Who is Peter Tevis (And Why Is Bob Cumbow Talkin' About Him)?

The following is a portion of an email author and attorney Bob Cumbow sent to a few friends in May. With his permission, I'm reproducing it here, as I thought the information was worth sharing.

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As you might recall, I notified some of you a couple months ago that Peter Tevis--who sang the lyrics to several of the title songs from spaghetti westerns--lives on Mercer Island (who knew?). Tevis was more important to the evolution of the spaghetti western than most people know, because, in 1962, Peter introduced a song to Ennio Morricone. At that time, Morricone had scored two or three films, unremarkably, and was known primarily as an arranger of pop recordings. Peter was a Californian who had come to Italy in order to get "cheap singing lessons," and found himself becoming a sort of small-time celebrity, singing American folk ballads, cowboy songs, and western movie themes for enthusiastic Italian audiences. He had a traveling concert show as well as several hit singles.

Anyway, Peter told Ennio that he wanted to record the song "Pastures of Plenty," one of Woody Guthrie's greatest compositions. Together, they worked out an arrangement. RCA issued it as a 45rpm vinyl single, and it became a big hit. Now you have to listen to that arrangement to really understand this, but with only a tweak here and a shift there, that song and arrangement became the main title to A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. Minus Peter's voice and Woody's lyrics, and plus Alessandro Alessandroni's whistling. RCA suppressed the hit single of "Pastures of Plenty" and supplanted it with the FISTFUL theme, which became (along with the film) an international sensation. Peter pretty much got screwed, but that early collaboration with Ennio was what created "the sound" that the world now associates with spaghetti westerns and with a "school" of about three dozen composers who worked in Italian film from the peplums through the westerns, through the giallos and the horror films.

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Postscript: Knowing this, I made
it my business to seek out Mr. Tev-
is. It turns out he has advanced Parkinson's, and though he is lucid,
he is almost voiceless—a sad thing
to happen to a singer. It was my pleasure a couple of weeks ago to lunch with him and his wife (a charming Thai woman who cooks Italian as magnificently as she cooks Thai), and talk
about his years in Italy and his work in the films of the period.

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That marks the end of Bob's transmission. A search on Pet-
er's name brought up some of the lyrics he has sung over the
years. The following come from Spaghetti Western Lyrics:

Lonesome Billy
From Pistols Don't Argue
Music by Ennio Morricone
Sung by Peter Tevis
Always lonely
Always looking
To get even with the men,
Who did him wrong.
That was Billy
Lonesome Billy
Who was quick to think
A gun could make him strong.
No one tougher or more daring.
Only he and his gun sharing
The great fight to live
And his great love to fight.
A rough man who played with danger,
To whom trouble was no stranger,
Until one day he lay dying.
He'd filled his date with destiny.
Never friendly
Never trusting
Always kept one ready hand near his gun.
That was Billy
Lonesome Billy
The rough man
Who would rather kill than run.
The rough man
Who would rather kill than run.

 Gringo Like Me
From Gunfight at Red Sands
Music by Ennio Morricone
Sung by Peter Tevis

Keep your hand on your gun
Don't you trust anyone
There's just one kind of man
That you can trust
That's a dead man...
Or a gringo like me.
Be the first one to fire
Every man is a liar
There's just one kind of man
Who tells the truth
That's a dead man...
Or a gringo like me.
Don't be a fool for a smile
Or a kiss
Or your a bullet might miss.
Keep your eye on your goal.
There's just one rule
That can save you your life,
It's a hand on your knife
And the Devil in your soul!
Keep your hand on your gun
Don't you trust anyone
There's just one kind of man
That you can trust
That's a dead man...
Or a gringo like me.
Keep your hand on your gun
Don't you trust anyone
There's just one kind of man
That you can trust
That's a dead man...
Or a gringo like me...
Or a gringo like me...
Or a gringo like me...
...like me...



Endnote: Bob Cumbow is the author of Once Upon a Time: The Films of Sergio Leone. Over the years, he's loaned me countless DVDs, videos, etc. Whenever possible, I've tried to return the favor.