| USAF THUNDERBIRDS AIRSHOW MUSIC |
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| Note: For Educational, Entertainment, & Listening Purposes Only. All themes and music are the property of their respective copyright owners listed (known or unknown). The music companies listed or made reference to on this page are in no way affiliated with the USAF Thunderbirds, the United States Air Force, or to myself. The information on this page is expected to be accurate, and every effort has been made to ensure that misrepresentations have not been made. The audio files listed on this page are for your listening and private enjoyment only. |
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| This page will attempt to provide information on the background music used by the Thunderbirds in their airshows. In the past, they used music from movies under the narration spoken by Thunderbird 8. Since 1988 they switched over to "production music", which is music used primarily for use in radio, TV, films, commercials, news programs, sports shows, etc. This type of music is heavily licensed, not sold in stores and hence, not available to the general public. However, it does lend a professional feel to the Thunderbirds demonstration, and at times it becomes melodic and "catchy". I often found myself humming and whistling the tunes, which were familiar to me since some of them were and are used by CNN , ESPN and other major networks, as well as your local radio and TV stations. I'll list the music by title, (if known), composer, source CD, and event during the course of the airshow. If you ever get a chance, try to see the Thunderbirds perform a full show, which includes ground marching, introductions of distinguished VIP guests, the pilots, and taxi-out of the jets to the runway. This all takes place with music and narration playing over the speakers they set up along the entire show-line. "Thunderbird Control" is set up at their communications trailer, usually located at airshow center, and it houses all the radios, amplifiers, audio playback equipment, and other items needed by the ground crew and support officers to execute the airshow. The Thunderbirds use three Sony MDS-JE530 MiniDisc players to play back the music over Martin Audio speakers. They previously used Bose 402 speakers. Each airshow is videotaped, with the music and narration on the left audio track, and the pilots' air-to-air communications on the right audio track. This videotape is then used by the Thunderbirds flight leader, also known as the "Boss", for review during their post-flight debriefings usually held in a conference room which has been reserved for the team. After the debriefing ends, the team members usually get ready for a public affairs event, trading in their flight and line uniforms for embroidered polo shirts and Dockers! Click on the highlighted selections to hear an audio sample of the song. Links for production music companies appear below. Don't forget to visit page 2 for more Thunderbirds music! Thunderbirds Radio Frequencies: Diamond: 141.850 AM (Victor 1), 143.850 AM (Victor 2) Solos: 322.950 AM (Uniform 1) Thunderbird Control: 413.025 FM, 413.100 FM, 413.125 FM, 235.250 AM When the pilots get into their planes and have their helmets on, they turn on their radios. Just prior to engine start, they will come up on Uniform 1 and check-in. This begins a process of "psyching-up" to get ready to fly their show. The "Boss" gets pertinent info from the Ops Officer (Thunderbird 7) and passes it along to the rest of the pilots so they can set their cockpit instruments. When the crew chiefs are done with their task of readying the jets and march forward, the pilots then come up on Victor 1 and perform another check-in. The Boss verifies altimeter and transponder settings with the rest of the team. After each pilot salutes their crew chiefs, they each taxi out singly, exchanging "thumbs-up" with their crew chiefs and the line chief. After the opposing solo calls "6 in", meaning that he's fallen-in behind the rest of the taxiing jets, both the lead and opposing solos "sing" a slightly "dirty" song on Uniform 1 to the tune of "Camptown Races". This song, or "ditty" is meant as a kind "slam" against Operations Officer, Thunderbird 7, since he's constantly grading the team on their performance and he is frequently the team's toughest critic. Note: these freqs are provided to enhance your enjoyment of the Thunderbirds airshow experience. It is AGAINST THE LAW and DANGEROUS to willfully transmit on these frequencies, especially during an airshow demonstration! SONG TITLE COMPOSER SOURCE CD EVENT Fanfare Graham De Wilde KPM 89 Show opening Power Plays John Fiddy Sonoton 34 Crew chief marchdown Send Them Victorious Graham De Wilde KPM 89 VIP/Pilot intros The Final Mile Graham De Wilde KPM 2 Pilot intros Born To Win Richard Myhill KPM 1339 (LP only) Spare song To Visual Effect Alan Hawkshaw Bruton 102/BRI 38 CD Pilot marchdown Touchdown Walter Murphy Valentino CD 1 Pilot ingress/strap in Power Line Walter Murphy Valentino CD 8 Engine start/taxi-out Gary's Song Elaine Suchow Valentino CD 27 Taxi out Chase Giorgio Moroder Midnight Express Taxi out Here and Now Keith Mansfield KPM 8 Taxi out International