Lizzo Plays Flute on New Version of Henry Mancini's Classic 'Pink Panther': Watch

Lizzo is featured on a new track, but it's probably not what you expect.

The singer, known for such hits as "Good as Hell" and "About Damn Time," is featured playing flute along with Sir James Galway on a new version of the late Henry Mancini's iconic movie theme "Pink Panther."

The track is part of a tribute album to the legendary composer marking his 100th birthday titled The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions -- Henry Has Company, due June 21 from Primary Wave Music.

"Pink Panter" follows the previous album preview track "Peter Gunn," featuring Quincy Jones, John Williams, Herbie Hancock, and Arturo Sandoval. That track has special meaning for this writer, as it was the theme of a late '50s TV show starring Craig Steven, who I was named for. The song also became a hit twice for recently deceased Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Duane Eddy -- first his version in 1960 and then in 1986 with the British duo Art of Noise.

The Music From Peter Gunn was also a chart-topping album for Mancini that spent 10 weeks at No. 1 beginning in February 1959. In an interview for The Billboard Book of Number One Albums, Mancini explained the inspiration behind the song.

With much of the show originating from a jazz club called Mother's, the primary sound of the series was jazz except, that is, for the throbbing, rhythmic pulse of the famed theme song. "I just felt that when you said, 'Peter Gunn,' the name was very strong with an exclamation point," said Mancini. "I never even thought of the fact that it wasn't jazz."

Although RCA Victor funded the album, the company wasn't completely behind it at first. "They didn't have much faith in it at all," Mancini recalled. "They didn't know me from Adam." In fact, RCA tried to get trumpeter/arranger Shorty Rogers, who was signed to the label, involved in the project. "I went to lunch with Shorty and he said, 'This is your music. I have no business coming in here to record this. Why don't you do it?' And that's what he told the RCA people, so I did it," said Mancini.

Mancini will also be honored with a special concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, marking the opening of the venue's 2024 season on June 23. The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Wilkins, is set to perform Mancini's music along with special guests Michael Bublé, Cynthia Erivo, and Monica Mancini.

Lizzo, meanwhile, was recently parodied in an episode South Park. "My worst fear has been actualized... I've been referenced in a South Park episode. I'm so scared," she said.

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