The Liquidator

Music written by Lalo Schifrin and lyrics by Peter Callander.

This is the title theme of the 1965 movie "The Liquidator" released December 1965 on the soundtrack album. (According to another source, the soundtrack LP had been released October 1966, but maybe that was a re-issue?) The original soundtrack version with the orchestra directed by Lalo Schifrin himself has been re-released on CD on the 1995 US collection Goldsinger - The Best of Shirley Bassey.

A completely different recording has been recorded on December 19, 1965 and released January 1966 on the UK Columbia single DB 7811. This was Shirley's last A-side for Columbia before signing to United Artist Records. In the US at November 7, 1966 a United Artists single UA 50099 had been released. I have one version directed by Tony Osborne and another by Arthur Greenslade, but I don't know which one was on which single. One of these singles contained the version which is available on many CD collections digitally remastered, like for example on Bassey - The EMI/UA Years 1959 - 1979.

A complete re-issue of the original soundtrack album on CD is not available. That's bad all the more, for it also contains My Liquidator, the movie end title sung by Shirley Bassey.

"The Liquidator" is a spy thriller from 1965 with film stars like Rod Taylor, Trevor Howard, and Jill St. John. Here's a plot summary from the net:

Colonel Mostyn is the chief of a section of the British Security Services when they are embarrassed by the number of spies and defections. The Chief tells him to do something about it so he hires Boys Oaks as Agent L - The Liquidator, to assassinate people about to cause trouble. Although Boys likes the cars and the girls that his new position attracts he's not any good at it. He's also got a phobia about flying that makes jetting off to exotic places a bit of an embarrassment.

Composer, pianist and conductor Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin was born 1932 in Argentina.

At the age of six he began a six-year course of study on piano. He studied sociology and law at the University of Buenos Aires. At age 20, he applied for a scholarship to the Paris Conservatoire. At night, he'd earn his living playing jazz in the Paris clubs. In 1955, at age 23, pianist Schifrin represented his country Argentina in the International Jazz Festival in Paris.

Returning home to Argentina, Schifrin formed Latin America's first jazz orchestra, a 16-piece band. He began accepting many film, television and radio assignments. In 1956, Schifrin met trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie during one his tours and the composer offered to write an extended work for Gillespie's big band. Schifrin completed the work, "Gillespiana", in 1958, the same year he won Argentina's Academy award for his score to the film "El Jefe". From 1960 to 1962 Schifrin played piano in Dizzy Gillespie's band and became Gillespie's musical director. He also wrote the suite "The New Continent" for Gillespie 1962 and then left Gillespie's band to write for many other artists.

1963 Schifrin had his first Hollywood film assignment with the African adventure "Rhino!" He wrote many more famous soundtracks and music for TV shows, most known is "Mission: Impossible". He got academy Award nominations for "Cool Hand Luke" 1967, "The Fox" 1968, "Voyage Of The Damned" 1976, "The Amityville Horror" 1979, "The Competition" 1980 and "The Sting II" 1983. In the 60's he also wrote and arranged two award-winning jazz albums: "The Cat" for Jimmy Smith and "Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts" for Paul Horn.

In addition to scores for more than 100 films and television programs, Schifrin has recorded infrequently under his own name - and not always in jazz. Additionally, Schifrin has written many concertos, operas, cantatas, ballets and theater works as well. Schifrin now spends much of his time in the classical world; conducting and recording with such prestigious orchestras as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. He's also written and arranged for Placido Domingo, Jose Carerras, Angel Romero and Julia Mignes. Today, Schifrin has extended his popularity with his significant role as principle arranger for the Three Tenors and the Christmas in Vienna series and in occasional scores for films like the Grammy-nominated "Rush Hour" 1998.

Lalo Schifrin seems to be still very active and I can't list here all the successes he had, but take a look at the Lalo Schifrin homepage of Douglas, a very passionate fan of Lalo Schifrin where I've also taken some of the information here.

Peter Callander, who wrote the lyrics for this song, is a songwriter which seems to have been active in the 60's only, but I don't know more about him.

I saw that the Harry Johnson All Stars also performed a song with this title, but it may be a different song, but Dick Hyman shall have performed this song too.
 

Lyrics:

The Liquidator

Will soon be coming around

You won't feel safer

Until you get out of town

He's an eraser

He'll rub you out like a light

And for a chaser

He'll kiss your woman good-night

He's a jackal and a Romeo, you know

The devil in disguise

There's no telling where a girl would go, you know

To gaze into his eyes

With the snapping of the fingertips of him

He'll take your life away

And a whisper from the smiling lips of him

Will take your wife away

The Liquidator

Will soon be getting to you

You'll wake up later

Somewhere up in the blue

The undertaker

Would never try to deny

That the Liquidator

Is a hell of a guy

The Liquidator
(transcribed by David <davidbeukema@hotmail.com>)