The Pink Panther Theme
The Pink Panther Theme is the theme song in the Pink Panther series . The musical theme of the film is an instrumental piece and was composed by Henry Mancini . In 1965 the song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. The cartoon character Pink Panther , invented by David DePatie and Friz Freleng for the opening sequences of the film, was animated to match the music of the piece. The tenor saxophone solo was recorded by Plas Johnson .
Other versions
The song was picked up and replayed many times. John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola quote the piece in an improvisation that can be heard on the live album Friday Night in San Francisco (1981). The Japanese punk rock band Hi-Standard recorded a punk version that appeared as a hidden track on their first album (1997). The Guns N 'Roses guitarist Ron Thal took the piece for his solo during the Chinese Democracy tour 2009/10.