Les Baxter
Les Baxter is a pianist who composed and arranged for the top swing bands of the '40s and '50s, but he is better known as the founder of exotica, a variation of easy listening that glorified the sounds and styles of Polynesia, Africa, and South America, even as it retained the traditional string-and-horn arrangements of instrumental pop. Exotica became a massively popular trend in the '50s, with thousands of record buyers listening to Baxter, Martin Denny, and their imitators. Baxter also pioneered the use of the electronic instrument the theremin, which has a haunting, howling sound.
Baxter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory and Pepperdine College in Los Angeles. After he completed school, he abandoned the piano and became a vocalist. When he was 23, he joined Mel Tormé's Mel-Tones. The group sang on Artie Shaw records, including the hit "What Is This Thing Called Love."
In 1950, he became an arranger and conductor for Capitol Records, working on hits by Nat King Cole, including "Mona Lisa." Around the same time, Baxter began recording his own albums. In 1948, he released a triple-78 album called Music out of the Moon, which ushered in space-age pop with its use of the theremin. Four years later, he began recording exotica albums with Le Sacre du Sauvage.
On his early-'50s singles Baxter was relatively straightforward, performing versions of standards like the number one hits "Unchained Melody" and "The Poor People of Paris," but on his albums he experimented with all sorts of world musics, adapting them for his orchestra. As he was recording his exotica albums, Baxter was also the musical director for the radio show Halls of Ivy, plus Abbott & Costello radio shows; he also composed over 100 film scores, concentrating on horror movies and teenage musicals and comedies, though he also did dramas like Giant.
Baxter's heyday was in the '50s and '60s. Although he continued to compose and record in the '70s, his output was sporadic. Nevertheless, a cult following formed around his exotica recordings that persisted into the '90s.
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Cry Of The Banshee (Original Motion Picture Score) / Edgar Allan Poe Suite (From The Original Television Score) / Horror Express (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film Soundtracks - Released by Citadel - Mafy on Mar 16, 1996
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Baxter's Balladeers
Pop - Released by Rhino - Warner Records on May 23, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Baxter's Young Pops
Rock - Released by CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) on Jan 1, 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Los Mejores Sonidos Por Les Baxter Y George Melachrino
Film Soundtracks - Released by Hhpvrdigital on Aug 8, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Voices In Rhythm
Pop - Released by Rhino - Warner Records on Jan 3, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jewels of the Sea
Jazz - Released by Trunk Records on Mar 2, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hang Your Wishes On The Tree / Santa Claus' Party
Christmas Music - Released by CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) on Jan 1, 1952
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music Out of the Moon (Music Unusual)
Pop - Released by Arachne Records on Mar 21, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Presenting Les Baxter & His Orchestra
Lounge - Released by Universal Digital Enterprises on Apr 28, 1947
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blue Tango with les Baxter and His Orchesta
Jazz - Released by Digital World Contents S.A.S. on Jul 26, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
There's No Business Like Show Business with Les Baxter, Vol. 1
Miscellaneous - Released by Show Business on Feb 26, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Broadway '61
Lounge - Released by Capitol Records on Jan 6, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
There's No Business Like Show Business with Les Baxter, Vol. 3
Miscellaneous - Released by Show Business on Mar 4, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ports Of Pleasure (Mono Version)
Jazz - Released by Capitol Records on Jan 1, 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Caribbean Moonlight
Lounge - Released by Capitol Records on Jan 1, 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Midnight On The Cliffs
Lounge - Released by Capitol Records on Jan 1, 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kaleidoscope
Lounge - Released by Capitol Records on Apr 25, 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thinking Of You
Lounge - Released by Capitol Records on Jan 1, 1950
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Baxter's Teen Drums
Lounge - Released by Capitol Records on Jan 1, 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
'Round The World With Les Baxter
Lounge - Released by Capitol Records on Jan 1, 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rhino Hi-Five: Les Baxter
Pop - Released by Rhino - Warner Records on Jul 18, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo