Uploaded April 2014 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
"The only thing that ever came close to tugging my heart strings is music. I know this because that is the only time I've felt them move." ― Hafsa Shah ▼▼▼
LEON YOUNG
Leon Young was a British arranger and conductor who started his career on cruise ships, many of them quite well known, such as the "Queen Elizabeth".Here he would play the piano (or organ) in small bands but he would also arrange the music that was being played.
In the early 1950s Young was approached by the Decca label to write the arrangements for a new 40 piece orchestra that would be conducted by another new guy they hired, Frank Chacksfield. Though Young's name isn't always mentioned on the album sleeves it was he who arranged all of the music and, in some cases, he even conducted the orchestra. By the end of the decade a new medium had conquered the homes of millions - television - and soon Young was contacted by the producers of the "Black and White Minstrel Show" where he would write all of the arrangements for the George Mitchell Singers (the actual name of the "Minstrels") George and Leon knew each other from the early post-war years and consequently, the two developed a long and fruitful working relationship, based on mutual respect.
The show was a big success during the 1960s and 1970s but from 1980 onward it was seen as offensive to black people and hence was discontinued.
Young also recorded some easy listening albums as "The Leon Young String Chorale" during that same period 60s and 70s).
DID YOU KNOW ?
The "Black and White Minstrel Show" was most popular in the early sixties - viewing figures even reached 20,000,000 in 1964. Many critics say the music (arranged by Leon Young) was the main reason for that success.
MHO
Leon Young's easy listening and mood music always features a brilliant arrangement of the strings. There always is a "secundary" or counter melody in the background which has been "inserted" so skillfully that the unattentive listener may easily miss it. But it's those "musical details" - if one may call them like that - that contribute to the general air of quality that Young's music breathes. The instrumentation is far more extensive than one may think after initial hearing. Quality music without any doubt, and this can be heard from the very first notes......Enjoy !
"The only thing that ever came close to tugging my heart strings is music. I know this because that is the only time I've felt them move." ― Hafsa Shah ▼▼▼
LEON YOUNG
Leon Young was a British arranger and conductor who started his career on cruise ships, many of them quite well known, such as the "Queen Elizabeth".Here he would play the piano (or organ) in small bands but he would also arrange the music that was being played.
In the early 1950s Young was approached by the Decca label to write the arrangements for a new 40 piece orchestra that would be conducted by another new guy they hired, Frank Chacksfield. Though Young's name isn't always mentioned on the album sleeves it was he who arranged all of the music and, in some cases, he even conducted the orchestra. By the end of the decade a new medium had conquered the homes of millions - television - and soon Young was contacted by the producers of the "Black and White Minstrel Show" where he would write all of the arrangements for the George Mitchell Singers (the actual name of the "Minstrels") George and Leon knew each other from the early post-war years and consequently, the two developed a long and fruitful working relationship, based on mutual respect.
The show was a big success during the 1960s and 1970s but from 1980 onward it was seen as offensive to black people and hence was discontinued.
Young also recorded some easy listening albums as "The Leon Young String Chorale" during that same period 60s and 70s).
DID YOU KNOW ?
The "Black and White Minstrel Show" was most popular in the early sixties - viewing figures even reached 20,000,000 in 1964. Many critics say the music (arranged by Leon Young) was the main reason for that success.
MHO
Leon Young's easy listening and mood music always features a brilliant arrangement of the strings. There always is a "secundary" or counter melody in the background which has been "inserted" so skillfully that the unattentive listener may easily miss it. But it's those "musical details" - if one may call them like that - that contribute to the general air of quality that Young's music breathes. The instrumentation is far more extensive than one may think after initial hearing. Quality music without any doubt, and this can be heard from the very first notes......Enjoy !
