Uploaded December 2014 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
NEW !
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE CHARTS (1)
Year = 1960 ♪♪♪ Orchestra = Percy Faith ♪♪♪ Theme from A Summerplace ♪♪♪ Highest chart position = 1
Well into the rock era, band leader Percy Faith brought this orchestra instrumental to number one. The song became the top song of the year 1960, top song of the decade, and won Grammy Awards for both Song and Record Of The Year. There were many instrumental and vocal versions, including some by Percy Faith himself. This song was from the movie "A Summer Place" . and was written by Max Steiner.
JOHN GREGORY
Something of a musical chameleon, Johnny Gregory was one of England's most versatile arrangers and conductors of the space age pop era. At various times in various settings, he recorded as Johnny Gregory, Nino Ricci, Chaquito, and the Cascading Strings, and with each identity he took on a whole new musical style.
Gregory got an early start at the feet of his father, Frank Gregori, who led a dance band at a popular Quaglino's, a popular Italian restaurant in London in the 1930s and 1940s. Beginning in the late 1940s, he began working on his own, both as an arranger and as a performer, and eventually became something of a house arranger for Philips UK. He wrote numerous arrangements for vocalists, and, over the next twenty years, accompanied singers ranging from Matt Monro and Anthony Newley to Connie Francis, Cleo Laine, and Nana Mouskouri.
When 101 Strings, the Living Strings, and other easy listening string groups became commercial successes, Philips turned to Gregory, who learned the violin as his first instrument, for help. Gregory's "Cascading Strings" gave their U.S. counterparts a run for the money on the U.K. market, and outsold them by a wide margin in several lucrative international markets such as Japan. He later reprised his talent for strings with the popular (in the U.K., at least) Moods Orchestral series.
Not long after that, perhaps inspired by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and the Baja Marimba Band, Philips transformed Gregory into "Chaquito," a "Latin" bandleader. The Chaquito albums are very good, in fact, much better than many of the "original" South Americian band recordings.
In between all this, Gregory also recorded under his own name, usually showing off the full gamut of his talents. On Melodies of Japan, for example, he adapts Japanese folk melodies to styles ranging from lush strings to rocking bass-guitar-driven pop to moody cool lounge ala Martin Denny or Arthur Lyman.
WOULDN'T IT BE NICE
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is the opening track on the 1966 album Pet Sounds by the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was composed, arranged, and produced by Brian Wilson with words largely by Tony Asher. On July 18, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" was released backed with "God Only Knows" in the United States, which was the third single from the Pet Sounds album, released two months before. It entered the Billboard chart on July 30 and remained there for 11 weeks, peaking at number 8 in September 1966.
MHO
He arranged latin music like no other which was released under his alias "Chaquito". He (re-) arranged film- and television themes, often making them sound even more exciting than the original ones. And....he (re) arranged pop songs in a remarkably creative way - making them sound "different" while adding a certain touch of musical quality to them. This rendition of the Beach Boys' famous 60s hit is one of these "master arrangements" that are beautiful and intrigueing at the same time.
(Did you recognize the song immediately on first hearing or ...?)
This recording also made us think of "Pretty Flamingo" - another famous pophit that got a "special orchestral" touch when performed by some other UK Bands (see previous posts on this channel). Enjoy !
NEW !
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE CHARTS (1)
Year = 1960 ♪♪♪ Orchestra = Percy Faith ♪♪♪ Theme from A Summerplace ♪♪♪ Highest chart position = 1
Well into the rock era, band leader Percy Faith brought this orchestra instrumental to number one. The song became the top song of the year 1960, top song of the decade, and won Grammy Awards for both Song and Record Of The Year. There were many instrumental and vocal versions, including some by Percy Faith himself. This song was from the movie "A Summer Place" . and was written by Max Steiner.
JOHN GREGORY
Something of a musical chameleon, Johnny Gregory was one of England's most versatile arrangers and conductors of the space age pop era. At various times in various settings, he recorded as Johnny Gregory, Nino Ricci, Chaquito, and the Cascading Strings, and with each identity he took on a whole new musical style.
Gregory got an early start at the feet of his father, Frank Gregori, who led a dance band at a popular Quaglino's, a popular Italian restaurant in London in the 1930s and 1940s. Beginning in the late 1940s, he began working on his own, both as an arranger and as a performer, and eventually became something of a house arranger for Philips UK. He wrote numerous arrangements for vocalists, and, over the next twenty years, accompanied singers ranging from Matt Monro and Anthony Newley to Connie Francis, Cleo Laine, and Nana Mouskouri.
When 101 Strings, the Living Strings, and other easy listening string groups became commercial successes, Philips turned to Gregory, who learned the violin as his first instrument, for help. Gregory's "Cascading Strings" gave their U.S. counterparts a run for the money on the U.K. market, and outsold them by a wide margin in several lucrative international markets such as Japan. He later reprised his talent for strings with the popular (in the U.K., at least) Moods Orchestral series.
Not long after that, perhaps inspired by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and the Baja Marimba Band, Philips transformed Gregory into "Chaquito," a "Latin" bandleader. The Chaquito albums are very good, in fact, much better than many of the "original" South Americian band recordings.
In between all this, Gregory also recorded under his own name, usually showing off the full gamut of his talents. On Melodies of Japan, for example, he adapts Japanese folk melodies to styles ranging from lush strings to rocking bass-guitar-driven pop to moody cool lounge ala Martin Denny or Arthur Lyman.
WOULDN'T IT BE NICE
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is the opening track on the 1966 album Pet Sounds by the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was composed, arranged, and produced by Brian Wilson with words largely by Tony Asher. On July 18, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" was released backed with "God Only Knows" in the United States, which was the third single from the Pet Sounds album, released two months before. It entered the Billboard chart on July 30 and remained there for 11 weeks, peaking at number 8 in September 1966.
MHO
He arranged latin music like no other which was released under his alias "Chaquito". He (re-) arranged film- and television themes, often making them sound even more exciting than the original ones. And....he (re) arranged pop songs in a remarkably creative way - making them sound "different" while adding a certain touch of musical quality to them. This rendition of the Beach Boys' famous 60s hit is one of these "master arrangements" that are beautiful and intrigueing at the same time.
(Did you recognize the song immediately on first hearing or ...?)
This recording also made us think of "Pretty Flamingo" - another famous pophit that got a "special orchestral" touch when performed by some other UK Bands (see previous posts on this channel). Enjoy !
