"Suicide Is Painless" is a song written by Johnny Mandel (music) and Mike Altman (lyrics), which is best known for being featured as the theme song for both the movie and TV series M*A*S*H. Johnny Mandel (born 23 November 1925 in New York) is an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. ... Mike Altman (born 1955) is the son of film director Robert Altman. ... Lyrics are the words in songs. ... The theme music of a radio or television program is a melody closely associated with the show, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits. ... MASH is a 1970 satirical American dark comedy film directed by Robert Altman and based on the novel M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker. ... M*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, inspired by the 1968 novel M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker (penname for H. Richard Hornberger) and its sequels, but primarily by the 1970 film MASH, and influenced by the... M*A*S*H title screen from the television series M*A*S*H was a media franchise active, in various forms, from 1968 to 1986. ...

Mike Altman was the son of the original film's director, Robert Altman, and was 14 years old when he composed the song's lyrics. On an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the 1980s, Robert Altman said that his son earned more than a million dollars for co-writing the song while he only made $70,000 for directing the movie. In addition to being sung by Johnny Mandel over the film's opening credits, the movie also features a scene that begins when Walter Koskiusko Waldowski, a dentist nicknamed “Painless Pole”, declares his intention to commit suicide, and the song is sung by Ken Prymus (playing Sergeant Seidman) during the suicide scene. Several instrumental versions of the song were used as the theme for the TV series (in which “Painless Pole” was mentioned, but never appeared). Robert Bernard Altman (February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Capt. ... A Dentist and Dental Assistant perform surgery on a patient. ... This article or section seems to contain too many examples (or of a poor quality) for an encyclopedia entry. ... Captain Walter Koskiusko Painless Pole Waldowski, DDS was a fictional character in Richard Hookers 1968 novel M*A*S*H, and in the 1970 film of the same name. ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ... An instrumental is, in contrast to a song, a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. ...

First released in 1970, it belatedly became a number one hit in the UK in 1980 after being championed by BBC Radio 1 DJ Noel Edmonds. The refrain is well-known: This page redirects from Radio 1. See Radio 1 (disambiguation). ... For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). ... Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948 in Ilford, Essex) is a British television presenter, DJ, executive who made his name on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He is more recently known as the presenter of the television gameshow Deal or No Deal. ... A refrain (from the Old French refraindre to repeat, likely from Vulgar Latin refringere) is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the chorus of a song. ...

Suicide is painless,

It brings on many changes,

And I can take or leave it if I please

Cover versions

• Bill Evans recorded a jazz piano trio version of the song for You Must Believe in Spring, an album posthumously released in 1981, having made it a staple of his live sets for some years.
• Manic Street Preachers released a cover version as a charity single to help The Spastics Society (now Scope) in 1992. It was their first UK top ten hit. See Suicide Is Painless (MSP single).
• Marilyn Manson, well known for recording cover versions, did a version for the soundtrack of Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 in 2000.
• Royal Trux recorded a version for the BBC John Peel radio show in 1993. It was later released on a Royal Trux compilation called "Singles, Live, Unreleased." On the compilation the song is titled "Theme from M.A.S.H."
• Ahmad Jamal recorded an instrumental jazz-funk version of the song on his 1974 release Jamalca titled "Theme From M.A.S.H."
• Killarmy sampled the music for their 1997 track "5 Stars" from the Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars album.
• Kelis does her own interpretation of the song in her single "Lil Star" (with Cee-Lo, from Gnarls Barkley).
• Art Of Noise, perform a short instrumental interpolation, on their 1984 track, "A Time for Fear (Who's Afraid)". Featured on both Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? and Daft.
• Cal Tjader recorded a version on his album The Shining Sea (1981).
• Jimmy Smith recorded a version on his album Off the Top (1982).
• Barði Jóhannson and Keren Ann cover this song on their collaboration called Lady and Bird (2003).
• Matt Costa, singer-songwriter from Huntington Beach, California, covered the song on his six-track The Elasmosaurus E.P. in 2005.
• Lady and Bird, on the self-titled album of this collaboration of singer/songwriter Keren Ann and Barði Jóhannson, lead singer of Icelandic band Bang Gang.
• Al De Lory recorded a jazz piano version entitled "Song from MASH" that was an adult contemporary hit a few months after the movie was released in 1970.
• Paul Desmond (alto saxophone) played together with Ed Bickert (e-guitar), Ron Carter (bass) and Connie Kay (drums) an instrumental version on his album Pure Desmond in 1974.

