1958 The Big Country Opening Music BY Jerome Moross (The Big Country SOUNDTRACK)

Directed by William Wyler and starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carrol Baker, Charlton Heston and Burl Ives, this epic western was based on the serialized magazine novel Ambush at Blanco Canyon by Donald Hamilton. The Academy-Award nominated score composed and conducted by Jerome Moross (The Valley of Gwangi, The War Lord, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Proud Rebel) is undoubtedly one of the most popular soundtracks ever released. It changed the landscape of western movie scores, veering the approach away from spare folk songs to a lavish, American-flavored orchestral sound—suggestive of the open-air music of Moross’ friend Aaron Copland.