Ennio Morricone was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpet player, who wrote music in a wide range of styles.
After playing the trumpet in jazz bands in the 1940s, he became a studio arranger for RCA Victor and in 1955 started ghost writing for film and theatre. Throughout his career, he composed music for artists, such as Paul Anka, Mina, Milva, Zucchero, and Andrea Bocelli. From 1960 to 1975, Morricone gained international fame for composing music for Westerns and—with an estimated 10 million copies sold—Once Upon a Time in the West is one of the best-selling scores worldwide. From 1966 to 1980, he was a main member of Il Gruppo, one of the first experimental composers collectives, and in 1969, he co-founded Forum Music Village, a prestigious recording studio. From the 1970s, Morricone excelled in Hollywood, composing for prolific American directors, such as Don Siegel, Mike Nichols, Brian De Palma, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, Warren Beatty, and John Carpenter. In 1977, he composed the official theme for the 1978 FIFA World Cup. He continued to compose music for European productions.
For Disney, he composed the score for Mission to Mars, The Star Maker, The Stendhal Syndrome, Vatel, and Malena.
His scores were also featured in Inspector Gadget, The Lion King 1½, The Pacifier, Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, Kill Bill, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.