Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet

"Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet"
Single by Henry Mancini
from the album A Warm Shade of Ivory
B-side	"The Windmills of Your Mind"
Released	May 1969
Format	7"
Genre	Pop
Length	2:29
Label	RCA Victor
Writer(s)	Nino Rota
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Henry Mancini singles chronology
Wait Until Dark" (1967) Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet (1969) "Theme from "Love Story" (1970)

"Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet", also known as "A Time for Us", is an instrumental arranged by Henry Mancini (from Nino Rota's music written for Franco Zeffirelli's film of Romeo and Juliet, starring Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey). It was a number-one pop hit in the United States during the year 1969. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on June 28, 1969, and remained there for two weeks; it was also his only Top Ten single on that chart.^[1]

Rearranged by Mancini, the song started competing with rock and roll songs from The Beatles and the Rolling Stones on an Orlando, Florida radio station and spread from there. It faced stiff opposition from some radio stations for being too soft. Those stations had to change their mind when the song became number one.^[1]

This release also topped the U.S. easy listening chart for eight weeks where it was Mancini's sole number one on the chart.^[2]

Guitarist Joe Pass recorded a jazz interpolation of the song for his 1969 album Guitar Interludes.

References

1. Bronson, Fred (1992). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits - revised & enlarged. New York: Billboard Books. p. 255. ISBN 0-8230-8298-9.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 154.