William John Evans (better known as Bill Evans) (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and one of the most famous of the 20th century; he remains one of the major influences on post-1950s jazz piano. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... A charity record (also known as a charity single) is a release of a song for a specific charitable cause. ... SCOPE is a UK based charity for disabled people in England and Wales. ... Suicide is Painless was Manic Street Preachers tenth single. ... Marilyn Manson is a rock band based in Los Angeles, California. ... Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 is the sequel to the movie The Blair Witch Project. ... Royal Trux was an American rock band, founded by Neil Hagerty (vocals, guitar) and Jennifer Herrema (vocals). ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... “Peel Sessions” redirects here. ... Ahmad Jamal in 1994 Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones on July 2, 1930)[1] is a highly-regarded American jazz pianist. ... Killarmy (pronounced kih-LA-AR-me) is a Hip Hop group, best-known through its affiliation with the Wu-Tang Clan. ... Killarmy is the earliest and most successful of the many Wu-Tang affiliates that emerged in the mid-to-late 1990s. ... Kelis Rogers-Jones (born Kelis Rogers on August 21, 1979[1]), professionally known as Kelis, is an American R&B singer and songwriter. ... Cee-Lo Green is the stage name of Thomas DeCarlo Callaway (born May 30, 1974), an American hip hop, funk, soul, and R&B musician. ... Gnarls Barkley is a Grammy-award winning musical collaboration between DJ, multi-instrumentalist and producer Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) from Baltimore, and rapper/vocalist Cee-Lo Green (Thomas Callaway), from Atlanta. ... Art of Noise Edited twelve inch single featured the iconic Art of Noise mask Art of Noise was an avant-garde synthpop group formed in 1983 by producer Trevor Horn, music journalist Paul Morley, and session musicians/studio hands Anne Dudley, J.J. Jeczalik, and Gary Langan. ... In music, interpolation is an abrupt change of elements, with (almost immediate) continuation of the first idea. ... Whos Afraid Of The Art Of Noise? was The Art Of Noises 1984 debut album and featured the UK hit singles: Close (To The Edit) which reached No. ... Daft is a compilation collecting the Art of Noise LP Whos Afraid Of The Art Of Noise?, along with the Into Battle With The Art of Noise and Moments in Love EPs. ... Cal Tjader (July 16, 1925–May 5, 1982) was an American Latin jazz musician. ... A young Jimmy Smith, on the 1958 album House Party Jimmy Smith, nicknamed The Incredible Jimmy Smith, (December 8, 1925 – February 8, 2005) was a jazz musician whose Hammond B-3 electric organ performances helped to popularize this instrument. ... La disparition Keren Ann (born Keren Ann Zeidel in Cesarea, Israel, on March 10, 1974) is a singer based largely in Paris; her first two albums were sung entirely in French, her third in English and her fourth in both French and English. ... Lady and Bird is an album from the collaboration of Keren Ann and Barði Jóhannson. ... Matt Costa (born June 16, 1982) is a singer/songwriter from Huntington Beach, California. ... Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in southern California. ... Lady and Bird is an album from the collaboration of Keren Ann and Barði Jóhannson. ... La disparition Keren Ann (born Keren Ann Zeidel in Cesarea, Israel, on March 10, 1974) is a singer based largely in Paris; her first two albums were sung entirely in French, her third in English and her fourth in both French and English. ... The Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart (formerly known as Adult Contemporary Singles and only Adult Contemporary) lists the most popular songs weekly calculated by airplay and occasionally sales. ... Paul Desmond (25 November 1924 - 30 May 1977), born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, was a jazz alto saxophonist and composer born in San Francisco, perhaps best known for penning Take Five as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Ed Bickert, jazz guitarist Ed Bickert was born in Hochfeld, Manitoba on November 29, 1932, and raised in Vernon, British Columbia. ... An electric guitar is a type of guitar with a solid or semi-solid body that utilizes electromagnetic pickups to convert the vibration of the steel-cored strings into electrical current. ... Ron Carter (born May 4, 1937, Ferndale, Michigan) is an American jazz bassist. ... The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a bass string instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping, or using a pick. ... Connie Kay (born Conrad Henry Kirnon on 27 April 1927-died 30 November 1994) was an American jazz drummer. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ...

Trivia

• The refrain also is heard in the Family Guy movie Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, when a drunken Stewie sings it to Brian at the Drunken Clam.
• Similarly, a drunken Toby Ziegler absently mumbles the song to himself in The West Wing episode "The Stormy Present", while flying on Air Force One to the funeral of a former president.
• In the 2007 independent New Zealand film Manders, the lead character whispers this song constantly while torturing his victims.
• In the 20th issue of The Sandman comic book series by Neil Gaiman, the character Element Girl sings this song to Death while asking to be released from life.
• Australian comedy band, Tripod, have a song which outlines the (fictional) annoyance that the writer of Suicide is Painless has, as a result of everyone knowing the song as "The Theme from MASH"

Family Guy is an Emmy award winning American animated television series about a nuclear family in the fictional town of Quahog (IPA or ), Rhode Island. ... Stewart Gilligan Stewie Griffin is a fictional character in the animated television series Family Guy. ... Brian Griffin is a fictional cartoon character on the FOX animated television series Family Guy, and is voiced by show creator, Seth MacFarlane. ... Tobias Zachary Toby Ziegler, is a fictional character played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. ... “The West Wing” redirects here. ... The Stormy Present is episode 98 of The West Wing. ... For other uses, see Air Force One (disambiguation). ... The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman. ... Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, and films. ... Element Girl is the name of a DC Comics superhero. ... Death is a fictional character from the DC comic book series, The Sandman (1988 - 1996). ...

External links

• Suicide Is Painless
• MASH opening credit sequences 1972-1983 - compares different recordings of the theme throughout the show's run