Uploaded July 2014 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
MFF : The 3 words that are most often used in popular songs are (in that order) = "love", "baby" and "night".
A survey showed that - of all songs ever to appear in the charts since 1970 - 99% made use of the (same) limited vocabulary of 8000 words.
JOHN GREGORY
Under a series of aliases including Chaquito and Nino Ricci, arranger and conductor John Gregory ranks among Britain's leading exponents of space age pop. Born in London , Gregory was the son of bandleader Frank Gregori, whose dance combo was a mainstay at the city's popular Italian restaurant Quaglino's. After a brief stint as a violinist with his father's group, by the late '40s Gregory was performing on his own, eventually landing work as a staff arranger with Philips Records, where he toiled for the next two decades. Via collaborations with vocalists ranging from Cleo Laine to Nana Mouskouri, in 1960 Gregory was finally awarded the opportunity to make his own records. Credited to the Cascading Strings, these efforts were Philips' response to easy listening albums from the 101 Strings Orchestra and the Living Strings, but were far more impressive, particularly 1963's cult-classic "Melodies of Japan", an imaginative reworking of the traditional folk music of the Far East. With the success of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Philips concurrently installed Gregory as Chaquito, recording a series of dynamic Latin-influenced dates. Only by the mid-'70s was he regularly recording under his own name, producing a handful of surprisingly funky outings including 'A Man for All Seasons' and 'The Detectives'.
DID YOU KNOW ?
Upon release of the very first "Chaquito" album, other record companies and producers asked themselves who "Chaquito" really was and all of them were convinced that the "mysterious man" would be found in South America. They all were quite surprised to learn the music had been arranged/composed (and performed) by a British orchestrator.
MHO
John Gregory alias Chaquito proves once more that, in music, anything is possible. With a title that would make any listener believe he was going to hear Swiss "Alpenmusik" Gregory transforms a "folk song like" tune into a swinging latin piece.
Agreed : he composed the song himself but it still requires a lot of musical imagination (and skill) to come up with such a remarkable orchestral composition.
And though the melody and basic structure of the song may be "simple" the arrangement surely is not. Gregory has the brass swingin' all the way and takes the listener along for a nice musical ride, that starts from the very first note(s). Enjoy !
MFF : The 3 words that are most often used in popular songs are (in that order) = "love", "baby" and "night".
A survey showed that - of all songs ever to appear in the charts since 1970 - 99% made use of the (same) limited vocabulary of 8000 words.
JOHN GREGORY
Under a series of aliases including Chaquito and Nino Ricci, arranger and conductor John Gregory ranks among Britain's leading exponents of space age pop. Born in London , Gregory was the son of bandleader Frank Gregori, whose dance combo was a mainstay at the city's popular Italian restaurant Quaglino's. After a brief stint as a violinist with his father's group, by the late '40s Gregory was performing on his own, eventually landing work as a staff arranger with Philips Records, where he toiled for the next two decades. Via collaborations with vocalists ranging from Cleo Laine to Nana Mouskouri, in 1960 Gregory was finally awarded the opportunity to make his own records. Credited to the Cascading Strings, these efforts were Philips' response to easy listening albums from the 101 Strings Orchestra and the Living Strings, but were far more impressive, particularly 1963's cult-classic "Melodies of Japan", an imaginative reworking of the traditional folk music of the Far East. With the success of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Philips concurrently installed Gregory as Chaquito, recording a series of dynamic Latin-influenced dates. Only by the mid-'70s was he regularly recording under his own name, producing a handful of surprisingly funky outings including 'A Man for All Seasons' and 'The Detectives'.
DID YOU KNOW ?
Upon release of the very first "Chaquito" album, other record companies and producers asked themselves who "Chaquito" really was and all of them were convinced that the "mysterious man" would be found in South America. They all were quite surprised to learn the music had been arranged/composed (and performed) by a British orchestrator.
MHO
John Gregory alias Chaquito proves once more that, in music, anything is possible. With a title that would make any listener believe he was going to hear Swiss "Alpenmusik" Gregory transforms a "folk song like" tune into a swinging latin piece.
Agreed : he composed the song himself but it still requires a lot of musical imagination (and skill) to come up with such a remarkable orchestral composition.
And though the melody and basic structure of the song may be "simple" the arrangement surely is not. Gregory has the brass swingin' all the way and takes the listener along for a nice musical ride, that starts from the very first note(s). Enjoy !
