The 70-year-old Los Angeles-born artist and songwriter Danny Elfman has led one of the most interesting creative careers in music. In the 1980s, he rose to popularity thanks to his oddball new wave band Oingo Boingo. But it’s his work in TV and film that has made him a legend.
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As you can see from the songs below, Elfman, who released his latest solo album, Big Mess, in 2021 (along with an album of remixes Bigger Messier in 2022), is responsible for some of the most beloved and recognizable songs in American pop culture.
He’s worked with the world’s best directors, from Tim Burton to Gus Van Sant, and has left his mark thanks to scores and theme songs. So, without further ado, let’s explore and dive into Elfman’s vast catalog.
1. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
This 1985 film marked the debut of Pee-wee Herman (even before his weekly children’s show) and director Tim Burton. It also marked Elfman’s first real big break. Burton hired the Oingo Boingo frontman after coming across his work on the 1982 comedy Forbidden Zone. Elfman, given that this was such a big opportunity, was unsure. But, according to the movie’s DVD video commentary, by the time he signed his contract to complete the work, he had finished the film’s first song.
2. The Beetlejuice Theme (1988)
One in a string of collaborations between Elfman and director Tim Burton, including the Pee-wee movie above and the Batman film below, Elfman wrote the score to this strange ghostly comedy. The score also includes music from Harry Belafonte.
3. The Batman Theme (1989)
Directed by Tim Burton, the Batman theme song has been used in film and cartoon shows since Elfman wrote the film’s score in the late ’80s. Burton and Elfman had previously worked on the Pee-wee Herman movie, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. At the time, this was the first real big-budget movie that Elfman had worked on. So, he was nervous about the assignment. But he knocked it out of the park.
4. The Simpsons Theme (1989)
As just about everyone knows, the theme song for the cartoon sitcom The Simpsons plays at the beginning of the show. Like all of Elfman’s sonic creations, it’s elaborate and layered with big swells of strings and horns. The cartoon’s creator Matt Groening asked Elfman to write the theme and Elfman did so in the car after their initial meeting. For the prolific Elfman, it’s probably his most well-known creation to date.
5. The Dick Tracy Theme (1990)
Word was now starting to get out about Elfman’s skill and sonic theatrics. Warren Beatty, the director and star of the film, reached out to the Oingo Boingo man to do the score and for those who now are familiar with his work, you can tell his lush style.
“Directors don’t know anything about music really, and if they do, it’s not necessarily a help,” Elfman told the New York Times in 1990 of their collab. “Warren Beatty is a pianist and knows much more about music than almost any director, but when he and I started on Dick Tracy, communicating on a musical level was getting us nowhere because it is all so interpretive. We started having much more success when we started talking on a strictly gut level.”
6. “This is Halloween” (1993)
Another collab between the styles of Tim Burton and Elfman, “This is Halloween” was the most popular tune from the holiday Halloween and Christmas crossover film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Elfman wrote the score for the movie, on which he also sings as the voice of the movie’s main character, Jack Skellington.
7. Good Will Hunting (1997)
While Good Will Hunting seems a more straightforward film compared to Batman or Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, director Gus Van Sant recruited Elfman to do the score. And he nailed it. It’s eerie and inquisitive, perfect for the film’s themes of doubt and genius. While Elliott Smith produced the songs for the film, Elfman wrote the score. Elfman and Van Sant had previously worked on the movie To Die For.
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