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.
Giant
Les Baxter Lyrics
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Sprawling in the sun
In one great hand, the Rio Grande
In the other, Galveston
Where oil wells laugh at angels
And buzzards wheel above
This, then, is Texas
This, then, is Texas
Land I love
Just see the silver dollars
Falling from above
This, then, is Texas
Lone Star State of Texas
This is the giant land I love
Austin to Houston
The Alamo, El Paso
Crystal City, Waco
Giant, giant, giant, giant
Giant, giant, giant, giant
Giant, giant, giant, giant
Giant
The lyrics to Les Baxter's song Giant celebrate the state of Texas, painting a picture of a powerful entity, a "sleeping giant" that is both majestic in its size and monumental in its significance. The opening lines describe the giant as he sprawls in the sun, holding the Rio Grande on one side, and Galveston on the other. The contrast between the natural beauty of the river and the industrial oil wells that surround it paints a portrait of a land of contradictions, where the old and the new meet in a turbulent mix.
The chorus emphasizes the pride and love that the singer feels for Texas, with silver dollars raining down from the sky as a symbol of the state's wealth and prosperity. The song then lists some of the major cities and landmarks of the state, from Austin to Houston to the Alamo, El Paso, Crystal City, and Waco. The repeated chanting of the word "giant" serves as both an acknowledgement of the enormity of the state and a call to recognize and celebrate it.
Overall, the song captures the spirit of Texas, as a land of contradictions, where nature and industry coexist, and where history and modernity collide. It is a celebration of a powerful and majestic entity, a land that is both rugged and beautiful, and a reminder of the importance of pride and identity in our sense of belonging.
Line by Line Meaning
Just like a sleeping giant
Texas is compared to a giant that is currently inactive, much like a sleeping person.
Sprawling in the sun
Texas is also compared to a giant that is enjoying the warmth of the sun.
In one great hand, the Rio Grande
This line talks about how one hand of the giant Texas is holding the Rio Grande river.
In the other, Galveston
The other hand of the giant Texas is holding the city of Galveston.
Where oil wells laugh at angels
The presence of several oil wells in Texas is highlighted as they are capable of surpassing even angels in terms of wealth.
And buzzards wheel above
This line describes the image of buzzards circling the oil wells, snatching up scraps of food.
This, then, is Texas
The singer stresses the importance of the previous lines and establishes that it is in fact Texas he is talking about.
Lone Star State of Texas
Texas is often referred to as the 'Lone Star State', hence this line serves to emphasize that fact.
Land I love
The singer emotionally expresses his love for Texas.
Just see the silver dollars
The singer points out the wealth that Texas has to offer using the metaphor 'silver dollars raining down from above.'
Falling from above
The previous metaphor is elaborated upon by emphasizing the continuous and seemingly endless nature of wealth in Texas.
Austin to Houston
These cities are located in Texas, indicating that the singer is continuing to establish the name and importance of Texas.
The Alamo, El Paso
Similarly, this line mentions two historically significant locations in Texas.
Crystal City, Waco
This line lists two more cities located in Texas.
Giant, giant, giant, giant
This is the repetition of the word 'giant' to further build the image of Texas as a mighty, powerful force.
Contributed by Evelyn O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Pedro Ribeiro da Silva Ribeiro da Silva
Just like a sleeping giant
Sprawling in the sun
In one great hand, the Rio Grande
In the other, GalvestonWhere oil wells laugh at angels
And buzzards wheel above
This, then, is Texas
Lone Star State of Texas
This, then, is Texas
Land I loveJust see the silver dollars
Falling from above
This, then, is Texas
Lone Star State of Texas
This is the giant land I loveAustin to Houston
The Alamo, El Paso
Crystal City, WacoGiant, giant, giant, giant
Giant, giant, giant, giant
Giant, giant, giant, giant
Giant