Launch Graham De Wilde KPM 3 Taxi out/runway checks Newsweek Graham De Wilde KPM 2 Taxi out/runway checks Deadline Graham De Wilde KPM 3 Taxi out/runway checks Air Force Song Robert Crawford Various Diamond Takeoff High Performance Walter Murphy Valentino CD 1 Solos individual takeoff Brass Panorama Patrick Wilson Bruton 46/BRI 30 CD Diamond show opener Trouble Shooting John Devereaux/David Reilly KPM 12 Diamond pass-in-review Freightways Graham De Wilde KPM 20 Diamond roll Aftertime Walter Murphy Valentino CD 7 Arrowhead loop Energy Force Walter Murphy Valentino CD 8 Bon-Ton Roulle Laserdrive Graham De Wilde KPM 20 Trail to diamond cloverloop The Far Turn John Colby Valentino CD 13 Trail to diamond roll Eyewitness News Walter Murphy Valentino CD 1 Bottom-up pass-in-review Superman Theme John Williams Superman Soundtrack Hi/Lo pass Impact Alan Hawkshaw KPM 36 5-card loop Wheels of Commerce Brown/P. Kelly First Com UT-102 Line break Powersurge Jim Long/Ken Nelson First Com FC-A1 Max 360 turn Torchbearer Richard Myhill KPM 1339 (LP only) Delta Pass Chariots of Fire Vangelis Chariots of Fire Soundtrack Delta Maneuvers Great Achievers David Reilly Bruton 134/BRG 43 CD 6 ship Bon-Ton Iron & Steel John Epping Sonoton 45 Line abreast pass Love's Theme Barry White Rhapsody in White Bomb Burst Olympic Fanfare John Williams Pomp & Pizazz/Erich Kunzel Pitch-Up Break and Landing Gold Alan Hawkshaw KPM 36 Taxi Back Salute to the Future Alan Hawkshaw KPM 36 Taxi Back Action Scene John Bahler First Com FC-A2 Taxi Back Air Express Derek Richards Omnimusic 36 Taxi Back Unknown title ???????? ??????????? Taxi Back Corazon Walter Murphy Valentino CD 25 Taxi Back Go For The Gold Walter Murphy Valentino CD 8 Taxi Back Criterion John Manchester Omnimusic 56 Taxi Back Parallax John Manchester Omnimusic 56 Taxi Back Business Sense John Manchester Omnimusic 56 Taxi Back Action Walter Murphy Valentino CD 1 Taxi Back/Park God Bless The USA Lee Greenwood God Bless the USA Engine shutdown/egress This music was known to be used from 1988 to at least 1998 or so. They have since switched over to using other production music selections and I don't have those updates. Some songs in some places have remained the same. As soon as I call my contacts on the team, I'll update this page or make a new music page. ******* UPDATE********* In 1996, the Thunderbirds changed some of the music. One selection was replaced: "Touchdown" by Walter Murphy/Valentino Music used when the pilots get in the jets. It has been replaced with "Bone Crusher" by Grant Geissman/Network Music CD 119. In 2000 a documentary was produced by Mountain Lake PBS in New York State called "Reach For The Sky- Inside The USAF Thunderbirds". It aired on PBS stations throughout the USA in the summer of 2001. The theme music used for this great documentary is from the FirstCom Music Library, and is called "Destiny Road", composed by Bruce Chianese and Geoff Levin, found on FirstCom CD 28, "Epic Orchestra". This documentary can be ordered via the Mountain Lake Thunderbirds site in both VHS and DVD format, and the DVD contains an extra 120 minutes of footage including video from inside the cockpit of the Boss' jet, a music video on Las Vegas, producer commentary, and footage from Europe, Cheyenne, Battle Creek, Burlington, flight team bios, and more. For the DVD, click here: VIDEO. |
| Production Music Libraries: KPM Music Library Associated Production Music APM Catalog Valentino Production Music Omnimusic FirstCom Network Production Music Killer Tracks Sonoton Bruton |
| Page Owner: Gonzalo Duque "Gonzo" Created: April 2001 Profile: tbirddmnd E-mail me: tbirddmnd@worldnet.att.net if you have questions about the music or the Thunderbirds. Photos courtesy of the USAF Thunderbirds Thanks to Thunderbird Staff Sgt Jopet Manseguiao, TSgt. Michael Rux and also to the Boss' office assistant, Ms. Maureen Walker. A special thanks to former Thunderbirds for their invaluable help: Enlisted: Kevin Trostle, Don McKim, Mike Gole, Mike Cavanaugh, Stan Woodford, Tom Buschang, Terrell Murray, Rhett Davis, Joe Barron "Sleeve", Jason White "Flash", Mark Schultz, Chris Bailey, Scott Stoeckle, Bill Kerr. Officers: Russ Quinn, Solo:1995-1996; Matt Modleski, Solo:1996-1997; John Keith "JK" Switzer, Narrator:1993-1994/Solo: 1995; Steve Andersen, Boss:1994-1995; Ronald Mumm, Boss:1996-1997. Visit the Canadian Snowbirds site! Listen to Snowbirds audio HERE! Click here for Thunderbirds Frequently Asked Questions and more photos! Visit the Network News Music site! Visit a great site in Canada currently editing an airshow documentary!! Recent news: I will be narrating a Thunderbirds segment for an upcoming Canadian airshow video to be distributed in North America and eventually world-wide! More details to follow! Click here for a Quicktime video sample: Thunderbirds video Click here for page 2 and the current music with more photos! UPDATE 10 MARCH 2004: The Thunderbirds will be changing over their entire music selections and as of today it has not yet been finalized. It will be a mixture of production library music and pop/vocals. As soon as I receive a list of the changes I'll make those music selections known. |
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