Alf Clausen may not have written the iconic opening credits theme song from The Simpsons, but he’s been at the helm for just about every other piece of music we’ve ever heard on the show – until now.
After 27 years working on The Simpsons, Clausen tells Variety that he has been let go, with producer Richard Sakai telling him the show needed “a different kind of music”.
Having first worked on season two’s ‘Treehouse of Horror’ halloween episode, Clausen was responsible for everything from the Itchy & Scratchy theme song to the closing credits score, also penning other beloved favourites like Apu’s ‘Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?’ and Mr, Burns’ ‘See My Vest’.
During his 27 years with the Simpsons, Clausen was nominated for a whopping 27 Emmys for his work on the show, although he was only awarded 2 of those.
Fox had no comment for Variety, but they believe the move might be an effort to cut costs in the face of ever-increasing competition, as Clausen employed a 35-piece orchestra to record the music for each and every episode.
Alf Clausen’s work has been iconic throughout his 27 years on The Simpsons
While The Simpsons still pulled in the best ratings of any of Fox’s comedy shows last season, averaging a 1.77 rating (4.1 million viewers), it has fallen a long way from its generally accepted peak of quality around 20 seasons ago, and the ratings have shrunk to reflect that.
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Putting it all in perspective, the show scored its highest ratings ever in 1990 with 33.6 million viewers tuning in to watch ‘Bart Gets An ‘F” – and it’s easy to justify hiring a 35-piece orchestra when you’re doing those kinds of numbers.
The Simpsons has had a rough month in terms of publicity, as a couple of weeks back long-time cartoonist Mimi Pond – who wrote the show’s very first episode – claimed she was held back from a permanent position on the staff due to sexism in the writers room.
“It had remained a boys’ club for a good long time. I feel like I was just as qualified as anyone else who came along and got hired on the show, and it was just because I was a woman that I was, you know, not allowed entry into that club.”
Who knows what the plan is now that Clausen’s gone, but we expect the music budget will be cut back significantly:
