Uploaded December 2014 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE CHARTS - 1961
Ferrante and Teicher ♪♪♪ Theme From Exodus ♪♪♪ Highest Charts Position = 2
This song was from the movie" Exodus" . The music was written by Ernest Gold. Numerous other artists recorded their own version of it, be it vocal or instrumental.
DON COSTA
Costa began as a guitarist with theatre orchestras in Boston. He moved to New York and worked as a studio musician (he and Bucky Pizzarelli played the dual guitars behind Vaughn Monroe on his biggest hit, "Ghost Riders in the Sky") while trying to get established as an arranger. His big break came when Eydie Gorme and Steve Lawrence asked him to provide some arrangers for their early records on Coral. Soon, the Costa-Gorme-Lawrence team moved to ABC-Paramount, and Costa took over as ABC's lead A&R man and house arranger. While at ABC, Costa launched the career of a teenager from Canada named Paul Anka.
In 1959, Costa moved with Lawrence and Gorme to the new United Artists label, and Costa released a number of albums under his own name. His cover of "Never On Sunday" sold over a million copies and was the most successful recording of the song. He liked very dense arrangements--Billy Byers called him "the Puccini of pop," saying that his arrangements were "seething with melody." On "Echoing Voices and Trombones," Costa's use of the chorus sounds like Ray Conniff on speed.
In the early 1960s, Costa formed his own production company (Don Costa Productions) and began developing a number of acts, including Trini Lopez and Little Anthony and the Imperials. Frank Sinatra hired him away from Lawrence and Gorme as his main arranger and conductor, and later, producer.
Costa knew exactly what worked commercially, and that apparently was what Sinatra was looking for in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Costa continued to work for Sinatra as his touring conductor until he was stricken with heart disease in the early 1980s. Costa also scored several films, including "Rough Night in Jericho" and "Madigan".
APRIL IN PORTUGAL
"April in Portugal" is a popular song, also named "The Whisp'ring Serenade." The music and lyrics were written by Raul Ferrão as a fado named "Coimbra", about the city of that name in 1947. English lyrics written by Jimmy Kennedy were set to the music, though many of the most popular versions of the song were instrumentals.
Charting versions were recorded by the Les Baxter orchestra, the Richard Hayman orchestra and the Freddy Martin orchestra,
MHO
Superb arrangement of the Ferrao "classic" (song composed in 1947) with Don Costa and His Orchestra in great shape.
There is lot's to be discovered here and the musical excitement can be heard already during the very first notes.
The wonderful intro invites the listener to further discover the song and that's exactly what this recording is : a musical discovery journey - a journey where one will meet a great composition, a marvellous arrangement and .... a brilliant orchestra. Enjoy !
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE CHARTS - 1961
Ferrante and Teicher ♪♪♪ Theme From Exodus ♪♪♪ Highest Charts Position = 2
This song was from the movie" Exodus" . The music was written by Ernest Gold. Numerous other artists recorded their own version of it, be it vocal or instrumental.
DON COSTA
Costa began as a guitarist with theatre orchestras in Boston. He moved to New York and worked as a studio musician (he and Bucky Pizzarelli played the dual guitars behind Vaughn Monroe on his biggest hit, "Ghost Riders in the Sky") while trying to get established as an arranger. His big break came when Eydie Gorme and Steve Lawrence asked him to provide some arrangers for their early records on Coral. Soon, the Costa-Gorme-Lawrence team moved to ABC-Paramount, and Costa took over as ABC's lead A&R man and house arranger. While at ABC, Costa launched the career of a teenager from Canada named Paul Anka.
In 1959, Costa moved with Lawrence and Gorme to the new United Artists label, and Costa released a number of albums under his own name. His cover of "Never On Sunday" sold over a million copies and was the most successful recording of the song. He liked very dense arrangements--Billy Byers called him "the Puccini of pop," saying that his arrangements were "seething with melody." On "Echoing Voices and Trombones," Costa's use of the chorus sounds like Ray Conniff on speed.
In the early 1960s, Costa formed his own production company (Don Costa Productions) and began developing a number of acts, including Trini Lopez and Little Anthony and the Imperials. Frank Sinatra hired him away from Lawrence and Gorme as his main arranger and conductor, and later, producer.
Costa knew exactly what worked commercially, and that apparently was what Sinatra was looking for in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Costa continued to work for Sinatra as his touring conductor until he was stricken with heart disease in the early 1980s. Costa also scored several films, including "Rough Night in Jericho" and "Madigan".
APRIL IN PORTUGAL
"April in Portugal" is a popular song, also named "The Whisp'ring Serenade." The music and lyrics were written by Raul Ferrão as a fado named "Coimbra", about the city of that name in 1947. English lyrics written by Jimmy Kennedy were set to the music, though many of the most popular versions of the song were instrumentals.
Charting versions were recorded by the Les Baxter orchestra, the Richard Hayman orchestra and the Freddy Martin orchestra,
MHO
Superb arrangement of the Ferrao "classic" (song composed in 1947) with Don Costa and His Orchestra in great shape.
There is lot's to be discovered here and the musical excitement can be heard already during the very first notes.
The wonderful intro invites the listener to further discover the song and that's exactly what this recording is : a musical discovery journey - a journey where one will meet a great composition, a marvellous arrangement and .... a brilliant orchestra. Enjoy !
