"Theme from Dynasty" by Bill Conti

Song#:  1236
Date:  11/06/1982
Debut:  89
Peak:  52
Weeks:  9
Genre:  Synthpop, Soundtrack, Instrumental



Pop Bits:  Composer/conductor Conti already had a few film scores under his belt when he got the call to compose the music for a small film called "Rocky." The movie was an unexpected hit and its success put more focus on Conti's score, specifically the scene where Rocky runs up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The inspirational music behind the scene was spun off into a single titled "Gonna Fly Now" which hit #1 in 1977. Conti then benefited from another pop culture phenomenon this time from the TV world. Conti composed the theme music to the nighttime soap "Dynasty." The show's popularity was skyrocketing by the time the third season started, so why not push the theme song as a single? Unfortunately, it wasn't the orchestral version heard on TV but a synth-based replica done by Conti. The single stalled before getting into the Top 50, but it did get Conti on the pop chart one last time. He has since gone on to score many other works and even won an Oscar in 1984 for his score to the film "The Right Stuff."

ReduxReview:  I'm sure the thought behind this was to make it more marketable to a pop audience, but the whole synth thing completely takes away from the grandness of the original theme. It probably sounded interesting back in the day - almost a cousin to "Chariots of Fire" - but today it sounds like one of those crappy karaoke background tracks done in someone's basement. It's pretty awful. And not even campy awful. Sadly, this sounds more like "Duck Dynasty" than the real "Dynasty." What a way to ruin a great score.

ReduxRating:  2/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) At the same Academy Awards show where "Rocky" won Best Picture, Conti was asked to be the conductor for the show's orchestra. It was the first of a record-setting 19 appearances he would make as the Oscar's conductor.  2) Initially, "Dynasty" was titled "Oil" and it would star George Peppard. But as things got rolling, Peppard wasn't happy with playing the unlikable Blake character and dropped out.  John Forsyth jumped in and the show, with a new title, was off and rolling.

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