Uploaded April 2014 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Music Fast Facts : Since its launch in 1981 the song Memory of the musical Cats has been played on radio more than a million times.
LES BAXTER
His first record album, Music Out Of The Moon, established his inherent talent for the unusual. By the use of completely unorthodox instrumentation (flute, cello, French horn, four percussion, a choir that sang no words, and a previously unheard-of electronic instrument called the Theremin) he produced the most original and wonderfully strange sounds yet recorded. This album became one of Capitol Records' biggest selling items.
His second album, Perfume Set To Music, featured the combined use of strings, choir, concerto style piano, Theremin, and Latin rhythm instruments -- for the first time on recordings. This album had a tremendous influence on the entire recording field, and many of the color and effects created by Les were subsequently adopted by other composer/arrangers, and have become the "sound" or "style" associated with many of today's artists.
His third album, The Voice Of The Xtabay (with Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac), contained some of the most unusual voice and orchestra effects ever recorded, and was the largest selling album in the world at the time.
By this time the name Les Baxter was synonymous with exotic music, and there followed a series of highly successful works of this nature -- "Quiet Village," "Jungle River Boat," "Busy Port," etc. His famous "Quiet Village" attained the number one position on the charts three separate times -- originally in the 1950s -- again in the 1960s -- and yet again in the 1970s. In all, he has done some 40 albums, four of which have achieved the number one position. His penchant for producing fresh and colorful orchestrations was further demonstrated by his many his singles -- "Blue Tango," "Poor People Of Paris," "April In Portugal," "I Love Paris," "Ruby," "Wake The Town And Tell The People," "Unchained Melody," among others. Of his twelve hit singles, all reached number one.
Besides the traditional gold records that are presented to million-selling artists, Les received numerous other music and recording industry awards, and habitually topped the "best orchestra" polls, being featured in his own TV special.
Following his successes in the recording field, Les became more interested in serious music, and found the composing of motion picture scores more suitable for the expression of his talents. In total, he has scored over a 150 motion pictures. Among those producers/directors were Nicholas Ray, a cult favorite -- internationally renowned Ingmar Bergman -- and Howard Koch, for whom Les did some twenty films.
In this capacity, Les Baxter has composed the most widely diverse types and styles of music imaginable -- horror, comedy, romance, suspense, science fiction, western, and contemporary music.
DID YOU KNOW ?
The composer of the song "September in the Rain" - Harry Warren wrote more than 800 (sic!) Original songs, many of them becoming standards and evergreens. "That's Amore", "The More I See You", "At Last" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo" are just some of his successful compositions.
MHO
In a style that can be described as 99% (if not 100 ;-) "Ray Conniff", Les Baxter has a go at the standards and evergreens as he presents his "Voices in Rhythm".
Music Fast Facts : Since its launch in 1981 the song Memory of the musical Cats has been played on radio more than a million times.
LES BAXTER
His first record album, Music Out Of The Moon, established his inherent talent for the unusual. By the use of completely unorthodox instrumentation (flute, cello, French horn, four percussion, a choir that sang no words, and a previously unheard-of electronic instrument called the Theremin) he produced the most original and wonderfully strange sounds yet recorded. This album became one of Capitol Records' biggest selling items.
His second album, Perfume Set To Music, featured the combined use of strings, choir, concerto style piano, Theremin, and Latin rhythm instruments -- for the first time on recordings. This album had a tremendous influence on the entire recording field, and many of the color and effects created by Les were subsequently adopted by other composer/arrangers, and have become the "sound" or "style" associated with many of today's artists.
His third album, The Voice Of The Xtabay (with Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac), contained some of the most unusual voice and orchestra effects ever recorded, and was the largest selling album in the world at the time.
By this time the name Les Baxter was synonymous with exotic music, and there followed a series of highly successful works of this nature -- "Quiet Village," "Jungle River Boat," "Busy Port," etc. His famous "Quiet Village" attained the number one position on the charts three separate times -- originally in the 1950s -- again in the 1960s -- and yet again in the 1970s. In all, he has done some 40 albums, four of which have achieved the number one position. His penchant for producing fresh and colorful orchestrations was further demonstrated by his many his singles -- "Blue Tango," "Poor People Of Paris," "April In Portugal," "I Love Paris," "Ruby," "Wake The Town And Tell The People," "Unchained Melody," among others. Of his twelve hit singles, all reached number one.
Besides the traditional gold records that are presented to million-selling artists, Les received numerous other music and recording industry awards, and habitually topped the "best orchestra" polls, being featured in his own TV special.
Following his successes in the recording field, Les became more interested in serious music, and found the composing of motion picture scores more suitable for the expression of his talents. In total, he has scored over a 150 motion pictures. Among those producers/directors were Nicholas Ray, a cult favorite -- internationally renowned Ingmar Bergman -- and Howard Koch, for whom Les did some twenty films.
In this capacity, Les Baxter has composed the most widely diverse types and styles of music imaginable -- horror, comedy, romance, suspense, science fiction, western, and contemporary music.
DID YOU KNOW ?
The composer of the song "September in the Rain" - Harry Warren wrote more than 800 (sic!) Original songs, many of them becoming standards and evergreens. "That's Amore", "The More I See You", "At Last" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo" are just some of his successful compositions.
MHO
In a style that can be described as 99% (if not 100 ;-) "Ray Conniff", Les Baxter has a go at the standards and evergreens as he presents his "Voices in Rhythm".
