The Styrous® Viewfinder: 20,000 vinyl LPs 333: Danny Elfman ~ Big Top Pee-wee

vinyl LP front cover

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Today is the birthday of Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman. Reubens was born on August 27, 1952, and just died of cancer a few weeks ago on July 30, 2023. He would have been 71 years old.

Reubens created his now-famous Pee-wee character while performing with the LA-based improv-comedy troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s. "I probably had eight or 10 pretty solid characters and maybe four or five of those were very popular and featured in the show," Reubens told Vanity Fair in 2014 of the inception of his character. "But when I [debuted Pee-wee Herman onstage], that got a completely different reaction. This was a reaction that made me think, Wow, this means something.

"The name ‘Pee-wee’ came from a little harmonica I had that said ‘Pee-wee’ on it. I loved the idea of a nickname, because it sounded so real to me. ‘Pee-wee Herman’ sounds like a name that is so odd, how would you make that up? If you were going to make up a name, you’d make up a better name. It seemed real to me; it was a nickname with a last name that’s also a first name … And it went hand-in-hand with what I wanted to do, which was to make people think this was a real person, not an actor."

In 1980, Pee-wee made his first big-screen appearance as a not-so-sweet hotel employee in Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie.

Reubens debuted a stage show starring Pee-wee, The Pee-wee Herman Show, in 1981 and became an instant cult figure. He produced and wrote a feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), directed by Tim Burton, which was a financial and critical success. Reubens kick-started Burton's career with this film. Its sequel, Big Top Pee-wee (1988), was less successful.

Over four decades, Reubens’ character conquered every corner of the entertainment industry with two movie sequels, one Saturday morning television series, and a Broadway show.

In Big Top Pee-wee, Pee-wee portrays a farmer, a whacky one but a farmer. It is the only project in which the Pee-wee character has a job, a visable means of support. He lives on a farm with a talking pig named Vance and dreams of becoming a singer. During a storm an entire traveling circus blows into his backyard (Kris Kristofferson is the ringmaster, Mace Montana) and the adventure begins.

Danny Elfman ~ Big Top Pee-wee

vinyl LP front cover details

detail photos by Styrous®

There are Pee-wee postcards with images from the album cover (below) included . . .

Danny Elfman ~ Big Top Pee-wee

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detail photos by Styrous®

The score for the film was written by Danny Elfman of new wave band Oingo Boingo fame. Elfman also scored Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

Danny Elfman ~ Big Top Pee-wee

vinyl LP front cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

The Paramount Pictures production was directed by Randal Kleiser and written by Reubens and George McGrath. Reubens also co-produced the film with Debra Hill. Filming locations included Disney's Golden Oak Ranch in Newhall, California, and the auditorium at Hart High School in Santa Clarita. Big Top Pee-wee was Kleiser's first movie for Paramount since 1978's Grease.

During a 1988 television special, Reubens, as Herman, acknowledged the long hours of circus training undertaken by the film's actors and that they spent a year and a half working on the movie. He also humorously compared himself as an actor to James Cagney and Spencer Tracy and ended by saying that Big Top Pee-wee is "at least as good as Police Academy."

Danny Elfman ~ Big Top Pee-wee

vinyl LP back cover

photo of cover by Styrous®

Cyndi Lauper sang the theme song for Pee-wee's Playhouse although Ellen Shaw is credited with the vocal.

Following:

vinyl LP back cover details

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vinyl LP record, side 1

photos by Styrous®

vinyl LP record label, side 2

photos by Styrous®

The album included a promotional flyer for the 1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time with a song sung by Whitney Houston, One Moment In Time, the theme for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 - Main Title
A2 - The Girl On The Flying Trapeze, Performer – Pee Wee Herman
A3 - Pee-Wee Flies
A4 - Happy House / Pee-Wee Had A Farm, Performer – Pee Wee Herman, Vance The Pig, written by Trad.*
A5 - Rise 'N Shine
A6 - The Greenhouse
A7 - Sneaky Walk
A8 - Race To School
A9 - The Big Storm
A10 - Pee-Wee To The Rescue / Lion Problems
A11 - Where's Midge?
A12 - Circus Parade
A13 - Sad Drive Home
A14 - Circus In The House
A15 - Happy Circus
A16 - Zsa Zsa's Delight
A17 - Elephant Ride
A18 - The Big Kiss
A19 - Rejection

Side 2:

B1 - Mace's Speech
B2 - Man To Man
B3 - Psycho Winnie
B4 - Rimprovero, Performer – Pee Wee Herman, written by Trad.*
B5 - I Llove You
B6 - Pee-Wee Tries / Town Spies
B7 - The Side Show
B8 - Pee-Wee's Love Theme
B9 - Angry Mob
B10 - Transformation
B11 - Big Top Finale, Lyrics By – George McGrath, Paul Reubens, Randal Kleiser, Performer – Pee Wee Herman, The Big Top Company
B12 - Pee-Wee's Big Surprise, written by [Contains "Tequila" By] – Chuck Rio
B13 - End Credits

Companies, etc.

    Record Company – Bertelsmann Music Group
    Manufactured By – Arista Records, Inc.
    Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Arista Records, Inc.
    Copyright © – Paramount Pictures Corporation
    Mastered At – Precision Lacquer
    Pressed By – Specialty Records Corporation

Credits:

    Arranged By – Steve Bartek
    Conductor, Orchestrated By [Additional Orchestrations] – William Ross
    Engineer [Assistant] – Susan McLean*
    Executive-Producer [Album] – Debra Hill (3), Paul Reubens
    Liner Notes – Pee Wee Herman
    Mastered By – Stephen Marcussen
    Mixed By [Music Scoring Mixer] – Dan Wallin
    Music By, Composed By – Danny Elfman
    Orchestrated By [Additional Orchestrations] – Steven Scott Smalley
    Orchestrated By [Orchestrations] – Steve Bartek
    Producer [Album] – Danny Elfman
    Score Editor [Music Editor] – Dick Bernstein

Notes:

Label variation most easily identified by "℗ 1988 Arista Records, Inc." written on a single line at left side of labels, not split into 2 lines unlike Big Top Pee-Wee (The Original Soundtrack Album) .

Includes printed inner sleeve and five postcards on a pullout.

Hype sticker on the front cover says: "Specially priced! Free inside: 5 really cool, limited edition, collectible Pee-Wee postcards from the smash movie. Also includes the story of Big Top Pee-Wee plus music and dialogue performed by the original cast. AL-8568".

TM & © 1988 Paramount Pictures Corporation.
℗ 1988 Arista Records, Inc., a Bertelsmann Music Group Company. Printed in U.S.A.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Barcode: 0 7822-18568-1
    Matrix / Runout (Side A, hand-etched runout): AL 8568 SA-SPI DMM SP 2-6 Precision
    Matrix / Runout (Side B, hand-etched runout): AL 8568 SB-SP-DMM SP 1-10 Precision

Danny Elfman – Big Top Pee-Wee (The Original Soundtrack Album)
Label: Arista – AL-8568
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack, Score

Viewfinder links:

James Cagney

Cheech & Chong

Tim Burton

Danny Elfman

Kris Kristofferson

Cyndi Lauper

Spencer Tracy

Net links:

Mental Floss ~ 25 Big Facts About Pee-wee Herman

NBC News ~ Paul Reubens known as Pee-wee Herman, dies at 70

NewYorker Magazine ~ Paul Reubens’s Preposterous Grace