One of the most influential big-band arrangers of the '40s and '50s, Neal Hefti’s first real taste of the big time came when he joined the Woody Herman band in 1944, arranging many of the band’s most popular recordings, including "The Good Earth," "Wild Root," and "Caldonia." In the mid-'50s, along with Ernie Wilkins and Nat Pierce, he helped give the Count Basie band the new distinctive, tighter style that led to the magnificent Atomic Basie, which featured Hefti’s classic "Li’l Darlin’’ and "Splanky." Hefti subsequently composed for films, including Sex and the Single Woman (1965), How to Murder Your Wife (1965), Barefoot in the Park (1966), The Odd Couple (1968), and Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972), and television (notably the classic theme for Batman).