King Kong (soundtrack): History and Key Facts

King Kong (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the epic adventure monster film King Kong, directed by Peter Jackson. The film's music was initially set to be composed by Howard Shore, who recorded several cues for the film but opted out due to creative differences with the director. James Newton Howard replaced him and work on the film's score began in late October and was completed in late November, an overall duration of under six weeks. Howard stated that the film "[w]as the hardest to compose" due to the hectic scoring schedule as the film was set for release on December 14, 2005.

The score was recorded at the Sony Scoring Stage, California and Todd-AO, Los Angeles. Recording sessions consisted of a 108-piece orchestra and 40-member vocal choir. The score is heavily reliant on ethnic and varied instrumentation as well as ranging vocal sounds. While Howard produced much of the film's score, additional music production was done by Jim Weidman, who also worked as the music editor. It was released on December 7, 2005 by Decca Records and received positive critical response. Howard's score received several accolades, including a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.

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