Did you know that the melody of the Simpsons theme song was conceived by composer Danny Elfman while he was driving home from a meeting with Matt Groening? Elfman reveals the story behind the iconic song and some of his other popular musical work in a new interview with Vulture, where he calls the Simpsons theme song “the easiest thing I’ve ever done.” Here’s an excerpt:
“I got called into a meeting with Matt Groening. He showed me a pencil sketch of the opening of The Simpsons and it felt very retro and crazy, what I remember growing up on. I told him, ‘If you want something contemporary, I’m not the guy for that. But if you want something like a crazy Hanna-Barbera that never was, then I think I’m the right guy.’ I literally wrote the piece in the car on my way home from the meeting, in my head. I ran down to my studio and within a couple of hours, I wrote all the parts on a multi-track. Then I sent the cassette back to Matt, and I think I got a call the next day saying, ‘Yeah, that’s it’ … I didn’t know that I would actually be hitting a jackpot. I didn’t expect anybody to see The Simpsons. I didn’t think it would last more than one season, if it even lasted one season. So I did it purely for fun. That silly moment would become this major defining moment in my life. It’s amazing. It’s ironic.”
Read the rest over at Vulture.
