Nah Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh No Kidding

I was thinking about the late Adam West a few weeks ago, when a long-forgotten factoid popped into my head. But first, some background.

The Batman TV series made a huge impression on me because it was the first TV show I ever saw in color.

I was an avid reader, even in those days. I'd read the milk carton, the soda cracker tin, the phone book (No lie), and TV credits -- including those for Batman.

Here's what I remembered: The man who, I later discovered, had arranged and conducted for Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, and Linda Ronstadt, had arranged and conducted the Batman TV theme, as well as the soundtracks for each episode of the series' first two seasons.

It's funny that the guy who would go on to tell Linda Ronstadt he couldn't score a rock record would tackle a theme based on 12-bar blues and surf music. In any case, those major seconds still challenge and invigorate my musical ear.

Here are Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra with the theme from TV's Batman.