Baxter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory before moving to Los Angeles for further studies at Pepperdine College. Abandoning a concert career as a pianist, he turned to popular music as a singer. At the age of 23 he joined Mel Tormé's Mel-Tones, singing on Artie Shaw records such as “What Is This Thing Called Love?”.
Baxter then turned to arranging and conducting for Capitol Records in 1950, and conducted the orchestra of two early Nat King Cole hits, “Mona Lisa” and “Too Young”. In 1953 he scored his first movie, the sailing travelogue Tanga Tika. With his own orchestra, he released a number of hits including “Ruby” (1953), “Unchained Melody” (1955) and “The Poor People Of Paris” (1956). He also achieved success with concept albums of his own orchestral suites: Le Sacre Du Sauvage, Festival Of The Gnomes, Ports Of Pleasure, and Brazil Now, the first three for Capitol and the fourth on Gene Norman's Crescendo label. The list of musicians on these recordings includes Plas Johnson and Clare Fischer.[citation needed] Baxter also wrote the “Whistle” theme from the TV show Lassie.
Baxter did not restrict his activities to recording. As he once told Soundtrack! magazine, “I never turn anything down”.
In the 1960s, he formed the Balladeers, a conservative folk group in suits that at one time featured a young David Crosby. He worked in radio as musical director of The Halls of Ivy and the Bob Hope and Abbott and Costello shows.
Like his counterparts Henry Mancini and Lalo Schifrin, Baxter later worked for the film industry in the 1960s and 1970s. He worked on movie soundtracks for B-movie studio American International Pictures where he composed and conducted scores for Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe films and other horror stories and teenage musicals, including The Pit and the Pendulum, The Comedy of Terrors, Muscle Beach Party, The Dunwich Horror, and Frogs. Howard W. Koch recalled that Baxter composed, orchestrated and recorded the entire score of The Yellow Tomahawk (1954) in a total of three hours for $5,000.
When soundtrack work fell off in the 1980s, he scored music for theme parks such as SeaWorld.
According to Milt Bernhart, Nelson Riddle was a ghost writer for Baxter when Baxter was working for Nat King Cole. Bernhart states the Riddle told him that Baxter did not write the material on his exotica albums. Bernhart states that, while working for Baxter on recording a score for a Roger Corman film, it was apparent that Baxter could not conduct competently and “couldn't read the scores”. According to Bernhart, “Someone else had written the music.”
Gene Lees states that the exotica albums were written by Albert Harris and the material recorded with Yma Sumac was written by Pete Rugolo. According to Rugolo, he was paid $50 per arrangement to ghost for Les Baxter and that he “did a whole album with Yma Sumac”. A comparison of the Baxter album “Space Escapade” and Albert Harris' suite “Bachannal!” recorded by Frank De Vol shows a distinct similarity in both composition and arrangement, leading to the probability that Harris ghost wrote even more for Les Baxter.
Nelson Riddle held a grudge against Baxter for taking credit for Riddle's arrangements on two Nat King Cole hit recordings. According to André Previn, when collaborating once with Baxter, in the time Previn and Riddle had finished their parts, Baxter had written just one bar for woodwinds and included a note for the oboe that does not exist on the instrument.
Baxter, alongside Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman, is celebrated as one of the progenitors of exotica music. In his 1996 appreciation for Wired magazine, writer David Toop wrote that Baxter “offered package tours in sound, selling tickets to sedentary tourists who wanted to stroll around some taboo emotions before lunch, view a pagan ceremony, go wild in the sun or conjure a demon, all without leaving home hi-fi comforts in the white suburbs.”
Les Baxter has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6314 Hollywood Blvd.
BECAUSE OF YOU
Les Baxter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Because of you my romance had its start
Because of you the sun will shine
The moon and stars will say you're mine
Forever and never to part
I only live for your love and your kiss
It's paradise to be near you like this
And I can smile
Because of you
I only live for your love and your kiss
It's paradise to be near you like this
Because of you my life is now worthwhile
And I can smile
Because of you
The lyrics to Les Baxter's song "Because of You" speak to the overwhelming effect that love can have on a person's life. The singer credits their current happiness to the person they love, who has brought a newfound meaning to their life. The opening line, "Because of you there's a song in my heart," refers to the way that love can inspire creativity and joy, as though the singer can't help but burst into song because of the way they feel.
The second line, "Because of you my romance had its start," suggests that the singer feels that their life didn't truly begin until they met this person. The third line, "Because of you the sun will shine," is notable because it implies that the singer's outlook on life has been transformed completely - now that they have love in their life, everything seems brighter and more optimistic. The final line, "Forever and never to part," speaks to the intensity of the singer's feelings for their love, as though they know that they will be together forever.
The chorus is essentially a repetition of the opening verse, but with a few key differences. Instead of saying "there's a song in my heart," the singer says "my life is now worthwhile," which speaks to the deep sense of fulfillment they feel because of their relationship. The line "It's paradise to be near you like this" is particularly romantic, suggesting that simply being in the same room as their love is enough to make the singer feel like they're in heaven. Finally, the closing line "And I can smile because of you" is a fitting end to the song, suggesting that the singer's love is the source of all joy and happiness in their life.
Line by Line Meaning
Because of you there's a song in my heart
You have brought joy and happiness into my life, giving me a reason to sing a song of love and hope in my heart.
Because of you my romance had its start
The love we share has given birth to the most beautiful romance, one that fills my heart with joy and happiness.
Because of you the sun will shine
Your presence in my life makes everything brighter and brings warmth and light to even the darkest of days.
The moon and stars will say you're mine
The beauty of the night sky reminds me of the love and connection we share, and how the universe reflects the fact that we belong together.
Forever and never to part
Our love is deep and strong, and I know we will always be together, never to be separated by anything or anyone.
I only live for your love and your kiss
You are the center of my world, and everything I do or feel is connected to the deep love and passion I have for you.
It's paradise to be near you like this
Being close to you, feeling your touch and hearing your voice, is like being transported to a world of paradise, where everything is perfect and beautiful.
Because of you my life is now worthwhile
Your love has given my life purpose and meaning, and every moment spent with you is precious and valuable.
And I can smile
You bring joy and happiness into my life, and even in the darkest moments, your presence brings a smile to my face and fills me with hope and love.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Arthur Hammerstein, Dudley Wilkinson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Andy Pandy
Thanks for putting these up - I especially like the trouble you've taken making sure they're all the correct hit versions and for giving the extra background information on them. For someone like me who wasn't even born for another twenty years after a lot of these were released it's very interesting. It's become obvious as I've discovered more and more of these tunes that 1940s and early 50s chart music was infinitely better than that from the rest of the 50s.
The78Prof
You're most welcome....glad to know that you're enjoying the presentation.
master 82575
Great jazz