognize it.<\/p>\n

The man who created the song was confident that neither the music nor the actual show would ever been seen by a real audience. That Bart, Homer, Lisa, Maggie, Milhouse, Smithers and Monty Burns<\/a> would never become \u201cstars\u201d with 40-year careers on TV.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a lucky moment. It\u2019s one of the few things I\u2019ve done where the idea came to me instantly,\u201d said Danny Elfman, the man who created series\u2019 famous introductory music. \u201cI had met with (show creator) Matt Groening<\/a>, who played for me a rough open of the show. He wanted me to score it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This would have been in the late 1980s, when the Simpsons were a short on \u201dThe Tracey Ullman Show.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was driving home, and I heard this crazy piece of retro music. I got home, and I just sat down and wrote it. I ran to the studio to record it, and I sent it over to Matt,\u201d Elfman told the Star-Telegram. \u201cI can only tell you that 95 percent of the time it does not go this way, and on the rare occasions it does work. I felt absolutely no pressure because I didn\u2019t expect anyone to see the show. I was just doing it for fun. The show was so crazy that I thought it would get canceled after three episodes. I wasn\u2019t feeling the sense that I was writing something that would last forever. I thought it would just be fun to record.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Simpsons\u201d may last forever. The show first aired on Dec. 17, 1989. According to The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, the series has been renewed for a 40th season, and is scheduled to be on at least until 2029.<\/p>\n

Elfman, who is 72, remains a name in the niche world of TV and film composing, a path that he fell into while he was still the frontman for the \u201880s band Oingo Boingo. Elfman has been composing for 35 years, and his credits include the music for \u201cSpider-Man,\u201d \u201cDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,\u201d \u201cSend Help,\u201d \u201cGood Will Hunting,\u201d \u201cMilk,\u201d \u201cMen in Black,\u201d \u201cDesperate Housewives,\u201d \u201cTales of the Crypt\u201d and many others.<\/p>\n

He scored 17 films for director Tim Burton, including \u201cBatman,\u201d \u201cPee-wee\u2019s Big Adventure,\u201d \u201cBeetlejuice,\u201d \u201cEdward Scissorhands,\u201d \u201cCharlie and the Chocolate Factory,\u201d \u201cBig Fish,\u201d \u201cAlice in Wonderland,\u201d \u201cBeetlejuice Beetlejuice\u201d and \u201cThe Nightmare Before Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

That music is the source of his latest \u201cshow,\u201d this time a live performance with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. \u201cDanny Elfman\u2019s Music from the Films of Tim Burton\u201d<\/a> will play at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas for a three-day run starting March 13. The concert includes the scores from those films with visuals on big screen, and will feature a live performance by Elfman.<\/p>\n

He talked to the Star-Telegram about this new show, his career, and what a \u201cnote\u201d means for a film composer.<\/p>\n

\"Award-winning Award-winning film\/TV composer and musician Danny Elfman will play his \u201cMusic from the Films of Tim Burton\u201d with the Dallas Symphony on March 13-15 at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. Ethan Benavidez Photo provided by Ethan Benavidez <\/p>\n

Star-Telegram: Are the nerves for leading an orchestra and singing a song the same in front of a live audience?<\/p>\n

Danny Elfman: I\u2019ve had stage fright ever since I started this 50 years ago. That\u2019s never gone away. I will go on stage and sing, and I enjoy it. I wrote \u201dThe Nightmare Before Christmas,\u201d<\/a> and to perform that live is fun.<\/p>\n

S-T: What made you decide to score movies and TV shows?<\/p>\n

Elfman: I didn\u2019t make the decision. When I was called to do the movie \u201dPee-wee\u2019s Big Adventure,\u201d<\/a> I thought it was going to be a song with Oingo Boingo. I didn\u2019t think it was going to be a score. Tim (Burton) said, \u201cI want you to score it,\u201d and I didn\u2019t know if I agreed with him.<\/p>\n

