“The River’s Edge” (1957) – Bob Winn * Written by Louis Forbes and Bobby Troup * 45: “The River’s Edge” / “Only Trust Your Heart” * Label: Imperial
Info is scarce about the mannered singer Bob Winn, who recorded a handful of singles for Imperial to tepid reviews from Billboard. (He’s presumably not the same Bob Winn who produced the TV show Real People.) A 1957 single of his featured two movie themes, “Only Trust Your Heart” for the Dean Martin vehicle Ten Thousand Bedrooms, and the title theme for The River’s Edge. The latter film starred Anthony Quinn and Ray Milland, who both seem twice Debra Paget’s age, but wrangle over her in the Mexican wild all the same. The song was written by Bobby Troup (“Route 66,” “The Three Bears”) and Lou Forbes, with eerie orchestra and chorus arrangements (featuring high female voices that foretell death) by Jimmie Haskell, who would later do strings for the hit versions of “Ode to Billie Joe” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The version as heard in the film plays below.