My Musical Journey. Part 2: Soundtracks.

The first movie I ever saw was Walt Disney’s 1954 version of “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’ with Kirk Douglas, James Mason, and Peter Lorre. I managed to persuade my mother buy me the 45 of Kirk Douglas singing “A Whale of a Tale” from the movie, and I pretty much wore the record out. 

Here's the clip.

In my early teens, I began to buy more sophisticated soundtrack albums. It particularly loved the themes from “Exodus” and “Mutiny on the Bounty.” I then got hooked on the Bond movie soundtracks — “From Russia With Love,” “Goldfinger,” and “Thunderball.” I especially loved the Jamaican-influenced soundtrack from “Dr. No,” which led me to calypso music and Harry Belafonte and set up my later attraction to reggae music.