Spanning seven decades of illustrious career, Clint Eastwood is one of the most celebrated figures in Hollywood. From being an actor to a filmmaker, he also made a living out of music. The famed director is particularly fond of jazz songs.
He may have tried a couple of other genres to go with the trends of his time, such as rock and roll, but he admits to never really liking it, and he would always go back to playing jazz.
Clint Eastwood Talks About That One Song He Released In The ‘60s
During his interview with Fresh Air, veteran filmmaker Clint Eastwood discussed his song ‘Unknown Girl of My Dreams’ which he recorded in 1961. He told the host:
“Yeah, I think I did something like that. In those days, they would take actors who were on a series, and they would figure, well, it’s a head start. At least their face is familiar. Their character is familiar, and maybe they could get a record going for them. I recorded a few times, but I can’t say that anything was earth-shattering about it.”
The interviewer remarked that the arrangement of the song sounded “kind of very generically produced pop recording” which Eastwood defended:
“I have to give you a lot of points on that one. But, yeah, well, you know, you’re just – that’s what music was all about in the ‘60s. Everything was starting to get into the rock and roll era, and it wasn’t complicated. But to have to listen – you think looking at yourself at the screen is tough. That is really tough.”
He was never a fan of the rock and roll era, though he admitted recording the song was not really a big deal for him. It’s seeing himself perform was the challenging one.
Clint Eastwood On Why He Never Explored Rock And Roll Genre
In another interview with Rolling Stone, Clint Eastwood explained why he never fell in love with rock and roll despite its popularity in the ‘60s. Even his contemporaries like Jack Nicholson and Harrison Ford were beguiled by the genre. He confessed:
“I’ve loved a lot of rhythm & blues and some rock & roll. When you go back and listen to the music of the ’60s, some of it is quite good. But I must say I never got drawn into the rock & roll generation. I just kind of missed it, growing up in the ’40s. For me, it was big band and bebop.”
He admitted it did not ignite or stir a fire inside him as compared to jazz. Furthermore, Eastwood said:
“In the ’60s I sort of skipped by rock. It didn’t musically inspire me a lot. But I love rhythm & blues, which is sort of the inspiration for rock & roll. To me, rock & roll seemed like sort of a white version of rhythm & blues.”
In a documentary, Eastwood claimed that jazz and blues music are the true forms of American art, perhaps the only original art forms that existed. Interestingly, the director’s music career received moderate success until the ‘80s.