Oddball Update

In the fall of the year 2000, a small company in New York by the name of Hi-Tech Records released the so-called “first volume” of Knight Rider: The Original Television Soundtrack, as scored by Don Peake. I happened to discover this quite by accident, since as you can imagine, word of this product didn’t exactly get around in the mainstream media. I was lucky enough to bag two copies of the CD, one hand-signed by Don Peake himself—before Hi-Tech Records stole a ton of money from unfilled orders and promptly fled the scene.

Shortly before Hi-Tech’s commander-in-chief bugged out on everyone, I had been in contact with him via e-mail on several occasions, regarding the next album in the series. The second CD was to be called the “Knight Rider Ultimate Collection” and would feature a collection of tracks from the entire series. Whereas Volume 1 contains the complete score (well, almost complete) for four different third season episodes of Knight Rider, Volume 2 was meant to cull the “best of the best” tracks from the whole show and pack them onto one album.

Obviously, since Hi-Tech “disbanded” in 2001, the Ultimate Collection CD never got produced, although preliminary work was started on it (I still have a handful of unmastered sample tracks from its development phase). After being betrayed by this scourge of an outfit, composer Don Peake was naturally very pissed. Universal Studios wasn’t too happy, either. After Hi-Tech fucked up royally, Universal hoarded the original Knight Rider soundtrack master tapes, not wanting even Don Peake to gain access to them. I actually contacted Don via e-mail a few times in the interim; he always said he wanted to get the soundtrack project started again, but was having trouble getting Universal to play along.

But now, there’s word that there might be a light at the end of this tunnel…

Speaking as a guest of honor at the Knight Nationals in Vandalia, Ohio last weekend, Don Peake announced that he would like to do another Knight Rider soundtrack CD. He asked the crowd of loyal Knight Rider fanatics gathered there to help him choose tracks and selections for the new album. So our marching orders were clearly spelled out: Cull though our ridiculously large VHS libraries and find the best music of the series, then let Don know what we thought!

So now I’m so giddy with excitement, my hands are shaking. Finally! No musical score on earth has ever moved me or excited me like that of Knight Rider—there is simply something about the theme, in all its many synthesized forms, which I have always adored. Even the people I’ve talked to who thought Knight Rider was “gay beyond belief” still could hear the music in their heads and remembered it as one of the coolest themes of the ‘80s. With so much of the ‘80s now making a comeback in popular culture, what better time for a revival of that classic sound?

So I know now what I must do. I’m going to surround myself with a heap of VHS tapes and DVDs, get a pen and a notebook, and find the absolute best tracks from every episode of Knight Rider I have. Sadly, most of the score for the first and second seasons is unavailable, as the master tapes’ whereabouts are unknown (unless that situation has changed in the last three years, when it was the case). Fortunately, most of the series’ best music (IMHO) was from seasons three and four, so that’s where I’ll start. In particular, some of my favorite selections include:

• Knight of the Juggernaut: Two BGM selections leading up to KITT’s destruction at the end of part 1. Some of the best suspense music heard in the entire series.
• Burial Ground: More great suspense music as Michael sneaks into an armed compound.
• White Line Warriors: The entire score for this episode is fair game. Fantastic, second-season-style goodness. And the final chase score is brilliantly energetic.
• Knights of the Fast Lane: The “casual-type” theme music as KITT drives onto the football field has been a clip that’s always been with me.
• Many Happy Returns: Tons of great stuff in this episode (I have recorded a few clips from the Columbia House VHS), but in particular I like the music that plays as Michael drives away from the docks where an oncoming car forced him to take an “unscheduled dip” in the ocean.
• Speed Demons: The end credits music, as well as the “tarantula chase” wherein KITT rolls down the hill, deserves some attention.

Beyond those specific mentions, I hope to find some additional examples this weekend and send an abbreviated list to Don Peake. I also intend to let him know that if the soundtrack project could use any volunteer help, I’m all ears. I’m sure that, being a musician since the sixties, Don’s got his fair share of audio specialists in his rolodex already. But I’d be more than happy to put a website together whereupon people could order copies of the album, or electronically promote the disc.

Anyway, I may be a bit overzealous about the whole affair, but didn’t I recently say that Knight Rider was one of my guilty pleasures?

Categorized as Media/Television