OK, indulge us for a minute here as we pay tribute to Neal Hefti, who died last week at the age of 85. Though you may be saying "Neal who?" chances are the man's work was seared into your brain pan at a tender age. He wrote the back-beat-slamming theme for the original TV version of Batman (which was the first rock theme for any show), a machine-gunning number covered by folks such as the Who, the Kinks, the Jam, Jan and Dean, the Ventures, the Boston Pops and Iggy Pop, among countless others.
Hefti had a hefty list of musical accomplishments beyond Batman; he wrote and arranged for people like Count Basie, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra and composed extensively for film and television—Odd Couple theme, anyone? But really, it all goes back to the 53-second tune above, suitable for caped crusading or a Watusi in your living room.