Work
Laura
Written as a theme for the 1944 film Laura, it was produced in a hurry at the begrudging request of director Otto Preminger, who had wanted to use music by Duke Ellington.
An extremely prolific composer for TV and film, David Raksin (1912-2004) had a complicated relationship with “Laura,” perhaps the most popular music of his career. Written as a theme for the 1944 film Laura, it was produced in a hurry at the begrudging request of director Otto Preminger, who had wanted to use music by Duke Ellington. Also his wife had left him the day before he wrote it. The theme was well known in 1945, when a version with lyrics by Johnny Mercer became a hit. Raksin resented having to split royalties. Negativity notwithstanding, it is beautiful music, bittersweet and lyrical as one could wish. It became a jazz standard and has been recorded hundreds of times.
