Alex North used parts of his rejected score for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) for this film. For example, the main title music was originally composed for the space station phone call sequence of 2001, but here rearranged with a female vocalist added.
The film was nominated for one Oscar (Academy Award) for ''Best Music, Original Dramatic Score'' for composer Alex North but lost out to Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola for The Godfather Part II (1974). Alex North was Oscar nominated fifteen times in total without ever winning. He finally was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1986. His score for "Shanks" was his twelfth Oscar nomination.