Biography
Pete Carpenter (1914–1987) was an American composer, arranger and jazz trombonist. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, he began his career as a studio musician and band trombonist before moving into television scoring in the 1960s.
He collaborated with Earle Hagen on music for series including Bewitched (1964), Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964) and The Andy Griffith Show (1966–1967). From 1968 until his death he worked with Mike Post, composing themes and scores for over 1,800 hours of television. Their best-known work includes the Grammy-winning theme for The Rockford Files (1974), as well as music for Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976), CHiPs (1977), Magnum, P.I. (1980), The A-Team (1983) and Hunter (1984). A Pete Carpenter Memorial Fund was later established by Post and the BMI Foundation to support young composers.
