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 was credited with the early Nat King Cole hits, "Mona Lisa" and "Too Young", but both were actually orchestrated by Nelson Riddle.[1] (In later releases of the recordings the credit was corrected to Riddle.[citation needed]) Not a uncommon practice these days: Baxter himself had arranged Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy" in 1947 for a recording conducted by Frank De Vol. In 1953 he scored his first film, 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). The latter recording sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.[2]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.
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 besuited and conservative folk group that at one time featured a young David Crosby.[citation needed] He operated in radio as musical director of The Halls of Ivy and the Bob Hope and Abbott and Costello shows.
Like his counterparts Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin and James Horner, Baxter later worked for the film industries from 1960s to 70s. He worked on movie soundtracks for 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, Panic in Year Zero!, Beach Party, The Comedy of Terrors,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.[3]
With less soundtrack work in the 1980s, he scored music for theme parks and SeaWorlds. In the 1990s, Baxter was widely celebrated, alongside Martin Denny and the Arthur Lyman Group, as one of the progenitors of what had become known as the "exotica" movement. In his 1996 appreciation for Wired magazine, writer David Toop remembered Baxter thus:
"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".
Baxter has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6314 Hollywood Blvd.
Ay ay ay
Les Baxter and His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I met a cowboy ridin' the range one day
And as he jogged along I heard him singing
A most peculiar cowboy song
It was a ditty, he learned in the city
Comma ti yi yi yeah
Comma ti yippity yi yeah
Get along, better be on your way
Get along, get hip little doggies
And he trucked them on down the old fairway
Singin' his cow cow boogie in the strangest way
Comma ti yi yi yeah
Comma ti yippity yi yeah
Singin' his cowboy song
He's just too much
He's got a knocked out western accent with a Harlem touch
He was raised on local weed
He's what you call a swing half breed
Singin' his cow cow boogie in the strangest way
Comma ti yi yi yeah
Comma ti yippity yi yeah
Get along little doggie, better be on your way, your way,
Get along little doggie
And he trucked them on down the old fairway
Singin' his cow cow boogie in the strangest way
Comma ti yi yi yeah
Comma ti yippity yi yeah.
Yip yip singing his cowboy song
Yip yip as he was joggling along
Yip yip he sings with a harlem touch
Yip yip that guy is just too much
Singing his cow cow boogie in the strangest way
Comma ti yi yi yi yi yi yeah.
The song "Ay Ay Ay" by Les Baxter and His Orchestra depicts a unique encounter between the singer and a cowboy out on the plains near Santa Fe. As he rides along, the cowboy sings a "most peculiar cowboy song," which the singer describes as a "ditty he learned in the city." The song itself is a combination of country and swing music, with lyrics that include calls for the "dogies" to get along, and a catchy refrain of "Comma ti yi yi yeah, Comma ti yippity yi yeah." The cowboy's singing is described as having a "knocked out western accent with a Harlem touch," and he is characterized as a "swing half breed," having been raised on both local weed and swing music.
The song is a lighthearted tribute to the fusion of musical styles that occurred in America during the mid-20th century. It highlights the influence of swing music on other genres, including country music, and portrays the cowboy as a figure who is open to and influenced by many different cultural influences. The upbeat tempo and catchy refrain of "Ay Ay Ay" make it a fun and memorable song that celebrates diversity and cultural exchange.
Line by Line Meaning
Out on the plains down near Santa fe
I was in the open grasslands near Santa Fe
I met a cowboy ridin' the range one day
I encountered a cowhand on horseback
And as he jogged along I heard him singing
As he rode along, he was singing a tune
A most peculiar cowboy song
A unique song that only a cowboy would sing
It was a ditty, he learned in the city
He had picked up the song in an urban area
Comma ti yi yi yeah
A nonsense phrase, possibly meant to sound like a Native-American war cry
Comma ti yippity yi yeah
Another phrase with no discernible meaning
Get along, get hip little doggies
Move on, keep up, young steers
Get along, better be on your way
You better move quickly, time to get going
And he trucked them on down the old fairway
He drove the cattle along the familiar path
Singin' his cow cow boogie in the strangest way
He chanted his bizarre song in a manner unlike any other cowboy
He's got a knocked out western accent with a Harlem touch
He spoke with a western drawl and a hint of Harlem jive
He was raised on local weed
He grew up on the native grasses
He's what you call a swing half breed
He was a mixed-race musician who played swing music
Get along little doggie, better be on your way, your way,
Move it, young bull, time to head out
Yip yip singing his cowboy song
He was belting out his western ballad
Yip yip as he was joggling along
As he rode, he was bouncing in the saddle
Yip yip he sings with a harlem touch
His tune had a distinctive Harlem flavor
Yip yip that guy is just too much
He was a unique and fascinating character
Comma ti yi yi yi yi yi yeah.
Repeating the opening phrase, possibly intended to be catchy
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BENNY CARTER, DON RAYE, GENE DE PAUL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dan Tuttle
This whole album is great ,but this my favorite of the selections. Just wonderful mood music . I always feel like I’m on vacation when I hear this .