I went home and wrote it and put it on a cassette. He called me back and, \u201cYou got the job.\u201d I thought about turning it down. I thought, I\u2019m not equipped for this. This wasn\u2019t intentional.<\/p>\n

S-T: Actors will often complain of being handed \u201cnotes\u201d from other actors or directors, and directors say the same of being handed notes from \u201cthe studio.\u201d Does a composer receive notes?<\/p>\n

Elfman: No one is free from notes. It\u2019s different. A composer gets their notes from the director. A director gets the note from studio. Half the job of a composer is to get inside the head of the director, and find that place that satisfies what they are imagining. That can be tricky. Some directors are very fussy and very specific, but can\u2019t explain why something isn\u2019t working. You really have to do some detective psychological work. How do I find that? That is the harder part of the job.<\/p>\n

S-T: You have earned a name in your industry. Does that give you creative freedom to do as you see necessary?<\/p>\n

Elfman: I wish that were the case, but it\u2019s not. Even directors who come in really impressed with my career, they are what they are, and they have to hear things and go, \u201cYes that works for me.\u201d Or I had a director tell me, \u201cCan you be more Danny Elfman?\u201d I knew immediately what he was saying.<\/p>\n

S-T: Is technology any more or less of a threat to your profession than other parts of the film industry?<\/p>\n

Elfman: Up until now, technology has been making things better easier, faster and more accessible to more sounds. It\u2019s all positive. Now with AI, I am glad I was in when I was in. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if in 10 years half of the scores could be done by AI. Half of the scores I hear now could be done by AI.<\/p>\n

To create something that makes an imprint that the audience takes back home in their heads, that\u2019s the challenge.<\/p>\n

S-T: Which of your scores are you most known for?<\/p>\n

Elfman: It\u2019s hard to say. I can say when people talk to me and ask for autographs, the things I will see the most of are \u201cBatman,\u201d \u201cEdward Scissorhands<\/a>,\u201d \u201cNightmare before Christmas,\u201d \u201cPee-wee\u2019s Big Adventure,\u201d \u201cBeetlejuice.\u201d All of those early Tim Burton works.<\/p>\n

S-T: Some music lovers have suggested that award-winning film composer John Williams \u201csaved classical music.\u201d Do you agree with that assessment?<\/p>\n

Elfman: I wouldn\u2019t necessarily agree. There is a big difference between film music and concert music.<\/a> That\u2019s why I started 12 or 14 years ago diving into that world. The challenges in concert music are vast. When performing film music on stage, it\u2019s saving an orchestral music experience. I call that concert film music. It\u2019s different. It\u2019s great to get an audience in front of a live symphonic orchestra. I think that\u2019s helped introduce symphonic to music to audiences that otherwise may not have seen it.<\/p>\n

S-T: You had a cameo in the 1986 movie \u201cBack to School\u201d starring the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield. Did you ever get to spend any real time with him?<\/p>\n

Elfman: Rodney actually called after the movie was done. It was at a time<\/a> I was crazy busy. He asked me to score another movie to work on and I couldn\u2019t do it. It breaks my heart in hindsight. All I can say is he was lovely, and amusing just like he was onscreen.<\/p>\n

S-T: Is there anything you\u2019ve scored that you can\u2019t listen to?<\/p>\n

Elfman: That goes for just about everything. Until I did the Burton-Elfman shows, the box set and the live shows that I will soon do, anything I\u2019ve done, that\u2019s the last I\u2019m going to hear it. I\u2019m weird. I listen to it, and I am thinking about it relentlessly; once it\u2019s recorded, the ship has sailed and that\u2019s what it is, and I don\u2019t want to hear it again.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, I\u2019d still be working on \u201cPee-wee\u2019s Big Adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n

S-T: Thank you very much for your time and continued success with your future projects.<\/p>\n

Elfman: Thank you so much.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Mac Engel<\/a><\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Mac Engel is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man; Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers, Mavericks, etc. Olympics. Movies. Concerts. Books. He combines dry wit with 1st-person reporting to complement an annoying personality.
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