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.
Rain
Les Baxter Lyrics
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Remember in September in the rain
The sun went out just like a dying amber
That September in the rain
To every word of love I heard you whisper
The raindrops seemed to play our sweet refrain
Though spring is here to me it's still September
To every word of love I heard you whisper
The raindrops seemed to play our sweet refrain
Though spring is here to me it is still September
That September in the rain
That September that brought the pain
That September in the rain
The lyrics to "September in the Rain" by Les Baxter portray the recollection of a past September filled with love, longing, and a tinge of sadness. The opening line, "The leaves of brown came tumbling down," paints a vivid picture of autumn, signifying the changing season and the bittersweet emotions associated with it. The mention of September indicates a specific time period in the past, a month that holds significant memories for the singer.
The next line, "Remember in September in the rain," adds an atmospheric element to the narrative, suggesting that the rain serves as a backdrop to a memorable moment shared by the two lovers. The sun going out "like a dying amber" further enhances the image of a fading romance, perhaps symbolizing the end of something beautiful. This line creates a metaphorical connection between the changing weather and the emotions experienced.
The following stanza suggests that the singer cherishes the words of love whispered by their partner, and the raindrops seem to play a melodic tune echoing their sweet connection. Even though spring has arrived, the singer still feels as if it is September, implying that they are still emotionally stuck in that particular time, unable to move past the memories and the pain associated with it.
Ultimately, the phrase "That September in the rain" repeated at the end reiterates the significance of that specific period. It highlights the emotional weight that September carries for the singer and emphasizes the impact it had on their life, both in terms of joy and heartache.
Line by Line Meaning
The leaves of brown came tumbling down
The falling brown leaves symbolized the end of summer
Remember in September in the rain
Reminisce about the memories we shared during rainy September
The sun went out just like a dying amber
The sun's disappearance resembled a fading amber, signaling the end of warmth
That September in the rain
Referring to the specific September when it rained, bringing a melancholic atmosphere
To every word of love I heard you whisper
Each affectionate word you softly spoke to me
The raindrops seemed to play our sweet refrain
The raindrops created a melodious background to accompany our love
Though spring is here to me it's still September
Even though it's currently spring, I still feel the presence of that September
That September in the rain
Emphasizing the significance of that particular rainy September
That September that brought the pain
Referring to the emotional pain experienced during that September
That September in the rain
Reiterating the impact of that rainy September on the emotions
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harry Warren, Al Dubin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind