Uploaded May 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
LETS TALK ABOUT (BIG BAND) MUSIC - 9 - DUKE ELLINGTON
" Luck is everything, but it means nothing unless you're ready musically and morally to exploit it . . . My own conception of luck can be defined as follows: being in the right place at the right time doing the right things before the right people."
HUGO STRASSER
Hugo Strasser was born April 7th 1922 in Munich and became a famous German clarinetist and bandleader. The orchestra is known for its dance music, especially through the album series "Dance Record of the Year" and the musical sound and rhythm-settings in many dance championships. He formed his own 16-man dance band in the post WWII years and still today plays at many balls, including, inter alia, the Carnival balls, the Bayerischer Rundfunks. Many of his band members such as the late tenor saxophonist Werner Tauber, Hans Ehrlinger trombonist, trumpeter Etienne Cap and guitarist Dirk Schweppe were/are outstanding arrangers for their instruments. Although the orchestra has been around for all those years, there were only few personnel changes.
UNCHAINED MELODY
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North used the music as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained, hence the name. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. It has since become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some estimates having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages.
Les Baxter released an instrumental version which reached number 1. Then came song recordings by Al Hibbler ; Jimmy Young and Roy Hamilton Hundreds of other recordings followed. However, it was the July 1965 version by The Righteous Brothers that became a jukebox standard for the late 20th century, achieving a second round of great popularity when it was featured in the 1990 blockbuster film "Ghost."
MHO
By adding a catchy background rhythm, arranger Benny Gebauer creates a whole different version of the world famous song, but at the same time the romantic feel of the song is preserved by using the appropriate orchestration. As can be expected when Hugo Strasser and his orchestra appear on the scene, it's Strasser himself who performs the (wonderful) clarinet solo's.
Appearing as the ultimate number one hit song in many 20th century hitlists and rankings, "Unchained melody" could easily be in the "evergreens" category, but with most people linking the song to the 1965 release by The Righteous Brothers, we thought it should be featured in our "orchestral pop" category.
Well, .. never mind those categories : let's just enjoy the music shall we ;-) ?
LETS TALK ABOUT (BIG BAND) MUSIC - 9 - DUKE ELLINGTON
" Luck is everything, but it means nothing unless you're ready musically and morally to exploit it . . . My own conception of luck can be defined as follows: being in the right place at the right time doing the right things before the right people."
HUGO STRASSER
Hugo Strasser was born April 7th 1922 in Munich and became a famous German clarinetist and bandleader. The orchestra is known for its dance music, especially through the album series "Dance Record of the Year" and the musical sound and rhythm-settings in many dance championships. He formed his own 16-man dance band in the post WWII years and still today plays at many balls, including, inter alia, the Carnival balls, the Bayerischer Rundfunks. Many of his band members such as the late tenor saxophonist Werner Tauber, Hans Ehrlinger trombonist, trumpeter Etienne Cap and guitarist Dirk Schweppe were/are outstanding arrangers for their instruments. Although the orchestra has been around for all those years, there were only few personnel changes.
UNCHAINED MELODY
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North used the music as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained, hence the name. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. It has since become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some estimates having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages.
Les Baxter released an instrumental version which reached number 1. Then came song recordings by Al Hibbler ; Jimmy Young and Roy Hamilton Hundreds of other recordings followed. However, it was the July 1965 version by The Righteous Brothers that became a jukebox standard for the late 20th century, achieving a second round of great popularity when it was featured in the 1990 blockbuster film "Ghost."
MHO
By adding a catchy background rhythm, arranger Benny Gebauer creates a whole different version of the world famous song, but at the same time the romantic feel of the song is preserved by using the appropriate orchestration. As can be expected when Hugo Strasser and his orchestra appear on the scene, it's Strasser himself who performs the (wonderful) clarinet solo's.
Appearing as the ultimate number one hit song in many 20th century hitlists and rankings, "Unchained melody" could easily be in the "evergreens" category, but with most people linking the song to the 1965 release by The Righteous Brothers, we thought it should be featured in our "orchestral pop" category.
Well, .. never mind those categories : let's just enjoy the music shall we ;-) ?
