Abstract
The Alan Copeland Music Scores are original handwritten music scores arranged by American composer Alan Copeland from approximately 1936 to 2004. Copeland worked with various musicians and groups, such as Les Brown, the Modernaires, and Sarah Vaughn.
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Scope and Contents Note
The Alan Copeland Music Scores are original handwritten music scores arranged by American composer Alan Copeland from approximately 1936 to 2004. Copeland worked with various musicians and groups, such as Les Brown, the Modernaires, and Sarah Vaughn, and many others.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Material is arranged alphabetically by song title.
Biographical / Historical Note
American composer Alan Copeland was born on October 6, 1926, in Los Angeles, California. His musical odyssey began at age ten when he started piano lessons. Three years later, Copeland began taking a serious interest in music and became a member of the Robert Mitchell Boys Choir. The choir appeared on countless radio shows and in over 100 motion pictures.
As a member of the choir, Copeland performed in films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, and Frank Capra's Meet John Doe . Also, during his time with the Choir, Copeland developed a friendship with singer/pianist David Street, who took the young teen under his wing and worked with him to develop his piano technique.
Copeland's musical pursuits were interrupted by military service in the United States Navy during World War Two. Upon his discharge, he set out to form his own vocal quartet, the Twin Tones. In addition to doing all the arrangements for his quartet, Copeland also tried his hand at arranging with the Garber Band. He continued to expand his horizons by taking some private lessons in arrangement with Henry Mancini.
In 1948 Copeland joined the Modernaires. Shortly thereafter, the group was re-contracted to be regulars on Bob Crosby’s Club 15 radio show, a fifteen-minute musical variety program which aired over CBS from 1946 through 1952. The show evolved into a daytime television show called The Bob Crosby Show, that aired live five days a week, from 1953 through 1956.
Copeland's most recognized work came in 1968 when he wrote a Lalo Schifrin tune, written as a theme for a popular television spy drama, with that of a John Lennon and Paul McCartney collaboration into a Grammy Award-winning hit. The tune was "Mission Impossible/Norwegian Wood." Copeland went on to work as the choral supervisor for many motion picture and television projects.
As of 2013, at age 87, Alan Copeland continues to teach, arrange, produce, and conduct, and is still an active member of the Modernaires.
Preferred Citation
Alan Copeland Music Scores, 1936-2004. MS-00492. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated by Alan Copeland in 2004; accession number 2004-017.
Materials were collected by the director of the Arnold Shaw Popular Music Research Center and transferred to Special Collections.
Processing Note
Material was processed by Joyce Moore in 2010. In 2014, as part of a legacy finding aid conversion project, Kayla McDuffie revised and enhanced the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards. Subsequently Kayla McDuffie entered the data into ArchivesSpace.