“Girl Talk” – By Neal Hefti and Bobby Troup.

This song was written for the 1965 movie Harlow, loosely based on the 1930’s film actress Jean Harlow, starring Carol Linley, Efrim Zimbalist, Jr. and Ginger Rogers as Mama Harlow. The movie, though considered forgettable, is unusual in that it was staged as a live television show, and recorded as a Kinescope. The music received two Grammy nominations.

Neal Hefti was born in 1922, and began arranging for big bands as a teen. He joined Woody Herman’s Herd in 1946, and was one of the first to write “bebop” arrangements for a big band. In 1950, Hefti began writing for the newly reformed Count Basie Orchestra, and was the principle architect of “the new Basie sound.” His arrangements were fine tuned to fit the orchestra, to feature the individual players. Some prime examples of the Basie/Hefti sound are “Little Darlin’,” “Cute,” and “Splanky.” He also arranged for Frank Sinatra including the albums Sinatra and Basie and Swinging Brass. His TV and movie scores include “The Batman Theme,” “The Odd Couple Theme;” and the music for Barefoot in the Park and How to Murder Your Wife.

Bobby Troup is best known for his song “Route 66,” and his acting role as Dr. Joe Early in the 1970’s TV series Emergency! His first hit was “Daddy” in 1941, then “Route 66” was a smash for Nat King Cole, and later in the early 60’s for the Rolling Stones. Miles Davis recorded his “The Meaning of the Blues” on Miles Ahead. Troup produced Julie London’s “Cry Me A River” in 1953, and later married her. He recorded for Capitol Records in the 50’s and 60’s, but found no big success. Bobby worked as an actor, playing the part of Tommy Dorsey in The Gene Krupa Story, and also had a part in the movie Mash. He also wrote the title song for the Little Richard movie The Girl Can’t Help It.